The U.N. at 70: A Time for Compliance

At key anniversaries of the U.N., there have been calls for compliance with international instruments.

Grenadian Fishermen on the Front Lines of a Rising Sea

Grenada and its tourism-dependent Caribbean neighbours are thought to be among the globe's most vulnerable countries to the myriad impacts of climate change, especially coastal flooding due to natural disasters and storm surges.

Grenada Braces for Impacts of Climate Change

Henry Prince has lived in this fishing village for more than six decades. Prince, 67, who depends on the sea for his livelihood, said he has been catching fewer and fewer fish, and the decrease is taking a financial toll on him and other fisher folk throughout the island nation of Grenada.

Middle East Conflicts Trigger New U.S.-Russia Arms Race

The escalating military conflicts in the Middle East – and the month-long aerial bombings of Yemen by an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia – have triggered a new arms race in the politically-volatile region.

Peace Is Not a Boy’s Club

Governments have long pledged to bring more women to the peace table, but for many (if not most), it has been little more than lip service.

Opinion: Arab Youth Have No Trust in Democracy

The results of a survey of what 3,500 young people between the ages of 18 and 24 – in all Arab countries except Syria – feel about the current situation in the Middle East and North Africa have just been released.

New Anti-Terrorism Law Batters Cameroonians Seeking Secession

Cameroon’s government under President Paul Biya is bearing down on a separatist movement fighting for the rights of a minority English-language region, using as its weapon a sweeping new anti-terrorism law introduced at the end of last year.

Swelling Ethiopian Migration Casts Doubt on its Economic Miracle

The 28 Ethiopian migrants of Christian faith murdered by the Islamic State (IS) on Apr. 19 in Libya had planned to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of work in Europe.

Kenyan Pastoralists Protest Wanton Destruction of Indigenous Forest

Armed with twigs and placards, enraged residents from a semi-pastoral community 360 km north of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, protested this week against wanton destruction of indigenous forest – their alternative source of livelihood.

Push to Privatise Education in Global South Challenged

The multinational education and publishing company Pearson PLC was challenged during its annual general meeting on Apr. 24 by representatives of civil society and trade union groups over various profit-driven programmes aimed at expanding private education in numerous countries in the global South. 

U.N. Committee Gets ‘Unhindered Access’ to Azerbaijan’s Detention Centres – But Is it Enough?

Months after being denied access to Azerbaijan’s places of detention, the head of the United Nation’s Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) announced Friday that her four-member delegation had successfully conducted investigations of Azerbaijani prisons, police stations and investigative isolation units.

Media Watchdog Unveils Top Ten Worst Censors

While technology has given millions greater freedom to express themselves, in the world's 10 most censored countries, this basic right exists only on paper, if at all.

Planned Mega-Port in Brazil Threatens Rich Ecological Region

Activists and local residents have brought legal action aimed at blocking the construction of a nearly 50 sq km port terminal in the Northeast Brazilian state of Bahia because of the huge environmental and social impacts it will have.

Corruption in Southeast Asia Said to Threaten Economic Integration

Rampant corruption across Southeast Asia threatens to derail plans for greater economic integration, according to Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption.

Opinion: To Solve Hunger, Start with Soil

Peter looked confused as he recounted how he’d painstakingly planted potatoes to sell and to feed his family of eight, only to find that when harvest time rolled around he had been greeted with tiny tubers not much bigger than golf balls.

Opinion: Burundi – Fragile Peace at Risk Ahead of Elections

Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is not permitted to get close to an airport, train station or port without authorisation from a judge.  He cannot travel outside of the capital of his native Burundi, Bujumbura. Whenever called upon, he must present himself before judicial authorities.

UNDP and Turkey Partner on New Regional Hub

On Thursday, the United Nations and the government of Turkey launched a new Istanbul Regional Hub, which provides support to the countries and territories in which the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) works in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Riches in World’s Oceans Estimated at Staggering 24 Trillion Dollars

The untapped riches in the world’s oceans are estimated at nearly 24 trillion dollars – the size of the world’s leading economies, according to a new report released Thursday by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Talk of Death Squads to Combat New Wave of Gang Violence in El Salvador

The resurgence of violent crime in El Salvador is giving rise to a hostile social environment in El Salvador reminiscent of the country’s 12-year civil war, which could compromise the country’s still unsteady democracy.

Opinion: The World Has Reached Peak Plutocracy

Parents in despair because they can’t pay the fees at the privatised neighbourhood school…

Opinion: Challenging the Nuclear Powers’ Extremism

On the eve of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference five years ago, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that governments alone will not rid the world of the specter of nuclear annihilation.