Along with the panel on Female Genital Mutilation, the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) hosted another parallel event at the Commission on the Status of Women, working closely with Dr. Bobbi Nassar who is the co-chair of NGO committee on human rights (UU-UNO Director Bruce...

Climate justice is a social justice issue. It is working at the intersection of environmental degradation and the racial, social, and economic inequities it perpetuates. Every living person depends on the environment....

A panel hosted by the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office addresses best practices for ending the practice of Female Genital Mutilation during the 2018 Commission on the Status of Women at the UN.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that is investigating the recent chemical weapons attack in Syria is authorized to enforce the Convention, but punishment for use of these weapons is not clearly defined.

JoAnne McClure writes about tying together the work of community-based organizations with international treaties and more importantly, about the United Nations in general and why it merits our full support and engagement. 

There are more people displaced from their homes due to war, violence, and natural disasters today than at any other time in history, even more than at the end of World War II. That was the first of many shocking things we learned when members of First Parish Bedford (MA) UU traveled to the...

Information direct from a UN staffer shows the risks in modern times relating to nuclear weapons, including recent efforts by nuclear-weapons states to modernize and develop new nuclear weapon technologies.

The Nepal-based organization ANSWER was founded by a Unitarian and was immensely helpful in making the 2018 Conference of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists in Kathmandu possible.

Just as the initiation of recent student led advocacy from Parkland, Florida brings hope for positive change in this country, so too have students in Japan addressed the issue of nuclear disarmament in their country by sharing the stories of nuclear blast survivors.

An overview of the contributions the Holy See made to the negotiations process leading up to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Pope Francis has been outspoken in support of nuclear disarmament.

Discussion of a recent event and what we can do about forced migration due to oppression based on real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office and the All Souls Church NYC Peace and Justice Task Force.

This edition of Disarming Our World explores the story behind how the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons came to be.

What is the Heart of Unitarian/Universalism? What is at the core of our varied theologies and diverse cultural contexts that brings Unitarians and Unitarian Universalists together as a single faith? What does this faith call us to be and to do, today? These were the central questions posed by the 2018 Conference of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) which met in Kathmandu, Nepal February 12-15, 2018.

Nuclear disarmament may still be far away, but significant steps are being taken at the United Nations through the leadership of 122 countries who have declared nuclear weapons illegal. The other, nuclear-armed countries must listen and learn from them.

I’m sitting in the waiting room at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention center. I am one of two white faces in the crowd of many brown faces. The other white face is the guard. The brown faces look despondent, overwhelmed, some are frightened. I have just dropped off a bag of personal...

This new series on the UUA International Blog is devoted to building our knowledge of disarmament efforts then and now, with the goal of helping to create a more peaceful world with much fewer weapons. As the UN Charter indicates, there is a real need for security - and provision is needed for some measure of control - but certainly not at this level of military expenditure and ongoing military undertakings.

I visited the Every Child is Our Child program in Eastern Ghana from December 2-7, 2017. The Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) began its collaboration with the Manye Krobo Queen Mothers in 2005, launching this program which would go on to change so many lives. The Manye Krobo...

As African migrants attempt to reach Europe they are imprisoned and sold in slave auctions in Libya. The international community must respond with more than just words to this atrocity.

At the recent COP23 United Nations climate conference hosted by Fiji in Bonn, Germany, much focus was given to human rights and how to mitigate the harm of climate change upon human life and ecosystems. Explore how changes to our climate impact the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part.

The refugee crisis worsens as Rohingya Muslims are persecuted in Burma and flee to Bangladesh. This blatant disregard for human rights continues in ever more frightening degrees, meanwhile, the international community hesitates to take meaningful action.

The right to women's equality and the right to freedom of religion or belief are sometimes seen to conflict with one another, but in fact they ought to be understood as mutually reinforcing. Explore in depth the intersection of rights and freedoms across the world and throughout modern history.

On the occasion of the thirtieth International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, an event at the United Nations addressed progress made towards ending poverty and how to get the rest of the way there.

An annual academic and policy symposium titled Whither Migration? New Directions in Research and Policy in an Era of Nationalism was held in early October at the Center for Migration Studies of New York City. The day-long event covered a number of topics related to the worldwide refugee and...

Explore lessons the United States can take from other countries' gun control policies to reduce the risk of recurring tragedies such as the recent Las Vegas shooting.

The Hungarian Unitarian Church (HUC) – a leader in global U/Uism and a partner with whom we have a long history and a committed relationship – is currently struggling with its institutional position on marriage equality. Earlier today, October 28, 2017, the HUC Synod issued a formal statement...

Over the last few years, I have felt myself going back and forth between waves of fear, anger, sadness, shame, and mourning when I read the news. With each breaking news alert, I brace myself for another wave. When was the last time I got a breaking news alert that contained good news? I can’t...

Rev. Rob MacPherson reflects on Australia's experience with gun violence and gun control laws, as well as his own childhood in a gun-owning household in Baltimore.

On Friday, September 29, the Human Rights Council voted in favor of a resolution which condemned the “imposition of the death penalty as a sanction for specific forms of conduct, such as apostasy, blasphemy, adultery and consensual same-sex relations.”...

In October 2016, the United Nations General Assembly voted to begin negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This critically important treaty calls for a complete ban of the use, production, possession, testing, and transfer of nuclear weapons. The legally binding treaty...

On September 6th, 2017, I represented the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) at an interfaith conference to stop AIDS. It was an inspiring meeting led by Rev. Michael Schuenemeyer (United Church of Christ) and Bishop Yvette Flunder (United Church of Christ and Presiding Bishop of The...

On Tuesday, September 5th, 2017, President Donald Trump ordered an end to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)—an Obama-era program that protects young, undocumented immigrants from deportation. DACA was introduced on June 15th,

Education refugee girls can protect them from child marriage, empower them to take control of their own futures, and lead to a more peaceful society as a whole.  

On August 1st, a day-long event was held at United Nations Headquarters entitled “Intergenerational Dialogues on the Sustainable Development Goals.” The organizing body for this event was the NGO DPI Executive Committee*. The event opened with remarks by the organizers, UN and government...

While gender equality is in itself important, examining the other ways in which gender equality benefits broader society is necessary to garner more support for the movement.

The applications to join the Seminar Staff as a Youth Dean or Adult Dean for the 2018 Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office Intergenerational Spring Seminar are now open and are due August 2nd, 2017! The 2018 Seminar, on the topic of refugees and the global migration crisis, will be April...

On Thursday, July 13th, five speakers shared their diverse experiences working at the crossroads of counterterrorism strategy and gender equality at the UU-UNO's 2017 High-Level Political Forum Side Event.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is a legally-binding and long overdue treaty to promote nuclear disarmament around the world. This treaty is a critical step toward ensuring that nuclear weapons no longer pose a threat to present and future generations.

There is an important issue relating to structural gender inequality that is being neglected. Worldwide, women feel less safe than men in public spaces. Issues of safety and perceived safety for women are critical United Nations values, and also Unitarian Universalist values....

In April of this year, reports surfaced that the Chechen government had begun to out, detain, torture, and kill any Chechen man who is perceived as gay or bisexual. 

Negotiations are underway at the United Nations to ban nuclear weapons. That is a remarkable statement. Last October, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to begin negotiations in 2017 on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total...

Every year, June 20 marks World Refugee Day, a time to honor the courage and strength of those who are forced to flee their homeland because of conflict, violence, or persecution. This year, bringing awareness and supporting refugees is more important than ever. The United Nations Refugee Agency,...

The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII) is a two-week long conference that was established on July 28th, 2000 by the United Nations to address the unique issues indigenous comminutes face related to economic and social development, ecological and cultural preservation, and human rights....

For the past two years, it has been my honor to chair the NGO/DPI Executive Committee, which represents about 1,500 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) affiliated with the Department of Public Information (DPI) at the United Nations....

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a two week long conference where events are hosted in and around the United Nations Headquarters by member states, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society....

Unitarian Universalists and other people of faith gathered in April 2017 for a whirlwind 3-day conference in New York City. The Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office’s annual Intergenerational Spring Seminar this year was centered on the theme “Arm in Arm: Interfaith Action to Disarm Our...

This exciting invitation to Unitarian Universalists in the United States comes from the Unitarian community in Prague, on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the Flower Communion this June....

Donald Trump destroys what he doesn’t have the knowledge to understand nor appreciate. This has been clear since the 1980s, and on numerous occasions he has shown tragic disregard for historical and artistic treasures. Fast forward to 2017. The President’s proposed budgets last week have aimed...

The afternoon of Friday January 27, 2017 I experienced one of the most empowering events at the United Nations Headquarters. It was the 18th annual Committee on Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN) conference titled: Refugees the 21st Century Challenge. The conference served as a platform for...