An Afghan Appeal to UN Leadership

We are a group of Afghans living in the country and working across sectors including peace, civil society, humanitarian aid, human rights, media, and the private sector, and are working to promote dialogue and seek long-term solutions for our country.

A Letter from Kabul

I am writing from Kabul where I have been living for this past 11 months. I consider myself a friend of Afghanistan, a country full of contrasts that I know since 1986; I have lived here for a little over 12 years.

America’s Illegal Immigration Predicament

Approximately 225 million people from around the world would like to migrate permanently to the United States. But given America’s current policies, relatively few of them will be able to do so legally.

How the Rise of Timor-Leste’s Aquaculture Sector Is a Blueprint for Other Small Island Nations

For Timor-Leste, as with most other islands in the Pacific, fortunes are to be found in fish – an equity food available to all regardless of status.

To Confront Our Current Crises, It’s Time to Put Our Money Where Our Mouth Is

The finance sector’s role in the current global crises – notably climate, biodiversity, and food security – is significant. Polluting activities and environmentally-destructive practices for short-term economic gains have catapulted us to our current untenable situation. We're ‘sawing off the branch we’re sitting on’ by sacrificing life-giving ecosystem services for profit, and that branch is sagging and splitting under our weight.

Safeguarding the Future of Independent Media – & Our Democracies

There’s a now familiar groan every time the lights go out in South Africa. Due to a critical shortage of electricity, the national power utility institutes a daily regimen of scheduled power cuts.

UN Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists

Freedom of the press is the cornerstone of democratic society. Without a debate of ideas, without verified facts, without diversity of perspectives, democracy is a shadow of itself; and World Press Freedom Day was established to remind us of this.

Empowering Women is Key to Breaking the Devastating Cycle of Poverty & Food Insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa

Studies consistently show that women have lower rates of agricultural productivity compared to men in the region, but it’s not because they’re less efficient farmers.

Media Freedom is Vital but have we Passed Peak Press?

Peak oil was first up, followed by peak gas, gold and others, as if the world was draining natural resources like toilet roll panic buying in a lockdown supermarket. But should we now be worried about Peak Press?

Fiji: Deeper Democracy or Continuing Danger?

It’s been a time of significant change in Fiji following the country’s December 2022 election. A close vote was followed by the formation of a new coalition government. Frank Bainimarama was out as prime minister after 16 years, replaced by Sitiveni Rabuka.

Afghanistan Special Envoys Should Hold Firm Line on Rights

On May 1, United Nations member states’ special envoys on Afghanistan will meet in Doha, Qatar to discuss how to address the Taliban’s latest restrictions on humanitarian operations.

Rising to the Challenge: The UN Road Safety Fund in a Polycrises World

Crises may be a centuries-old phenomenon, but so too is human resilience.

Gender Gap in Academia: Glass Ceilings & Sticky Floors

Over the last decades, the global share of women among teaching staff in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has increased from nearly 35% in 1990 to close to 45% in 2020.

“Defending Human Rights Is a Crime in Some Countries and a Deadly Activity in Others”

In today's world, human rights defenders face immense challenges, with threats, attacks, and repression being rampant in many countries. According to the latest report by Front Line Defenders, killings of rights defenders increased in 2022, with a total of 401 deaths across 26 different countries. Despite the adoption of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders 25 years ago, the threats faced by defenders persist globally.

Mercury Project Puts Great UNEP Treaty at Risk

The Minamata Convention on Mercury, a stellar success story to date, has been favorably compared to the prototype success story for a treaty on toxins: the Montreal Protocol. Both had a single focused mission; both gained universal support across the globe; both matched technological innovation with environmental science to discard old polluting methods.

Local Innovations Key to Meeting Challenges of the Climate Crisis

Several years ago, on a visit to a village in rural Zimbabwe, I met a small group of women with a story to share. Having participated in a UNDP-supported adaptation project – including drought-resistant seeds and education in climate-smart agricultural practices – the women had significantly increased the productiveness of their home gardens.

The Last Mile to Malaria Elimination: Confronting Gender Inequalities & Power Dynamics

For centuries, malaria has remained one of the deadliest diseases, inflicting great suffering on families and perpetuating the cycle of poverty in many communities and nations. The African region currently accounts for 95% of malaria cases and 96% of malaria deaths globally, with women and girls disproportionately affected by the disease.

Sudan Conflict Marks Failure of Transition Plan

The current fighting in Sudan marks the failure of supposed processes for transition to democratic rule. The international community needs to learn the lessons of this catastrophe and work with civil society.

Where do Bangladesh’s “New” Poor Fit in?

The world is becoming increasingly coexistent with crises. A pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia war, and cost-of-living crisis are only a few of the ordeals we’ve seen in just the last two years.

What Local Food Challenges and Choices Across Vietnam Reveal About a Global Push for Food Systems Transformation

Last month, Nature spotlighted three insightful new studies chronicling food-related challenges from a global perspective. One presented worrisome new data on the global rise in the prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure and liver disease, all linked to obesity. Another presented a new assessment revealing that half of the greenhouse emissions generated by food systems globally are caused by food waste. Finally, the third study found that food consumption could add “nearly 1 degree Celsius to warming by 2100,” with most of that attributed to global methane emissions from meat, dairy and rice production.

ChatGPT & Artificial Intelligence: What this Means for Small Business

As 2022 came to a close, ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, became the fastest-growing app in history, reaching an estimated 123 million users less than three months after its launch.