On the occasion of Bruce Knotts' retirement, we would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation for his fifteen years of service as Director of the UUA Office at the United Nations....

Thirty years have passed since the official end of the Cold War—when tensions surrounding the use of nuclear weapons was at its highest—and the world is seeing a resurgence in the use of nuclear threats by leaders as a way to display power. With the ongoing war in Ukraine, one certainly...

“Violence is not striking us by chance; this violence has a target.” - Ana Paula Oliveira, Brazilian Human Rights Defender On June 22, 2022, the International Service for Human Rights hosted a virtual event titled “Resisting police violence: Demanding justice and accountability for victims of...

This post was originally sent out on May 6 via a monthly email message from Director Bruce Knotts of the Unitarian Universalist Association Office at the United Nations. Subscribe to the UU@UN email list. We are all justifiably horrified by the carnage resulting from the Russian Invasion of...

You are standing at the border, and with one look, you are dismissed. You cannot enter ultimately, because of the color of your skin....

The Parliament of the World's Religions and The Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN, in partnership with communities of faith, invite you to join the "Global Prayers for Ukraine: a multi-faith service for peace and freedom in a hurting world."

On December 15, 2021 the Unitarian Universalist Association’s office at the United Nations (UU@UN) hosted an event on “Human Rights and Policing Through a Global Lens.” This event was created to educate people on current global policing policies and how those policies affect those in...

December 18 is International Migrants Day, an occasion to recognize and mobilize around protecting migrants’ fundamental human rights. In the face of climate chaos, we must advance just, compassionate policies.

Introduction The visual that circulated in September 2021 of U.S. Border patrolmen chasing Haitian asylum seekers on horseback made many who saw it think of the slave patrols that roamed the Southern U.S. states before emancipation....

This post was originally sent out on July 23 via a monthly email message from Director Bruce Knotts of the Unitarian Universalist Association Office at the United Nations. Subscribe to the UU@UN email list. We are faced with what looks like a dilemma but isn’t really. Calls to defund and...

Introduction In September of 1990, the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders adopted the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials....

The United Nations condemns extrajudicial killings. A new UU@UN initiative aims to include police killings in that category, to push for more accountability and end police militarization globally.

Introduction Several international bodies have attempted to address global police militarization and its effect on police brutality in many nations. Amnesty International defines police brutality as “various human rights violations by police… this includes beatings, racial abuse, unlawful...

This post was originally sent out on October 23 via a monthly email message from Director Bruce Knotts of the Unitarian Universalist Association Office at the United Nations. Subscribe to the UU@UN email list. The world and the United Nations needs the United States to lead....

Police forces in the U.S. are notoriously more violent and deadly than police in other Western democracies. Over the last seven years, U.S. police have killed at least 1,000 people every year. This is not normal.

How certain countries’ police departments violate UN standards for anti-discrimination and use of force by targeting and using excessive force against Black people and people of color.

The Black Lives Matter Movement began in 2013 after the murder of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon, a teenage African American boy was followed by a suspicious neighborhood watchman. The two ended up getting in a scuffle, and Trayvon was fatally shot. After the shooting, many Americans, especially Black...

In the centennial year 2000, while the world was getting used to writing or typing the year beginning with a “2” instead of a “1,” nations were introduced to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals encouraging the 189 member states to adopt a set of 8 goals for a timeline of 15...

There are many aspects to helping our planet disarm meaningfully. 108 countries are now part of treaties that have established nuclear free zones around the world. They are making a concerted effort to create a nuclear free planet and that alone needs to be applauded and the trend encouraged.

On the 74th birthday of the United Nations, we celebrate the UN's accomplishments while also recognizing the urgency of taking action to keep it strong as it comes under threat from the rise of authoritarianism & isolationism around the world.