Stigmatization is the Entry Door for Repression and Violence

Information manipulation and misinformation are not new phenomena, but they have taken on exaggerated importance, especially with the massive use of social media.

Building Resilience Against Climate Risks: The Transformative Role of Social Protection

While the impact of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine on food system disruptions was widely covered, underlying food system vulnerabilities across Asia and the Pacific had been steadily growing long before these crises unfolded.

When Will World Food Day be a Day to Actually Celebrate?

World Food Day seems like it should be a time to celebrate. A day to eat delicious meals and enjoy the rich traditions and cultures of food around the globe.

It’s High Time to Turn the “Right to Foods” for a Healthy, Nutritious & Affordable Diet into Reality

This year the theme for World Food Day is “Right to Foods for a Better Life and a Better Future.” It’s a timely reminder that all people have the right to adequate foods. But how do we get from a right to a reality? And why is it so important to think about not just having sufficient food, but also the diversity of diets?

What do Russia and Israel Share in Common?

Russia is pursuing, during these contemporary times, a new form of economic architecture, non-hegemonic policies and simultaneously portraying its first-class military power in the world. Russia's development paradigm is distinctively different and largely oriented towards Global South.

With Climate Change, Government Apathy, Who Should Kerala’s Fishworkers Turn To?

Every morning before dawn, fishworkers along the shores of Kochi, Kerala, head out to sea, casting their nets in the shadow of the iconic Cheenavala—the Chinese fishing nets that have become a symbol of their community. I witnessed this time-honored tradition, once a reliable means of survival, now a daily gamble, a fight against unpredictable seas and shrinking fish populations. 

Amazonian Bioeconomy: An Essential Path for Sustainable Development

The Amazon is at a critical juncture. Despite its abundant biodiversity, cultural richness, and immeasurable environmental value, it faces serious threats that endanger its future and the communities that depend on it.

The Future of Civic Freedoms: Lessons from My Time at CIVICUS

When I joined CIVICUS in 2019, I came in with two decades of work on influencing and monitoring public policies through grassroots and global activism. Joining CIVICUS as Secretary-General felt familiar, like returning home after a period of separation. My first international role in 2006 – as Campaign Director of the Global Call to Action against Poverty – was initially hosted by CIVICUS. One of my most memorable campaign endeavours, The World We Want 2015, was conceptualised in the basement of CIVICUS House in 2011.

Strategic Patience can Mitigate Conflict Between Israel & Iran

How will Israel respond to Iran’s recent ballistic missiles barrage? “Strategic patience” is the best course. Israel has its hands full with Hamas and Hezbollah. Now is not the time to escalate a new major war with Iran, which could have nuclear implications.

IPEF: Much Ado about Nothing

After 2.5 years, US President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) is increasingly irrelevant due to its own limitations and broader US foreign policy shifts.

Playing Nuclear Games: Tickling the Tail of the Promethean Nuclear Fire Dragon

In recent years, the rhetoric, strategy and practice of nuclear deterrence has grown riskier, more urgent, more dangerous, less stable, and increasingly in the hands of deficient leaders and policymakers.

Republicans Blame Women for America’s Low Birth Rate

Countries around the world are experiencing low birth rates. In 2022, more than one hundred countries, representing two-thirds of world’s population, experienced fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman.

“Escalation Dominance” . . . and the Prospect of More Than 1,000 Holocausts

Everything is at stake. Everything is at stake with nuclear weapons. While working as a nuclear war planner for the Kennedy administration, Daniel Ellsberg was shown a document calculating that a U.S. nuclear attack on communist countries would result in 600 million dead. As he put it later: “A hundred Holocausts.”

Empowering Change & Resilience: Social Protection in the Age of Megatrends

Social protection systems are essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, social protection is insufficient across Asia and the Pacific, and the region is at risk from megatrends: climate change, demographic shifts and digitalization. Tens of millions of people have been pushed into extreme poverty since COVID-19, reversing past gains, and many millions more live precariously just above the poverty line.

May Teacher Voices Echo Around the Globe

We must build a new social contract for education – a contract based on equality, equity, and universal human rights. At the center of our global efforts to ensure education for all, we must put teachers first in everything we do. They are frontlines heroes who deliver every day to educate children, cultivate young talent, and build a strong society. They are the substitute parents, the mentors and the ones who contribute to shaping the identify of a child in war, in refuge or in climate change.

To Put a Stop to Siphoning off Money, Start with Data

The commonly used Bangla phrase for siphoning off money out of the country – “taka pachar” – is rather misleading. Because taka, the Bangladeshi currency, is never taken out of Bangladesh. It’s not useful anywhere else. What goes out is its equivalence in foreign currencies, especially, US dollars. The technical term for such criminal act is Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs). Mistakenly, sometimes IFFs are referred to as money laundering – a processing of criminal proceeds to disguise their illegal origin.

The UN Cybercrime Convention: A New Repressive Tool in Disguise?

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime hailed the recently agreed Cybercrime Convention as a ‘landmark step’ in cooperating to tackle online dangers. But human rights organisations aren’t so sure.

Will Ukraine Benefit if IMF Ends its Punitive Fees on Debt Burdened Countries?

Over the coming month, the United States has a window of opportunity to lift a multi-billion-dollar burden from Ukraine, and other countries in financial distress, without costing the US taxpayer a dime.

BRICS+ Prioritising Expansion to Fight Western Hegemony

In an interview with Sky News Arabia on September 20, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed scepticism but was straight to the point about the strategic expansion of BRICS, an association comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Under Russia's BRICS presidency which began in January 2024.

Nuclear Annihilation Threatened by Revival of 20h Century McCarthy Era Cold War & Red Scare

The world may have dodged an immediate bullet when the US intelligence agencies warned, this week, that by giving in to Ukraine’s pleading for long range missiles that could attack targets deep into Russia, we would be poking the Russian bear beyond its patience without even influencing the outcome of the war in Ukraine’s favor.

Nasrallah: Stronger Dead than Alive

There is no question that Hassan Nasrallah was a powerful orator. He could hold millions of followers in rapt attention—even adoration—through his deep voice, logic, passion, and wit.