Tag: un

Iran Appointed to UN Program for Women’s Rights, Disarmament, and Terrorism Prevention

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been nominated to the U.N. Committee for Program and Coordination, which shapes policy on women’s rights, human rights, disarmament, and terrorism prevention. The nomination was backed by ECOSOC members, including the UK, Spain, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, Austria, and Finland.

This is part of a broader pattern. In February 2026, an Iranian regime official took her seat as a full member of the UN Human Rights Council’s Advisory Committee, contributing to discussions on gender perspectives and gender-based violence, while Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister addressed the council’s high-level opening session.

Iran was previously removed from a comparable body in 2022, when ECOSOC voted 29 to 8 to remove it from the Commission on the Status of Women following its violent crackdown on protesters after the death of Mahsa Amini. It is now being nominated back onto similar bodies.

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Associated Press runs paid PR ads for Chinese telecom Huawei as CCP seeks to influence UN agency

The Associated Press is running paid public relations advertisements on X and on the wire service’s own website on behalf of Huawei as the blacklisted Chinese telecom behemoth and the CCP seek influence over a key United Nations tech agency.

The U.S. government has long pointed to the national security threat posed by Huawei and has sought to limit the firm’s spread inside the United States and around the world. At the same time, the AP took cash from the Chinese company to promote Huawei’s efforts to burnish its image as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seeks to influence the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and increase the penetration of Chinese telecoms and networks worldwide.

The paid tweet by the AP — sent on Mar. 12 and now boasting more than 75 million views — highlighted Huawei’s links to ITU and its efforts on the world stage, and a paid article from Huawei published by the AP promoted Huawei’s efforts in AI. The tweets are clearly marked as “Paid advertisement.”

“National Champion” firms

The U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence stated in 2021 that “national champion” firms such as Huawei help “lead development of AI technologies at home” and “advance state-directed priorities that feed military and security programs.”

“China is the most capable competitor in the AI space, and aims to displace the U.S. as the global AI leader by 2030,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed in March. “China is driving AI adoption at scale — both domestically and internationally — by using its sizable talent pool, extensive datasets, government funding, and burgeoning global partnerships.”

Michael Sobolik, a China expert and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Just the News that “the Associated Press claims to provide ‘news without an agenda,’ and says that its mission is ‘journalism, not profit margins.’ It’s hard to square those praise-worthy goals with taking money from a CCP-controlled company to boost its propaganda.”

“The AP isn’t alone in doing this either. It’s the latest in a number of American reporting outlets that willingly become propaganda conduits for Beijing,” Sobolik added. “There’s no First Amendment in China, but CCP-controlled companies can push their message in America for the right price.”

Neither Huawei nor the Associated Press responded to a request for comment from Just the News.

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Minnesota Sues Trump Administration Over ICE-Involved Shootings – Walz Says He’s Building Case with Leftist Nonprofits and the UN

The State of Minnesota has filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration in its ongoing attempt to investigate ICE and CBP agents who were involved in shootings during law enforcement activities.

The incidents include the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two crazed leftists who attacked ICE agents, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a criminal illegal alien who was wounded while attacking ICE agents in northern Minneapolis in January.

Minnesota is suing for evidence and information on the shootings, for which the FBI previously denied state investigators access.

On Thursday, Tim Walz discussed the lawsuit on MSNow, revealing that he is working with the American Civil Liberties Union, pro-immigrant groups, and even the UN to build his case, while accusing the Trump Administration of human rights abuses.

He further trashed President Trump, stating that he will continue fighting for so-called justice until “the final days of this administration and beyond.”

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U.N. Passes Resolution Demanding Countries Linked to Slavery Pay Trillions in Reparations

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling on Britain and other countries involved in the transatlantic slave trade to enter talks on reparations.

Campaigners say potential payouts could run into the trillions of pounds.

The motion, introduced by Ghana on behalf of the African Union, describes the slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity.”

It calls for “good-faith dialogue on reparatory justice, including a full and formal apology, measures of restitution, compensation.”

The non-binding resolution passed 124 votes to 3. The United States, Israel, and Argentina voted against.

The U.K. abstained, alongside 52 other countries, including all European Union member states.

In supporting the resolution, member states s affirmed “the importance of addressing historical wrongs affecting Africans and people of African descent.

It also meant accepting that “claims for reparations represent a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs.”

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Social Media Panic Lands Joseph Gordon-Levitt a U.N. Gig

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a new gig, but it’s not in Hollywood. On Tuesday, the actor was appointed as the United Nations’ (U.N.) first global advocate for human-centric digital governance. 

In this role, Gordon-Levitt will “strengthen public understanding of how digital technologies shape everyday life, rights and opportunities,” according to a U.N. press release. In other words, he will be one of the U.N.’s chief advocates for regulating social media platforms.

In a video explaining his jargon-filled title, Gordon-Levitt warned that social media is causing an “epidemic of mental health issues and loneliness,” and a “rise in polarization and extremism and authoritarianism.” He said “governments need to get in the game” and curb these “damaging side effects” from social media. 

This is not the first time Gordon-Levitt has advocated for crackdowns on online platforms. In February, Gordon-Levitt traveled to Capitol Hill, where he urged senators to pass the Sunset Section 230 Act. The bill, introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.) and Dick Durbin (D–Ill.), would repeal Section 230—the federal law that limits platforms’ liability for third party speech—two years after the date of enactment. 

The “first step” in combatting the negative influence of Big Tech is to “sunset Section 230,” he said. “I want to see this thing pass 100 to zero. There should be nobody voting to give any more impunity to these tech companies, nobody.”

After receiving backlash for these comments, including from journalist Taylor Lorenz, Gordon-Levitt clarified that he didn’t want to completely scrap Section 230; he only wanted to reform it. 

During his speech on Capitol Hill, Gordon-Levitt invoked his authority as a concerned father of three to push for more online safety regulations. But emotional pleas do not always make for good policy. In fact, protecting children online has motivated more than a dozen bills in the House alone, many of which would infringe on free speech and privacy. 

One of these bills, the Reducing Exploitative Social Media Exposure for Teens (RESET) Act, would ban anyone under the age of 16 from creating or maintaining social media accounts. Another, the App Store Accountability Act, would require age verification for access to app stores and parental consent for users under 18. Most notably, the controversial Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) would require online platforms to enforce policies and procedures to “address” various “harms to minors.” Reason’s Elizabeth Nolan Brown notes that KOSA would compel platforms to “censor a huge array of content out of fear that the government might decide it contributed to some vague category of harm and then sue.”

What proponents of these bills often fail to recognize is the many benefits that social media can offer kids. According to a 2022 Pew Research Center poll among teenagers, just 9 percent said that social media had a mostly negative effect on their lives. Citing the upsides of friendships and connections, 32 percent said social media had a mostly positive effect on them. Another study found that disconnection was a greater threat to adolescents’ self-esteem than heavy social media use, challenging the narrative that social media causes isolation. 

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Over 3 million people forcibly displaced by US-Israeli war on Iran: UN

Over 3 million Iranians have been displaced by the ongoing US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic, the Director of the Division of Emergency and Programme Support at UNHCR, Ayaki Ito, revealed on 12 March.

“Between 600,000 and 1 million Iranian households are now temporarily displaced inside Iran as a result of the ongoing conflict, according to preliminary assessments, representing up to 3.2 million people,”  Ito wrote in the statement.

He added that most of the internally displaced are fleeing Tehran and other major urban areas, and that the number of forcibly displaced “is likely to continue rising as hostilities persist, marking a worrying escalation in humanitarian needs.”

The statement added that refugee families hosted in the country, the majority of whom are Afghan, are particularly vulnerable due to their already “precarious situation” and “limited support networks,” with many now leaving affected areas as insecurity rises and access to essential services declines.

Ito said UNHCR is adjusting its response to the growing displacement, noting that the agency is expanding its operations in Iran through reception areas, helplines, and ongoing support services while working with national authorities and humanitarian partners to assess emerging needs as population movements increase.

He stressed the need to protect civilians and maintain humanitarian access, urging that borders remain open to those seeking safety in accordance with international obligations.

At least 1,300 Iranians have been killed since the US-Israeli war began, including at least 165 children killed in a double-tap strike on a girls’ school, as attacks hit civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and residential neighborhoods.

Israel’s aggression across West Asia has also triggered a refugee crisis on a smaller but proportionally more intense scale.

Constant Israeli attacks across Lebanon have displaced a staggering 14 percent of the country’s population – over 800,000 people – from the south and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

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UN Security Council Passes Iran War Resolution, Yet With No Mention Of US Or Israel

Many independent pundits have long complained of the emptiness of the United Nations as some kind of ‘moral authority’ – given it often claims to be just this. The vacuous nature of UN statements connected to war is on display once again as the Security Council (UNSC) issued a formal condemnation of the Iran war on Wednesday, but without mentioning either the United States or Israel at all.

For this reason, Iran quickly slammed the vote, also as Russia and China abstained. The passed resolution demands an end to Iranian attacks across the Gulf, and notably made zero reference to US or Israeli strikes on Iran.

It was tabled Bahrain and backed by 135 countries, and calls for “the immediate cessation of all attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.”

It further condemns actions or threats by Iran “aimed at closing, obstructing, or otherwise interfering with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The measure passed 13-0, and a second draft resolution was proposed by Moscow, which called on all sides to cease hostilities, however it failed to pass.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Walz stated: “Iran’s strategy of sowing chaos, of trying to hold their neighbours hostage, trying to shake the resolve of the region, has clearly backfired, as shown by this vote today.”

China’s UN envoy Fu Cong said the text “does not fully reflect the root cause and overall picture of the conflict in a balanced manner.”

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, without warning, and while Iran was engaged in several rounds of nuclear talks with Trump envoys. 

Like the June war, the assault appears to have caught Tehran completely by surprise, and Iranians have condemned the unprovoked nature of the assault. 

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U.N. Committee Accuses Trump of ‘Racist Hate Speech’ and ‘Grave Human Rights Violations’ Over Immigration Crackdown

If you needed any more evidence that the United Nations (U.N.) should be defunded, here it is.

A U.N. panel has accused the Trump administration of “racist hate speech” and suggested the U.S. crackdown on illegal immigration has led to “grave human rights violations.”

The criticism came in a new report released Wednesday by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which took direct aim at Trump and other political leaders over their rhetoric on immigration enforcement.

According to the report, statements by political leaders combined with stepped-up immigration enforcement have allegedly “sparked grave human rights violations.”

“Racist hate speech by political leaders, including the President, combined with intensified immigration crackdowns in the United States, notably near schools, hospitals, and faith-based institutions, has sparked grave human rights violations,” the committee said in a statement accompanying the report.

The panel also claimed it was “deeply disturbed by the growing use of derogatory and dehumanizing language” about illegal aliens.

“Portraying them as criminals or as a burden, by politicians and influential public figures at the highest level, particularly the President … may incite racial discrimination and hate crimes,” the report said.

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New analysis shows ideology, not science, drove the global prohibition of psychedelics

A recent study published in Contemporary Drug Problems argues that the strict global prohibition of psychedelic drugs was driven more by political ideology and media panic than by scientific evidence of medical harm. The historical analysis reveals that the 1971 United Nations decision to heavily restrict these substances relied on cultural anxieties rather than genuine public health risks. These findings suggest that current international drug laws may need to be reevaluated to remove unnecessary barriers to modern medical research.

Psychedelics are a diverse class of substances that alter a person’s perception, mood, and cognitive processes. This category includes naturally occurring compounds found in certain plants and mushrooms, like psilocybin and mescaline, as well as synthetic drugs like lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD. Medical professionals generally consider these substances to be physiologically safe, and they tend to have a very low risk of causing addiction.

The United Nations is an international organization founded to maintain global peace, security, and cooperation, which includes creating treaties to regulate the global trade of various drugs. In 1971, the United Nations adopted the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. This international treaty classified psychedelics under the strictest possible level of legal control, lumping them together with highly addictive substances.

A psychotropic substance is simply any chemical that alters how the brain functions, causing changes in mood or awareness. In recent years, medical interest in psychedelics has returned. Early research suggests they could help treat severe mental health conditions.

However, the strict international laws established in 1971 continue to make modern medical research very difficult. The scientists conducted this study to understand exactly how international diplomats originally decided to place psychedelics under such extreme restrictions. They wanted to uncover the historical and political forces that shaped these long-standing global drug policies.

“My legal background, an interest in history, and involvement in an organisation that promotes research into the risks and potential benefits of psychedelic compounds coalesced into my wanting to conduct this research,” explained study author Måns Bergkvist of Uppsala University.

To reconstruct the history of UN drug policy, the researchers examined primary historical documents spanning from 1963 to 1971. They gathered archival records from three specific locations: the United Nations Archives, the Swedish National Archives, and the United States National Archives. The scientists analyzed a vast collection of meeting minutes, official negotiation records, internal reports, and diplomatic resolutions.

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Epstein and the coming “age of accountability” psy-op

In the wake Prince Andrew’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gave an interview in which he said “nobody is above the law.”

And the media lost no time in proving my point. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson echoed it in an interview of her own. Everyone from Al Jazeera to the South China Morning Post has taken up the cry.

In one of those curiously timed coincidences, the UN actually used the same exact phrase just a day before Sir Keir.

Then there’s this long article in the Atlantic, I won’t sport with your intelligence by relating the bulk of the text, we concern ourselves only with the concluding paragraph:

The former Prince Andrew acted as he did because he lived in a world in which someone like him never faced consequences. That isn’t true anymore.

That’s the narrative in a nutshell. The system is fair and treats everyone the same. Old Guard bad, corruption being rooted out, accountability for the old boys club. Like #MeToo on crack.

In this vein we have the arrest of Peter Mandelson.

The investigation, and alleged attempted suicide, of Norway’s former PM Thorbjørn Jagland

The resignation of World Economic Forum chief Børge Brende over his “Epstein links”

The “retirement” of Harvard President and former Treasury Secretary of Larry Summers

Even stuff as small as the revelation of Bill Gates’ affairs with a couple of Russian women.

None of those latter four come close to actual arrests, of course. And the story is very much that while the UK (and Europe in general) are willing to act on Epstein, the US is lagging behind.

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