It’s Time to Unbury the IMF’s Hidden Gold

Countries across the Global South face an accelerating climate crisis, tepid growth, and unsustainable levels of debt. Yet hopes of finding support at the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Annual Meetings in Washington are dim. The IMF is tightening its purse strings — even as it leaves untouched a vast treasure of more than 3,000 tons of gold that offers a prime opportunity to stabilize the global economy.

World Bank and Other MDBs Need to Tackle Rich Country GHG Emissions to Support Development

The World Bank and other multilateral development banks recently have begun reconsidering their self-imposed restrictions on financing fossil fuel projects. This change is being prompted in part by the new U.S. administration and is also supported by developing country experts. Yet, the reality remains that greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from fossil fuels, and specifically the climate change they induce, can severely undermine multilateral development bank projects and overall developing country growth prospects.

From Algorithms to Accountability: What Global AI Governance Should Look Like

Recent research from Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI warns that bias in artificial intelligence remains deeply rooted even in models designed to avoid it and can worsen as models grow. From bias in hiring of men over women for leadership roles, to misclassification of darker-skinned individuals as criminals, the stakes are high.

Strengthening East Asian Cooperation via ASEAN?

Global South cooperation arrangements must evolve to better respond to pressing contemporary and imminent challenges, rather than risk being irrelevant straitjackets stuck in the past.

Guiding Disaster Risk-Reduction Investments Through AI-Powered Tools

The theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters,” called for the urgent need to shift from reactive spending on recovery to proactive investment in disaster risk reduction.

Quo Vadis UN @80?

The United Nations turned 80 this year. What should have been a moment of pride and celebration at the high-level session of the UN General Assembly in September 2025 turned instead into an occasion of bitter irony.

Breaking the Silence in Tokyo: A Kazakh Filmmaker Confronts the Nuclear Scars Through Her Documentary “Jara”

 
[caption id="attachment_192574" align="alignleft" width="300"]Aigerim Seitenova stepped forward in a black T-shirt and green skirt to introduce her 31-minute documentary, “Jara – Radioactive Patriarchy: Women of Qazaqstan.”　The screening event was co-organized by the Kazakh Nuclear Frontline Coalition (ASQAQQNFC), the Soka Gakkai Peace Committee, and Peace Boat, with support from Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (JANA).

Abusive Governments Set to Win Seats in Human Rights Council

Egypt and Vietnam are on track to secure seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council despite being woefully unfit for membership. The UN General Assembly will elect members to the UN’s premier rights body in a noncompetitive vote on October 14, 2025.

Moldova’s Democratic Defiance

Democracy was the winner and Russia the loser in Moldova’s 28 September election. The incumbent pro-Europe Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) won a parliamentary majority on just over half of the vote, while support for a pro-Russia coalition collapsed to a record low. The result came in the face of Russia’s most intense attempt yet to influence an election, with a propaganda and disinformation operation allegedly orchestrated by Ilan Shor, a disgraced Moldovan oligarch who fled to Russia to escape jail time for his role in a massive fraud.

Civil Society on the Edge

The collapse of aid architecture is one of the greatest dangers for civic space. This shift is not accidental but systemic, reflecting deliberate policy choices – not only by the US but accelerated by its decisions- that prioritize security agendas over human rights and solidarity.

Urban Food Insecurity Is Surging – Here’s How Cities Can Respond

Millions of people in the United States and around the world continue to face food insecurity, meaning they cannot access safe and nutritious food necessary for living their fullest lives, and they often do not know where their next meal will come from. According to Feeding America, 47 million people in the United States are food insecure. Worldwide, 673 million people experience food insecurity.

When Women Lead, Peace Follows

We meet on the eve of the twenty-fifth anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325—a milestone born of the multilateral system’s conviction that peace is more robust, security more enduring, when women are at the table.

No African Development from Western Trade Policies

The World Bank’s 1981 Berg Report provided the blueprint for structural adjustment, including economic liberalisation in Africa. Urging trade liberalisation, it promised growth from its supposed comparative advantage in agriculture.

Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan: Today, Tomorrow and the Day After

Back in January last year, my Toda Policy Brief 182 was published with the title “Israel and Gaza: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”. On 29 September this year, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a joint press conference to announce a peace plan for Gaza. The plan’s title could well have been “Gaza: Today, Tomorrow and the Day After”. Trump’s yearning for the Nobel Peace Prize is no secret, possibly out of Obama-envy. If the bold and audacious 20-point Gaza plan succeeds, he will surely deserve the award. For it entails the end of Hamas as a governing force in Gaza and a security threat to Israel, gives Arabs the stability they seek in the region, promises a terror-free future for Israel and keeps alive the dream of a Palestinian state. That said, however, potholes, there be a few on the pathway to Middle East peace.

Politically Motivated Murders Across the United States

Following the murder of Charles Kirk, a U.S. conservative activist, in Orem, Utah on September 10, various remarks, commentaries, and accusations have been made regarding politically motivated murders occurring across the United States.

From Storm to Strength: Odisha’s “Zero Casualty” Model for Community-Centered Disaster Resilience

South Asia is home to nearly two billion people and ranks among the most disaster-prone subregions in Asia and the Pacific. Every year, millions face exposure to floods, cyclones and other extreme events. The Bay of Bengal alone accounts for nearly 80 per cent of global cyclone-related deaths, with storms striking Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka with growing frequency.

Mali’s Blocked Transition: Five Years of Deepening Authoritarianism

When Mali’s former Prime Minister Moussa Mara stood trial in Bamako’s cybercrime court on 29 September, charged with undermining state authority for expressing solidarity with political prisoners on social media, his prosecution represented far more than one person’s fate. It epitomised how thoroughly the military junta has dismantled Mali’s democratic foundations, five years after seizing power with promises of swift reform.

Justice for Palestinians Can’t Wait for a Peace Deal

The calamitous situation in Gaza, with Palestinian civilians facing extermination and ethnic cleansing by Israeli forces, was a major focus of the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high-level week. Along with recognition of the state of Palestine by France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, among others, states made key commitments on human rights and accountability that were overwhelmingly adopted by the UNGA and now need to be fulfilled.

Israel, Gaza, and the Erosion of International Order

As a world leader and beneficiary of the international system, the United States should be at the forefront of efforts to enforce rules and laws to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, protect civilians in conflict, and block weapons transfers to states that engage in war crimes or genocide.

Are Youth-led Revolutions in South Asia a Cause for Concern?

In the Global South, where people under the age of 18 comprise more than 50 percent of the population, youth activism is increasing rapidly. Youngsters are more agile and volatile than older people, less restrained by family, prestige and work. However, many suffer from marginalisation, lack of employment, and poverty. Furthermore, insecurity and limited life experience make young people an easy target for manipulating and unscrupulous politicians, criminal networks, and religious fanatics.

West Bank: Record Number of Demolitions over Building Permits as Israel Furthers Annexation Agenda

In less than nine months, Israel has demolished more Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over building permits than in the whole of last year.