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Monday, June 1, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Did a Backlash Against Trump Trigger Historic Highs for US Women in Politics?
The dramatic increase in women legislators voted into office last November and the historic high of women candidates for the 2020 presidential elections have visibly changed the male-dominated political landscape in the US.
Climate Change: a Threat to Agriculture & UN’s Goal to Eradicate Hunger
The United Nations has vowed to eradicate extreme hunger and malnutrition on a self-imposed deadline of 2030. But it is facing a harsh realty where human-induced climate change – including flash floods, droughts, heatwaves, typhoons and landslides-- is increasingly threatening agriculture, which also provides livelihoods for over 40 per cent of the global population.
Gender Quotas Help Women Parliamentarians to Rise in Numbers
When the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), based in Switzerland, released its annual report on the representation of women legislators worldwide, four of the top five countries were from the developing world. Rwanda led the way with 61.3 percent of the seats held by women in its lower or single house of parliament followed by Cuba (53.2 percent), Bolivia (53.1 percent) and Mexico (48.2 percent).
UN Pays Homage to Staffers Who Died in Plane Crash
The United Nations headquarters is in mourning – and the UN flag is at half mast. The deaths of 21 UN staffers March 10, on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight in Addis Ababa, is one of the biggest tragedies in the extended UN family—with a flashback to the deaths of 22 people, mostly UN staffers, who lost their lives in the Canal Hotel bombing in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in August 2003.
Preaching World Peace by Day, Peddling Lethal Weapons By Night
The Middle East, one of the world’s most politically-volatile and war-ravaged regions, has doubled its arms imports during the past five years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Was Slavery the World’s First Human Rights Violation?
The United Nations, which diligently monitors human rights violations worldwide, believes that centuries-old slavery still exists worldwide.
UN Accused of Failing to Move Aggressively Against Sexual Abuse
The United Nations, which prides itself with a “zero tolerance” policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, has come under relentless fire for failing to match its words with deeds—specifically in relation to some of the high-profile cases that have jolted the Organization.
Modern Day Slavery Rated World’s Largest Single Crime Industry
After an exhaustive study of modern day slavery, the Geneva-based International Labour Organization (ILO) concluded there are over 40 million people who are victims of slavery, including 25 million in forced labour and 15 million in forced marriages – with at least 71 percent of them comprising women and girls.
How Devastating is Climate Change for World Peace & Security?
When the Security Council, the most powerful body at the United Nations, met last month to discuss the growing new threats to world peace and security, the discussion veered away from international terrorism, nuclear Armageddon and the rash of ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Is UN Planning to Replace Humans with Machines & Robots?
The United Nations-- once facetiously described as an institution whose bloated bureaucracy moves at the leisured pace of a paralytic snail -- is steadily zooming into the field of fast-paced, cutting-edge digital technology where humans may one day be replaced with machines and robots.
Right-Wing Nationalism Threatens Democratic Norms, Human Rights & Press Freedom
The steady decline in multilateralism—accompanied by a rise in unilateralism-- is beginning to threaten democratic norms, including press freedom, global governance, civic participation and human rights across Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East.
Is the UN Being Undermined by a Demagogic Trump Administration?
The United Nations, which embodies the core principles of multilateralism since its creation more than 74 years ago, is being steadily and systematically undermined by a reactionary and demagogic Trump administration recklessly flaunting American imperialism at its worst.
Electronic Devices Outnumber Humans & Trigger a Surge in E-Waste
The widespread innovations in modern digital technology have a devastating downside to it: the accumulation of over 50 million tonnes of electronics waste (e-waste) globally every year.
Survey on UN Sexual Abuse Shifts Focus on Virtual Fugitives from Justice
A survey of sexual harassment at the United Nations has uncomfortably shifted the focus to some of the senior UN officials who have either escaped censure – or punishment-- despite a rash of charges against them, including abuse and misconduct.
UN Lambasted on High-Level Appointments
The world’s developing countries, comprising over two-thirds of the 193 UN member states, are complaining they are not being adequately represented in the higher echelons of the world body –- despite competent candidates with strong professional and academic qualifications vying for these jobs.
Mercury Contamination Threat Gravitates into Outer Space
The dangers of mercury contamination have escalated from the dental chair to the realm of outer space. First, it was the hazardous use of mercury in dentistry, then in cosmetics, particularly skin-lightening creams, and now it is threatening to make its way into satellite propulsion systems.
Is it Time to End Cheque Book Diplomacy at the UN?
The UN’s major donors – led by the United States – have long been accused of influence-peddling and misusing their financial clout not only to grab some of the high ranking jobs in the world body but also threaten funding cuts to push their own domestic agendas.
Senior UN Official Resigns Undermining Sexual Abuse Charges
The UN’s heavily-hyped “zero tolerance” policy on sexual abuse is being ridiculed once again --– this time with the abrupt resignation of the head of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) who faced charges of sexual harassment and was the subject of an inquiry by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).
US Blasts Migrant’s Compact – Even as 150+ Countries Embrace it
As UN delegates met in Morocco to adopt a global compact to protect the rights and safety of refugees and migrants (GCM), the Trump administration launched a blistering attack condemning it as a violation of national sovereignty.
A UN Conference Undermined by 11th Hour Withdrawals
When the long-awaited UN conference focusing on the rights and safety of migrants and refugees takes off in Morocco, it will be a rare, if not an unprecedented meeting, for one reason: the withdrawal of at least seven member states almost at the 59th minute of the eleventh hour.
Will Member States Help Offset US Funding Cuts to UN?
The speculation that the Trump administration plans to reduce its mandatory assessed financial contributions to the UN’s regular budget was implicitly confirmed when the US president told delegates last September that Washington “is working to shift more of our funding, from assessed contributions to voluntary contributions, so that we can target American resources to the programs with the best record of success.”« Previous Page — Next Page »
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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
