UUA International Blog

The very first resolution passed by the United Nations, in January 1946, called for the elimination of atomic weapons.  The bedrock treaty for the control and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) entered into force in 1970 and...

On the warm May evening of May 3rd, concerned individuals gathered at the Community Church of New York to engage in the critically-needed discussion on the refugee and migration crisis. Moderated by the Unitarian Universalist U.N. Office’s Refugee Program Intern Rani Allan, the...

This week's post in Disarming Our Planet is a statement by Mr Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, reposted here from the ICRC's website as an appeal to States, global leaders, and citizens. The International Committee...

The Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO), together with the United Nations community, condemns the lethal use of violence by the Israeli Defense Forces against Palestinian protesters who were protesting the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the U....

How do you ever get the membership of the United Nations to sit down and talk about disarmament and even set off a large enough public response to have a significant downsizing of nuclear arsenals as a result? All we need is another Homer Jack. “And who is he?” you ask....

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...

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. Here at the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-...

It’s been a month since The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was held at the New York United Nations Headquarters from March 11-23th. Commission on the Status of Women was founded in June 1946 and “The principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the...

Toxic weapons made of chemicals are nothing new. They’ve been around for thousands of years as poisoned arrows, lethal smoke, or noxious fumes, but -- following their use-- they were eventually considered too cruel and unfair for ”civilized battle,” and efforts were made to ban...

The speech text below was presented as an introduction to a panel event sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office and the NGO Committee on Human Rights as part of the 62nd United Nations Commission on the Status of Women NGO forum. The event, entitled "...

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...

The following is a summary of a paper delivered by a UN staff member to a meeting of Non-Governmental Organizations at the United Nations. The portions in italics were added by this blogger. One of the most important norms related to international peace and security created...

One of the best things about the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) global conferences is the opportunity to connect with other Unitarians & Unitarian Universalists from around the world. To be able to hear and even sometimes see how they live our...

Content warning: this post includes graphic descriptions of the effects of the nuclear bomb dropped in Hiroshima that may be traumatic for some readers. We feel it is important to read these stories in order to capture the real human impact of nuclear weapons. ...

On July 7, 2017 a United Nations Conference approved a new treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Adopted by a vote of 122 for, 1 against, 1 abstention, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons requires that parties to the treaty “undertake never under any circumstances to...

A panel discussion on forced migration due to oppression based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) was organized on February 13, 2018 at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City. This program was organized to bring awareness amongst the general public...

Recent reports about the use of chemical weapons in Syria in 2017 and the international responses help demonstrate the way that international law works. A treaty to ban the use of chemical weapons officially became international law in 1997 when the minimum number of countries (...

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...

Despite the commendable efforts by activists in past years to disarm our world, why then do we live in an armed world which could be utterly destroyed with the pressing of a few buttons? Perhaps the fear of nuclear war we are now experiencing will prompt a return to the sanity...

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...