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Thursday, October 15, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse
Crisis and Opportunity at the UN
At this year’s highest-profile UN event, Donald Trump publicly mused over his ‘big decision’ about whether to ‘annihilate’ Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as dozens of delegates walked out, branded those who condemn genocide in Gaza ‘moral cowards’.
UN to Launch Survey to Track Down Racism at the Secretariat
The United Nations has once again revived a longstanding problem that has been left lingering behind closed doors for decades – racism and racial discrimination at the UN Secretariat.
Dollar System Eroding Slowly, but Still Dominant
The protracted demise of dollar-gold convertibility and associated fixed exchange rates did not end dollar hegemony. With crucial and timely help from political allies, confidence in the dollar system has persisted, albeit much diminished.
A Rash of Hard-Hitting Questions—Which May Remain Evasive–for Candidates Running for UN Chief
The seven candidates, still in the running for the post of UN Secretary-General (SG), have so far faced a barrage of questions, mostly from delegates and the news media.
Prioritize Multilateralism to Resolve Iran War Deepening Humanitarian Crisis, Says OSF Vice President
Seven months into the Iran War, threats of further military escalation and stalled efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have heightened fears of worsening humanitarian suffering and wider regional instability.
Forty Years of the ‘Right to Development’: When Growth Excludes, Is It Still Development?
World leaders have warned that the most vulnerable people have been left behind as the right to development has promised more than it has delivered, with development seemingly the preserve of the superrich and powerful.
From Vienna to New York: Nuclear Governance Faces New Tests Ahead of First TPNW Review Conference
The international nuclear order is facing another test as governments move from an inconclusive review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in New York to renewed disputes over safeguards and nuclear security in Vienna—and toward the first Review Conference of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) later this year.
A New Arms Race is Threatening to Take-off—this time in Outer Space
The world’s ongoing arms race is threatening to extend beyond planet earth—and spillover into outer space. The US has deployed weapons in space and will use them to defend American forces, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said last week, according to Cable News Network (CNN). His comments marked the first public acknowledgment of such capabilities, though he offered no details about the weapons or when they were put into orbit.
Nature and the Environment: How Can the UN Improve Its Work on the Environment?
In March 2025, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres launched “UN80”. Recognizing that the world is in a state of dramatic and rapid change at a time when funding for the UN is under threat from budget cuts, Guterres declared that, on the anniversary of the UN’s 80th birthday, a review of its work was long overdue. Now, UN80 is coming to a head with a set of recommendations that cover almost every aspect of the UN’s work.
US Visas for Ruthless Autocrats to Address UN – but not for Palestinian Leaders
When Yasser Arafat was denied a US visa for his second visit to New York to address the United Nations back in 1988, the General Assembly defied the United States by temporarily moving the UN’s highest policymaking body to Geneva—perhaps for the first time in UN history—providing a less hostile political environment and a platform for the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Ahead of COP17, UN Biodiversity Chief Urges Urgent Realignment of Finance with Nature Goals
The world may have enough money to protect nature. The bigger problem, according to the head of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), is that too much of it is still being spent on activities that destroy it.
Will the General Assembly Continue to be Subservient to the P-5 Refusing to Challenge the Nominee for UN Chief?
As the race for the election of a new Secretary-General (UNSG) gathers momentum, the spotlight is on the 193-member General Assembly, the highest policy making body at the United Nations, which has refused to assert itself and continues to play a subservient role in the elections of UNSGs.
Central Asia Marks 20 Years of Its Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone With Renewed Call for Disarmament
Twenty years after five Central Asian states signed a landmark treaty banning nuclear weapons across their region, their foreign ministers have used the anniversary to warn that faltering arms-control agreements, nuclear modernization and deepening international mistrust are placing global security under growing strain.
At Hammarskjöld’s Grave, Sixty-Five Years After Ndola
Late in August I stood at Dag Hammarskjöld’s grave in Uppsala. It is a quiet place, a long way from New York and from the wars the United Nations exists to prevent.
The Lighter Side of Politics at the UN General Assembly
When over 130 world leaders arrive in New York for the high-level segment of the General Assembly next week-- it will be rare to hear hard-hitting, headline-grabbing political statements from the podium.
US Plans to Restrict Foreign Journalists Trigger Rising Protests
First, it was the mass deportations of undocumented aliens, then a crackdown on liberal-minded academics from prestigious US Universities, and now, restrictions on foreign journalists based in the US.
Nuclear Victims’ Experiences Must Be at the Heart of Global Efforts for Assistance and Remediation
More and more, global disarmament discussions are encompassing the humanitarian and environmental impacts of the testing and use of nuclear weapons, as it becomes clear that the legacy of nuclear weapons leaves its mark on multiple generations.
35 Years After Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan’s Nuclear Choice Still Challenges the World
Across the vast steppe of northeastern Kazakhstan, the scars of the Cold War remain visible. At the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, the Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear tests between 1949 and 1989, exposing nearby communities to radiation and leaving health and environmental consequences that have endured across generations.
Will the Future of the UN be Dictated by a Hostile US?
As the UN commemorates its 81st anniversary, one lingering question remains: what is the future of the world body.? Will a hostile US downsize its operations at the United Nations, cut down its funding, continue defaulting in its payments -- and perhaps eventually, withdraw from the world body?
A Divided Vote for the UN’s Human Rights Chief
On 24 July, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly reappointed Volker Türk as High Commissioner for Human Rights for a further four years. Only 10 states – among them Israel, Russia and the USA – opposed the decision.
UN Reiterates its 18-Year-Old Ban on Smoking
When smoking was common in the corridors of the UN, in the delegate's lounge and in committee rooms during the 1970s and 90s, the office of the Secretary-General sent a memo that read: “Smoking was Discouraged” in the UN building—sounding far short of a ban.Next Page »
It was dubbed "The Glass House" by U.S. ambassador James Wadsworth in 1966. Half a century later, the United Nations has gradually expanded its role as agent of peace and protector of the world's vulnerable populations, while simultaneously facing internal pressures to become more inclusive, increase transparency and maintain legitimacy in the post-Cold War political and economic order. Highlighting the local impacts of global policies on economic development, environment, health and human rights, IPS's coverage goes beyond the edicts of the Security Council to illuminate the power struggles, successes and shortcomings of the 193-member institution as it grapples with crises like climate change, armed conflict, poverty and HIV/AIDS.
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