Active Citizens

A Pact for the World’s Poorest

By Deodat Maharaj
Last month, world leaders gathered at the time of the UN General Assembly in New York and agreed on a pioneering Pact for the Future. This global accord has implications across a broad range of issues that affect every country. It offers much hope for the poorest and most vulnerable countries on the planet, known as Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

Honduras: Environmental Defenders Still under Siege

By Inés M. Pousadela
Juan López was gunned down on 14 September. An environmental activist, community leader and member of the Municipal Committee in Defence of the Commons and Public Goods of Tocoa, he was the latest victim of extractive greed in Honduras. Communities protecting the rivers that flow through the Bajo Aguán region have seen several of their leaders assassinated.

Kenya’s Mung Bean Legislation Debate Underscores Farmers’ Vulnerability

By Robert Kibet
Kenyan farmers have faced a turbulent year, caught between legislative changes and a devastating scandal. While the country's Mung Bean Bill, aiming to regulate the lucrative mung bean industry, has moved to mediation, farmers are battling the fallout from the widespread distribution of counterfeit fertilizers that have jeopardized their crop yields and livelihoods.

‘The new law’s purpose is to increase government control over civil society’

By CIVICUS

 
CIVICUS discusses a recently passed law regulating civil society organisations (CSOs) in Paraguay with Marta Ferrara and Olga Caballero, executive directors of Semillas para la Democracia (Seeds for Democracy) and Alma Cívica (Civic Soul), two of the organisations leading the civil society response to the closing of civic space.

World Told Act Now or Face 136 Years of Hunger, Report Warns

By Busani Bafana
High levels of hunger will continue for another 136 years in many developing countries, according to a new report assessing global hunger.

Guterres Congratulates Nihon Hidankyo For Nobel Prize For Efforts To Rid Humanity of Nuclear Weapons

By IPS Correspondent
The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres congratulated grassroots Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo on being awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.

Afghan Girls Share Their Despair and Visions for the Future Under Taliban Rule

By Jen Ross
In line with the 2024 International Day of the Girl theme, ‘Girls’ vision for the future’, a dozen Afghan girls speak up to express their hardships and resilience. They also share their visions for the future.

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

By Lysa John
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.

Pakistan’s Digital Censorship—The Real Cost of Internet Disruptions

By Annam Lodhi
Over the past few months, Pakistan has been grappling with a persistent and disruptive internet slowdown, leaving millions of citizens frustrated.

Why Africa Should Embrace Territorial Markets to Withstand Climate Shocks and Crises

By Isaiah Esipisu
African policymakers, local leaders and the private sector have been asked to create an enabling environment that will help African traders and farmer folks build reliable systems for food security and resilience through territorial markets. During a week-long 2024 Africa Agroecological Entrepreneurship and Seed Festival in Harare, Zimbabwe, experts observed that persistent crises have shown the importance of resilient close-to-home ‘territorial’ markets that feed billions of people every day—from public markets and street vendors to cooperatives, from urban agriculture to online direct sales, and from food hubs to community kitchens. 

Cuba’s Coastal Dwellers Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change

By Dariel Pradas
Every time a hurricane clouds the skies over the city of Manzanillo, in the eastern Cuban province of Granma, the sea pounds the Litoral neighbourhood, forcing many of the 200 families who live there to evacuate inland because of flooding. When the weather is calm, the sea penetrates subtly and constantly, salinizing the water table and eroding the coast, affecting the foundations of houses and artesian wells.

UN, Lebanon Launch $426 Million Humanitarian Emergency Appeal

By Naureen Hossain
The escalating hostilities between Israel and Lebanon have already threatened the safety and security of more than 1 million civilians, urging Lebanon’s government and the United Nations to take swift humanitarian action and call for international support.

Inequality in Access to Abortion Rights in Latin America

By Mariela Jara
The struggle for women's right to decide in Latin America and the Caribbean, for their access to legal, safe and free abortion continues in the region, with some countries fully criminalising it, others with severe regulations, and a few guaranteeing better conditions, while threats of regression persist.

Activists Call on World to ‘Imagine’ Peace, End Nuclear Arms

By AD McKenzie
In any discussion of world peace and the future of humanity, the issue of nuclear arms must be addressed, and now. That was the message from a range of delegates at the “Imaginer la Paix / Imagine Peace” conference, held in Paris September 22 to 24, and organized by the Sant’Egidio Community, a Christian organization founded in Rome in 1968 and now based in 70 countries.

World Governments, NGOs Announce $350m Investments in Sexual and Reproductive Health Services

By Naureen Hossain
On the heels of the Summit of the Future and the sidelines of the United Nations High-Level Meeting Week, governments and philanthropies pledged to commit at least USD 350 million to boost family planning, sexual and reproductive health and supplies on the national and global level. As enshrined in the newly-adopted Pact for the Future, seeking new international finance models is critical to solving the issues that the world faces today. The decision to pledge forward is a demonstration of commitment to ongoing health issues.

Tanzania’s Maasai Women Adopt Climate-Smart Solutions To Tame Drought

By Kizito Makoye
In the scorching sun of Mikese village in Tanzania’s eastern Mvomero district, 31-year-old Maria Naeku tirelessly tends to her small vegetable patch. Each time she pulls a weed, the red soil stains her hands as she guides the trickle of water from a maze of pipes through an elevated bed to nurture her plants. In a drought-stricken area, Naeku's small garden is a lifeline for her family, giving them food and income.

Sustainable Peace in Afghanistan Needs Women on the Frontlines

By Naureen Hossain
Women in Afghanistan have continued to advocate for their rights and have called on the international community to not only stand in solidarity but to take decisive action to prevent the erosion of their rights and presence in public space.

Summit of the Future: Youth Driven Action Needed to Tackle Nuclear and Climate Crises

By Naureen Hossain
Driving the Summit of the Future’s core messages of international solidarity and decisive action are young people who are determined to address the intersecting issues that the world contends with today.

Using Education To Stop the Generational Cycle of Violence Against Women in the Pacific

By Catherine Wilson
Parliamentary representation by women in Pacific Island countries remains stubbornly low at 8.4 percent. Yet women leaders across the region have been meeting every year for the past four decades to discuss goals and drive action to address gender inequality and the most pressing development challenges in the Pacific.

Governments Using Billions of Public Funds to Subsidize Climate-Destructive Industries—Report

By Maina Waruru
A report examining corporate capture of public finance is accusing industries fueling the climate crisis, including fossil fuel ones, of draining public funds in the Global South, singling them out for squeezing out of governments USD 700 billion in public subsidies each year.

ECW Delivers Holistic Education Against All Odds, But More Funding Needed

By IPS Correspondent
Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has delivered quality education to children in crisis "against all odds," ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif said at the United Nations today. "And you can imagine the odds. We are seeing more armed conflict, a growth of climate-induced disasters and the biggest refugee movement since World War 2." 
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