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....

In light of recent controversy about Mark Zuckerberg suing Hawaiians for their land, this article delves into land ownership in light of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

If you grew up in the U.S., you may have learned in school that the media is the fourth branch of the government. The media is not part of the federal government, but it “checks” public officials by fact checking their statements and providing the public with inside information they wouldn’t...

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.

This article by Sebabatso C. Manoeli was originally published June 29, 2020 on the site Africa is a Country. The post acknowledges the international potential of the current Black Lives Matter movement that originated in the United States and resonates in many countries that share a history of...

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...

When, exactly, did the looting start? We, in the UUA’s International Office, seek to lift up the histories of imperial looting and theft by empires seeking only to satiate their infinite appetites for power and domination. We steadfastly remain in solidarity with Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples across the globe...

There’s no question about it: The world as we knew it no longer exists. The upheaval to “normal life” caused by the coronavirus might also bring an upheaval to the structures that keep inequalities in place – but it’s not guaranteed. The pandemic has certainly drawn much wider attention to...

More than any other people on this planet, the Marshall Isl

The time has almost come for the 2020 UU-UNO Intergenerational Spring Seminar! With only two weeks left to register, participants have a lot to look forward to. Gathering from all over the United States and Canada, youth and adults with a shared passion for and commitment to international human...

“Our planet is made up of two breaths. One comes from the oceans and the other comes from the trees. Today, the oceans are under severe stress of being able to provide this to the world.” These words were part of the remarks delivered by H.E. Dr. Satyendra Prasad, the Permanent Representative of...

The United States has made little effort to improve their relationship with Native Americans compared to what other countries have done with indigenous populations. Starting in the 1600s Native American history has been riddled with mass genocide, residential schools, and discriminatory laws. The...

When I arrived at my hotel in Madrid the lobby was abuzz with a crowd of young people from Asia and Romania who had arrived to join Friday’s march of half a million people to demand climate action. The most visible public voice was Greta Thunberg, the Swedish student who had risen to world fame...

The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over crimes against the Rohingya people in Myanmar, according to a November 14 decision by its PreTrial Chamber. It said that although the Court could not take up these crimes while the Rohingya remained in Myanmar because the country does not belong...

With human rights under threat around the world, this Human Rights Day we all must be engaged to make sure that every person's human rights are respected and protected. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 71 years old today, lists the human rights that we must come together to fight for.

Women's rights groups at the United Nations are gearing up for the landmark year of 2020. 2020 marks a special year for the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). In May, the Generation Equality Forum will start in Mexico City, Mexico from May 7-8 and end with a...

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.

This summer I was the migration justice intern at the Unitarian Universalist UN Office. As I began my internship in June, the New York Times broke the story about migrant children being held in horrid, overcrowded, and unsanitary conditions at the U.S. border. Headline after headline revealed the...