The UN Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee has published draft findings concluding that the UK breached Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention during the development of the EU Withdrawal Bill. The Committee found that the UK failed to: (1) implement required public consultation timeframes; (2) make the draft Bill available for public scrutiny; and (3) provide opportunities for public feedback. The findings, which follow a 2017 complaint by Friends of the Earth, will become legally binding under international law if adopted by the Convention’s member states in November 2025. If adopted, the UK will be required to implement legislative changes to ensure effective public consultation on future environmental laws. The UK government may choose to implement the findings ahead of the November 2025 meeting.

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted the United Nations Convention on Negotiable Cargo Documents, creating a new legal framework that allows goods transported by road, rail, air or sea to be represented by a single negotiable document, in paper or electronic form. The Convention aims to facilitate global trade by enabling goods to be bought, sold or used as collateral while in transit, reducing paperwork, supporting digital trade and improving access to finance, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises and businesses in developing and landlocked economies.

The Un General Assembly has published the Working Group’s 49th session report. The Working Group, which is composed of all states members of the commission, held its 49th session from 23-27 September 2024 at the Vienna International Centre. The reports of the Working Group covers the discussions and decisions made during their sessions, which brings together experts to explore ways to improve Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). The reports typically outline the progress made, challenges faced, and future directions for the reform process. The 49th session began with discussions on the draft statute of a standing mechanism for the resolution of international investment disputes, followed by two days of discussion on the draft provisions on procedural and cross-cutting issues. The last day of the session was devoted to the draft multilateral instrument on ISDS reform.

The UN Global Compact Network UK, in collaboration with University College London, Newcastle University and Euromonitor International, has published a report, ‘Trailblazers & Transformers: UK Business Sectors Redefining Sustainability’. The report examines how six high-impact UK sectors are performing against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), identifying key challenges, benchmarks performance and providing actionable recommendations to support sustainability strategies. It provides sector-specific insights to strengthen environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and to support the integration of sustainability within corporate strategy and operations. The report also outlines policy priorities aimed at creating an enabling environment that supports responsible business practices, enhances global competitiveness and unlocks sustainable investment at scale. In addition, it highlights cross-sector trends, including common barriers, leadership gaps and opportunities for collaboration and innovation. The analysis draws on data from the UN Global Compact Communication on Progress, World Benchmarking Alliance benchmarks, policy context and market trends to inform and guide company sustainability strategies.

The United Nations has announced the launch of the first call for projects targeting the safe and sustainable management of chemicals and waste from the Global Framework on Chemicals. This comes one year after the framework’s adoption at the Fifth Conference on Chemicals Management. Selected projects will receive $300,000 to $800,000 USD for up to three years to support transformative change to prevent and minimise harm from chemicals and waste and to protect the environment and human health, including vulnerable groups and workers. Projects will need to have co-financing and in-kind contributions of at least 25%. Governments can apply for funding as well as civil society networks, subject to an agreement with the respective government. The first round of applications closes on 31 January 2025.

The UNHCR has published a legal note on the use of third country 'returns hubs' where states would forcibly transfer people whose asylum claims have been refused to a third country for that third country to try and remove them to their country of origin. The note recognises that this may involved the detention of refused asylum seekers, but the UNHCR appears supportive of the use of these hubs in certain situations.

The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, has published a position paper warning that no government policy, bilateral deal or migration reform can override the absolute prohibition on returning a person to a place where they face a real risk of torture. Issued amid the EU's new Return Regulation, the Council of Europe's Chișinău Declaration and US deportations to African and Latin American countries, the paper reaffirms that non-refoulement is codified in Article 3 of the Convention against Torture, Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and regional human rights treaties and now constitutes customary international law. Edwards asserts that states retain broad powers to deport, extradite and manage migration, but must exercise those powers lawfully. Every person facing removal where a torture risk is raised must receive a meaningful, fair and individualised assessment. Collective expulsions are prohibited, and country conditions alone cannot determine outcomes—the decisive question is the risk to the specific individual. The paper also warns that routing individuals through third-country 'return hubs' does not extinguish the sending state's obligations, as chain refoulement remains unlawful regardless of how responsibility is structured.

The United Nation (UN) has adopted the Pact for the Future along with its annex, the Global Digital Compact, which is a first global agreement on international regulation of AI. The Global Digital Compact works toward the UN's commitments, which include ensuring digital technologies support sustainable development and human rights, and focuses on risks such as digital divides, cybersecurity and misuse of technology. It also seeks to promote responsible use of AI, encourage global co-operation on AI capabilities and security threats, and commits governments to form an impartial Scientific Panel on AI.

The UN has announced that the Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), will enter into force on 17 January 2026, following the ratifications by Morocco and Sierra Leone on 19 September 2025. The EU and its member states are among the parties that have ratified the Agreement, which establishes legally binding rules to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, ensure equitable sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources, designate protected areas and strengthen scientific cooperation and capacity building. A Preparatory Commission, established in April 2024, is currently developing governance structures ahead of the first Conference of the Parties, which must be convened within one year of the Agreement’s entry into force.

The United Nations has reported that Panama has signed the United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration, also known as the Mauritius Convention on Transparency. This brings the total number of signatories to 25, with nine State Parties. The signing coincides with the Convention's 10th anniversary and underscores its continued relevance in promoting transparency in investor-State arbitrations. Additionally, UNCITRAL announced that the European Union has committed to three more years of financial support for the Transparency Registry, which serves as a central repository for investor-State dispute settlement documents.

United Nations (UN) experts (including the Special Rapporteurs on contemporary forms of slavery, trafficking in persons and human rights and migrants, as well as members of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations) have expressed alarm at what they consider to be the systematic exposure of migrant workers in the UK to deception, exorbitant recruitment fees, debt bondage, undignified living conditions, and potential deportation. They have expressed concern over the lack of safeguards for affected migrants who may suffer various forms of exploitation, become victims of trafficking or be threatened with deportation. The panel of experts has urged the UK to step up its efforts in offering protection to those migrants at risk.

Law360: An alliance of global insurers formed to accelerate the sector's move to a carbon-neutral economy was replaced on 25 April 2024 by a group encompassing less stringent requirements, after attempts to establish shared climate efforts prompted legal and regulatory backlash last year.