UUA International Blog Archive

This blog is dedicated to the humanitarian workers of the world for their efforts to directly implement human rights values in working to disarm our planet. One such organization is the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, whose Executive VP reflects here on Tzu Chi's work at a Tijuana...

This special anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an alert call to the world, reminding us that these human rights have been affirmed by all countries of the UN, but that listing them is not enough: They must also be fulfilled. We have a lot of work to do.

The First Committee of the United Nations is a forum for countries to hold a dialogue on all disarmament-related matters. Where some countries promote disarmament to strengthen security for their population, others oppose disarmament as a threat to the security of their...

Jamal Khashoggi's defense of the free press and human rights should inspire us confront tyranny at home and everwhere these rights are threatened.

Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954, changing the essence of the holiday to celebrating and honoring patriotism, the warriors, and the wars. What veterans really need is for society to reclaim the spirit of Armistice Day and unite in the common desire of the human...

Credit is seldom given to the daily work performed by international civil servants at the United Nations specialized agencies and programs. In the field of disarmament, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs and others work to bring the range of weaponry and destructive conflict...

As the United States and other nationalist-trending countries pull away from diplomatic circles, Unitarian Universalists must maintain a strong voice at the United Nations.

Trump's memorable visit to the United Nations in September 2018 included a conversation at the Security Council about weapons of mass destruction. During that session, many countries highlighted the need for nuclear powers to comply with existing treaties.

At a recent event at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in NYC, Chris King from the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs addressed the need for countries to come together to find a way to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals.

The risks of functionally delegating complex tasks – and associated decisions – to sensors and data-driven algorithms is one of the central issues of our time, with serious implications across sectors and societies. Nowhere are these more acute than in relation to decisions to...

This blog post examines the consequences of lethal drones and autonomous weapons systems, on the rise in state and non-state weapons systems around the world.

This blog is dedicated to the upcoming anniversary of a landmark Mine Ban Treaty and the work done by the Canadian Government and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in their efforts to implement the treaty.

In late July 2018, leaders from nearly every African Unitarian/Universalist community gathered in Nairobi, Kenya for a 3-day retreat.

Reflections from a Unitarian Universalist attendee on how to "do community" from the Reimagining Interfaith conference which took place in Washington, DC July 29 - August 1, 2018.

Jerry Ross describes his recent experience in Nagasaki at the 2018 World Conference Against Atom and Hydrogen Bombs where atom bomb survivors and activists represented a global mobilization to rid the world of nuclear weapons once and for all.

With migration becoming an increasingly critical issue across the globe, the new United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration is more needed than ever. Local and global communities must embrace and implement this Global Compact.

By taking a historical approach to explicating the origins of racism in the United States, this blog post explores the legacy of slavery and white supremacy in contemporary society. The key to bring more justice to African Americans is to disrupt the narrative of racial...

While there are a range of disarmament treaties that merit discussion, some recent ones mentioned in the news such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the New START, and the Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons are explained here more fully for our readers’ clarification.

Earlier this month, UUA President, Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, visited Transylvania to participate in the inauguration of the Hungarian Unitarian Church’s new ‘House of Religious Freedom’ and related events commemorating the 450th anniversary of the Edict of Torda.

Central American women fleeing violence are doubly victimized by the "zero-tolerance" policy that the Trump administration has unleashed upon refugees seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Many governments often spend millions in order to strengthen their armed forces (or billions in the case of the United States), there are 22 nations that have made the decision to have no army at all.

Throughout the month of June, LGBTQ Pride was celebrated around the world - in some places the tone was more celebratory than others, where the month was a time for political advocacy to push for LGBTQ human rights.

The Trump administration has withdrawn from the UN Human Rights Council over what the Trump administration calls the Council’s bias against Israel. What this decision shows is that this administration does not care about human rights being respected.

The four pillars of the Poor People's Campaign, poverty, racism, militarism and the war economy, and health and a healthy planet align closely with the initiatives of the United Nations - and this work must be shared.

Jerry Ross, UU-UNO Envoy at First Parish in Bedford, MA, reports on his experiences attending nuclear disarmament conferences in New York City.

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 of the Red Cross (ICRC)...

The Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office, 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.S....

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....

Identifying the connections between international treaties and local action for women's rights, a UU-UNO intern describes her experience putting together a panel at the UN's Commission on the Status of Women.

A summary of a recent panel discussion hosted by the Unitarian Universalist UN Office that examined climate justice at the intersection of environmental degradation and the racial, social, and economic inequities it perpetuates.

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 t ogether 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.

A group of youth and adults from First Parish Bedford (MA) Unitarian Universalist attended the 2018 Intergenerational Spring Seminar "When Crisis Calls: Advancing Just Migration for All" in New York City. They describe their experiences at the Seminar and what they learned.

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...

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...

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...

At the 2017 conference for the Australia and New Zealand Unitarian Universalist Association (ANZUUA), the new ANZUUA president Rev. Rob MacPherson issued a growth challenge to member organizations in the region.

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...

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...

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.