United Nations

BLOG
UN Devotes New Day to Combatting Anti-Religious Violence
There’s a day that now comes right after the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism. Because hand in hand with terrorism comes Violence Based on Religion or Belief.
BLOG
A New Social Contract: Inclusion for the World’s Indigenous People
It’s a familiar story the world over. To bigots, opportunists and fools, to be indigenous is a badge of inferiority. Over the centuries, indigenous people, be they the 40,000-year-old Hadzabe of Tanzania or the Yakye Axa of Paraguay or the Okieks of Kenya or the Nimiipuu of Idaho (known more familiarly as the Nez Perce), have seen their sacred lands desecrated, their people decimated, their territorial rights, culture, and language ignored and above all, the rights to their own identity threatened.
BLOG
“All Are Responsible. All Must Act.”—UN Targets Hate Speech as Public Enemy Number One
The United Nations, responding to the alarming rise in hate speech internationally, proclaimed June 18, 2022 as the first annual International Day for Countering Hate Speech.
BLOG
How the Right to Education Can Answer Our Troubles
Why do we still see war, poverty, religious intolerance, persecution, political upheaval, civil conflict, human trafficking, crime, and illiteracy?
BLOG
International Day of Tolerance Turns 25, and the World Is Turning a Corner
Celebrate, in whatever way you can. The world is turning a corner. There is an incredible amount of work to be done, but good people everywhere are doing it.
BLOG
International Day of Tolerance—Why It’s Worth Celebrating
The idea that one group has a monopoly on the truth has been proven false time and time again. We are each shaped by the uniqueness of our experiences. The point of universal human rights is to create an environment in which people can peacefully coexist regardless of difference, and ideally we can learn to celebrate the endless diversity that creates the human experience.
BLOG
Protecting the World’s Children From Discrimination on World Children’s Day
Imagine the condition of the world today if that principle had been universally adhered to when it was written. That would be a world worth celebrating.
BLOG
Reflections on International Day Against Racism
The world recently celebrated United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and I wanted to write about it.
BLOG
UN Youth Summit Inspires Human Rights Advocates Worldwide
I met Christians, Buddhists, Bahá’ís, Sikhs and Muslims. They were all united in their belief that fundamental human rights belong to every single person on earth and that teaching others the value of these rights is one of the most important things we could be doing.
BLOG
The UN Deserves Better Than Arielle Silverstein
Working for the United Nations is an honor. The UN’s core values reflect a desire for a better, safer, freer society for all. Its charter includes the purposes “promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.”