Today, We Stand in Solidarity with Refugees Worldwide, Today, We Stand for Human Rights

On World Refugee Day, we must stand in solidarity with the 120 million forcibly displaced people – including 43 million refugees worldwide – who have lost their homes and their human rights as the result of persecution and conflict.

Unveiling the “Dark Matter” of Food, Diets and Biodiversity

This year, bee pollen has become a trendy superfood thanks to a wide range of potential benefits. Last year, sea moss led the superfood trends. Before that, it was turmeric.

Haiti: A Call To Action for All Caribbean and Latin American Countries

Although the most recent evidence shows signs of improvement in food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean, the data reveal a worrying upward trend in Haiti and sectors of the subregion.

Peoples’ Climate Vote Shows Global Support for Stronger Climate Action

The global public opinion research on climate change reveals that 80 percent, or four out of five, of people globally want their governments to take stronger action to tackle the climate crisis.

New Caledonia: Time to Talk about Decolonisation

The violence that rocked New Caledonia last month has subsided. French President Emmanuel Macron has recently announced the suspension of changes to voting rights in the Pacific island nation, annexed by his country in 1853. His attempt to introduce these changes sparked weeks of violence.

Government Debt Is Symptom, Not Cause

Developing country governments are being blamed for irresponsibly borrowing too much. The resulting debt stress has blocked investments and growth in this unequal and unfair world economic order.

Fiscal Policy Can Help Broaden the Gains of Artificial Intelligence to Humanity

New generative-AI technologies hold immense potential for boosting productivity and improving the delivery of public services, but the sheer speed and scale of the transformation also raise concerns about job losses and greater inequality. Given uncertainty over the future of AI, governments should take an agile approach that prepares them for highly disruptive scenarios.

Climate Change, Ethnicity and Neglect Fuel Violence in Nigeria’s Kaduna State

Lami Kwasu, a farmer in the village of Kafanchan in Kaduna State, north-central Nigeria, was at home one evening in October 2020 when the sound of sporadic gunshots filled the air. Gunmen, suspected to be Fulani nomadic herders, had surrounded the village, shooting from different angles.

Transforming African Food Systems from the Ground Up

All news is local, they say. The same is true of innovations—those many new technologies, policies, and practices that steadily stream from research to enhance our lives.

Conflict Deprives Children of Education in Northern Syrian IDP Camps

Twelve-year-old Walid Al-Hussein, displaced from the city of Kafranbel to a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in northern Idlib on the border with Turkey, has given up his dream of becoming a lawyer. "The distance of schools from our home (in the camp) made me leave education and give up my dream and my mother's dream of becoming a lawyer who defends the rights of the oppressed," Al-Hussein told IPS.

Sustainable Development of 39 Small Island Developing States – No Time to Wait

Today Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the environmental threats they confront require our urgent attention ---and the global spotlight needs to be trained deliberately and maintained consistently on their concerns, in particular, climate change, marine biological diversity loss and sustainable development goals (SDGs).

UN’s Development Goals: Rich Nations Lead While World’s Poor Lag Far Behind

When the 193-member UN General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution, back in September 2015, the goals were highly ambitious: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, eliminate inequalities, protect human rights, promote gender empowerment and ensure economic, social and environmental development—and much more. The deadline for achieving these targets was set for 2030.

Land Grabs Squeeze Rural Poor Worldwide

Since 2008, farmland acquisitions have doubled prices worldwide, squeezing family farmers and other poor rural communities. Such land grabs are worsening inequality, poverty, and food insecurity.

Stand Up and Speak Out to End Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan

For 1,000 days girls in Afghanistan have been banned from secondary school education. We must now stand up and speak out together for the girls and women of Afghanistan with a clarion call to the de facto authorities and world leaders to end the ban on girls’ secondary education in Afghanistan.

Fake Climate Solutions Spread Across Latin America

Government and private initiatives and programmes to address the climate crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean are in fact a vast array of fake solutions, according to a new regional map made by environmental organisations in several of its countries.

Sawantwadi’s Traditional Handmade Toys Struggle for Survival

Sawantwadi in Maharashtra, on the western coast of India, bordering Goa, has always been known for its wooden toys. A picturesque town amid hills and lush greenery, Sawantwadi retains an old-world charm to this day.  The regal Sawantwadi Palace holds pride of place, with colleges, schools, and temples cloistered around the periphery of the lake, which was once an extension of the royal grounds.  In the centre of the town is the Ubha Bazaar, or Hanging Market, which houses rows of shops selling the iconic wooden toys that are a hallmark of Sawantwadi.

Bangladesh Can Boost Growth & Climate Resilience by Investing in Women

Bangladesh has made major gains for its population, the world’s eighth largest with more than 170 million people. Per capita incomes, one of the best measures of broad economic well-being, have risen seven-fold in the past three decades while poverty has been reduced to a fraction of former levels.

Education Cannot Wait’s #AfghanGirlsVoices Campaign Highlights Real-Life Testimonies of Hope, Courage and Resilience by Afghan Girls Denied Their Right to Education

Today, people across the globe mark a tragic milestone for human rights, children’s rights and girls' rights: 1,000 days since girls were banned from attending secondary school in Afghanistan. To commemorate and reflect on this unacceptable milestone, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), as global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, is launching the second phase of its compelling #AfghanGirlsVoices campaign.

1,000 Days—Afghan Girls’ Voices Campaign Enters Second Phase

The global community is marking a tragic milestone for human rights, children's rights, and girls' rights, as it has been 1,000 days since girls were banned from attending secondary school in Afghanistan. The ban has wiped out decades’ worth of education and development gains, as approximately 80 percent of school-aged Afghan girls and young women are out of school.

UN, World Leaders Ramp Up Plans for Gaza Ceasefire and Recovery

This week has seen noteworthy steps from the international community to put an end to the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip since the latest war between Hamas and Israel began in October last year. This week began with the international community converging at a global conference, “Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza.” King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres organized the conference, which took place in Amman, Jordan, on June 10.

African Activists Call on the West to Finance Climate Action

As the technical session of the global climate negotiations enters the final stretch in Bonn, Germany, climate activists from Africa have expressed fears that negotiators from the developed world are dragging their feet in a way to avoid paying their fair share to tackle the climate crisis. “I think we will be unfair to the snail if we say that the Bonn talks have all along moved at a snail pace,” quipped Mohammed Adow, the Director, Power Shift Africa.