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....

Register today for the Post-Imperial Futures conference! Scholars. Activists. Ministers. Leaders: The legacy of Empire and its desire to dominate and mark out Otherness has us participate in harmful colonial enterprises. Participants will be equipped with resources and practices to live into the...

On Friday, September 23, from 3:30 - 5 pm ET, The Unitarian Universalist Association will be hosting an in person event, “UNGA Resolution on Human Right to Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment” as a part of the Holistic Climate Solutions Summit. Convened during 2022’s UN General Assembly...

As July has come to a close, be sure to remember Disability Pride Month and challenge yourself to learn more about disability and listen to disabled people.

“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...

Just days before the June 2022 G7 Summit, where world leaders meet to face the biggest challenges that exist in our world, Roe v. Wade was overturned in the United States, ending 50 years of federally protected abortion rights. Prior to meeting for the G7 Summit, the United States’ allies voiced...

This post was originally sent out on June 20 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 Keynote speakers at this year’s Intergenerational Spring Seminar were the Pacific...

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....

This post was originally sent out on March 25 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. Each year at the United Nations, we follow a pattern of important events based on regular...

Are you a youth wondering what the UU@UN spring seminar is like? Questioning if you want to register? Worried you will feel out of place or like your voice doesn’t matter? Well, here is a quick guide to what the experience has been like in the past for youth, what youth have to look forward to at...

Earlier this week our community partners across India celebrated International Women's Day. They gathered in village squares and in city centers, in small circles under trees and in huge crowds under tents. They danced and sang. They celebrated successes and reflected on losses – recharging...

This post was originally sent out on February 18 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 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."

“Using Art as Advocacy” was a webinar hosted on February 17, 2022 by the UU@UN (Unitarian Universalist Association’s office at the United Nations). This event showed how art can be used to build community and inspire change in chaotic times. Art can result in profound social change when used...

If you are someone like me who reads and thinks about human rights and climate change all the time, then attending the UU Spring Seminar event this year might be something that you would thoroughly enjoy....

The United Nations Headquarters in New York City had hoped to begin 2022 by opening its doors and welcoming the world back home. However, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has disrupted UN plans as it has everyone else’s.

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.

In honor of Human Rights Day, UU@UN Director reflects on the human rights priorities of the UUA Office at the UN, expressing gratitude for the generosity of supporters which sustains the office’s work.

As a child, I could not tell that day by day, I was growing. Instead, my father marked my height every year so we could see how much I had grown. October 24, 2021 is the 76th birthday of the United Nations. The UN Charter was signed in 1945 by the representatives of 51 nations. (All those...

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 September 24 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....

India is now emerging from Covid’s devastating second wave. After months of frantic searches for oxygen and overflowing hospitals, infections are declining. But the trauma of so much loss still cuts deep. Every family was touched in some way by the crisis. As we learn more of what happened on the...

In a few days, the UN will convene people virtually from around the world for a Food Systems Summit aimed at transforming food systems globally to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2015, the UN set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable...

This post was originally sent out on August 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. I’m a cancer survivor. Those who know about cancer know that early detection and action...

Human-made climate change has contributed to global displacement of tens of millions. An international approach, prioritizing human life over political and corporate power, is the only effective solution.

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 UU Holdeen India Program shares reflections on the second surge of Covid-19 in India.

Food security is a pressing issue around the globe, and it’s on the rise. The United Nations estimated that nearly 9% of the world’s population suffered from chronic hunger in 2019. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing surges in food prices, impacting availability of high-nutrient food, and...

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.

The 2021 Intergenerational Seminar focused on grounding, connecting, and equipping attendees to create climate and food justice.

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...

White supremacist and nationalist ideologies are rising to power globally, a trend that manifests in surging anti-immigrant policies. The UN and UUA Office at the UN are working to address this.

This post was originally sent out on February 19 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. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with...

This post was originally sent out on January 25 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....

This post was originally sent out on December 28 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. Why are Unitarian Universalists at the United Nations? At a recent meeting of the NGO...

For UN Human Rights Day, on December 8 at 12PM EST, the Unitarian Universalist Association at the United Nations will be hosting “The Right to Joy: Women of African Descent Ascending”, a webinar organized to celebrate the perseverance of women of African descent globally. The joyous event has...

Fast fashion is produced when retailers look at runways and fashion trends and quickly make those styles available for purchase at a cheap price. To make this model work, businesses constantly look at what’s in style and pump out new items almost every week. Quick and cheap fashion also means...

For five weeks in the fall of 2020, the International Unitarian/Universalist Joint Working Group (Unitarian Universalist Association International Office, the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, and the UU Partner Church Council) hosted a five-part webinar series that posed the...

My position working for a non-governmental organization gives me a unique perspective, seeing the leverage NGOs have over intergovernmental entities in advocacy and agenda-setting. I’m extremely excited to be working with the UU@UN and further researching human rights advocacy and climate change.

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....

Greetings to the Unitarian Universalist community! My name is Shanice Bryant and I am overjoyed to join the Unitarian Universalist Association Office at the United Nations this academic year. As an intern, I hope to use my privilege to work toward domestic and global liberation in historically...

Hello Unitarian Universalist community! My name is Noorjahan Aktar and I am excited to be a part of the team at the Unitarian Universalist Office at the United Nations this year....

My name is Ashley Emuka and I am excited to be working with the Unitarian Universalist Association at the United Nations this year! As a UU@UN intern, I hope to use this opportunity to learn more about global collaboration and advocacy for radical change to serve marginalized people worldwide.

National elections have a much more global impact than we sometimes consider. Take the world community into account when filling out your ballot.

This post was originally sent out on September 25 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. Together with the rest of the world, we mourn the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of the nature of domestic violence and intimate partner violence. It does not contain any graphic depictions of violence or abuse. The final paragraph contains information about resources....