UN Arms Embargo on Israel: Dead on Arrival

When the United Nations imposes sanctions or penalizes a member state – be it the General Assembly or the Human Rights Council – the resolutions are “non-binding” and often remain unimplemented. But the Security Council resolutions are “binding” – and still openly violated by countries such as North Korea—because all these UN bodies have no means of implementing these resolutions, nor a standing army to forcibly enforce them. But they only carry moral weight.

UNEP: Nations Must Step Up Adaptation—Starting with Bold Finance Action at COP 29

The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 2024 Adaptation Gap Report has warned that adaptation actions are not keeping pace with the surging demands of a warming planet. Released ahead of the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, the report—titled Come Hell and High Water—projected a bleak future where vulnerable communities bear the brunt of climate-induced hardships. 

How Megatrends Affect Advancement of Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment in Asia and the Pacific

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted in 1995 during the Fourth World Conference on Women, remains a cornerstone in the global pursuit of gender equality and women's empowerment. With the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+30 Review fast approaching, now is the time to reflect on the progress made and the challenges that remain in Asia and the Pacific.

Hustle Culture Emerges in Benin in Face of High Graduate Unemployment

At just 11 years old, with a heavy heart, Louis  peered up at his parents and said goodbye. He was leaving his small village in northern Benin to live with his uncle in Parakou, where the schools were better. Ever since, Louis has continued to make sacrifices to pursue a strong education and a better life. 

Arab Region Leaders, Experts Gather to Find Solutions to Water Scarcity, Sustainable Development

The Arab region is among the most water-scarce areas globally, as nearly 392 million people live in countries facing water scarcity or absolute water scarcity. So dire is the situation that, of the 22 Arab countries, 19 fall below the annual threshold for water scarcity in renewable resources, defined as 1,000 cubic meters per person.

How Blue Carbon Ecosystems are Saving the Philippines’ Sinking Islands

Imagine living with water up to your knees for half of the year, where homes are flooded, and people constantly fear that the sea might one day engulf the town and everyone in it.

As Forests Felled Wood Shortage Hits Villagers in Zimbabwe

Linet Makwera (28) has a baby strapped on her back as she totters barefoot, picking tiny pieces of wood on both sides of a dusty and narrow road, peering fearfully at people passing by along the road in Chimanimani’s Mutambara area in Gonzoma village located in Zimbabwe’s Manicaland Province, east of the country.

Israel’s Moves to Ban UNRWA—Signals Uncertainty for Affected Palestinians

The decision of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, to adopt two laws that would severely limit or outright ban UNRWA has the potential to set a dangerous precedent, where countries can simply implement their own justification to ban the activity of the United Nations, even if it violates their obligations under international humanitarian law. Even with the rest of the world condemning this course of action, for Israel, this has been a long time coming and they are unlikely to back down.

Mexican Cooperative Promotes Energy Transition on Indigenous Lands

What began as a search for fair prices for indigenous handicrafts in 1985 has evolved into a women's organisation in Mexico that promotes climate justice while advocating for land and environmental rights.

Voices from the Margins: Small-Scale Fishers Demand Rights, Recognition at COP16

Small-scale fishers play a fundamental role in feeding people—they use sustainable methods of catching and processing fish products and are a significant force in the employment and livelihoods of millions of people internationally—yet, until now, they have been excluded from climate and biodiversity conferences.

Africa’s Most Important Election is Underway

Africa has had a terrible record dealing with extreme poverty. The late Adebayo Adedeji, the legendary head of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), campaigned vigorously but unsuccessfully in the 1980s against the IMF and World Bank-imposed structural adjustment programmes, contending that these contributed to poverty’s increase.

Is India Phasing Out Fossil Fuels Fast Enough To Achieve Its Emission Targets?

While India continues to rely heavily on coal, the south Asian economic giant is also aggressively pushing renewable energy production, especially after the costs of renewable energy production have fallen drastically in recent years around the world.

COP16 Delivers on Indigenous Peoples, Digital Sequencing, But Fails on Finance

The curtains fell on the 16th Conference of the Parties of UN Biodiversity (COP16) on Sunday without any formal closing. In a voice message, David Ainsworth, the Communications Director of the UNCBD, confirmed that the COP was suspended due to a lack of quorum in the plenary and would be resumed sometime later. However, before being suspended, the parties managed to adopt a historic decision to open the door for Indigenous Peoples (IPS) and local communities (LCs) to influence the global plan to halt the destruction of biodiversity.

Knife-Edge November: Teetering on the Climate Abyss

Standing high on the vertiginous edge of the future and looking down into a volcanic seething of approaching doom, it is a totally understandable desire to want to close your eyes, walk away and turn on the sports channel. If you have one.

UN Remains Paralyzed as “Rogue Nations” Violate Charter & Escalate War Crimes

The United Nations continues to be virtually paralyzed – and remains politically impotent amidst two raging conflicts—as Russia and Israel keep defying the world body. The killings of civilians and the destruction of cities, particularly by Israel, are devastating and continue despite repeated warnings from the UN, its humanitarian agencies, the International Criminal Court (ICC), UN human right experts and the Security Council.

Lead for Learning: Decisive Leadership Urgently Needed To Improve Education Globally

Global education is facing a critical moment amid severe setbacks. Millions of children are out of school, learning levels are falling, and millions are leaving school without the skills they need. New out-of-school figures reveal that global progress in reducing the number of out-of-school children has been just 1 percent since 2015, leaving 251 million behind.

Defending Biodiversity in Armed Conflict: Can COP16 Meet the Expectations?

José Aruna, a forest defender from Sud Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), remembers the night in September 2019 when a group of heavily armed men barged into his house in the middle of the night. Aruna and his wife—6 months pregnant at the time—were in bed when he heard sounds of boots on the front yard and quickly knew something was about to happen.

Tanzanian Students Drive Climate Action Through Tree Planting

At Gabimori primary school, located at Nyamagaro ward in Tanzania’s northern Rorya district, a 15-year-old  Florence Sadiki kneels among polyethylene bags, carefully examining the seedlings she and her classmates  have nurtured from tiny sprouts “We’ve planted many trees to make our school look better and to help fight climate change,” she says.

A Triple Planetary Crisis Scarring Africa’s Landscapes

Some of the creeping impacts of this triple crisis are possibly the most debilitating: Africa is the most severely impacted region by desertification and land degradation, with approximately 45% of its land area affected. In the Horn of Africa and the Sahel alone, it imposes food shortages on more than 23 million people. Just last month, more than 700,000 people were affected by floods in Central and West Africa, and tens of millions in southern Africa are facing drought.

Seeds of Resilience Despite Massive Destruction in Gaza

It was two weeks before October 7—when Hamas attacked Israel—that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood behind the rostrum in the United Nations General Assembly hall clutching a crude map of what he called the "new Middle East," a visual that erased the land of Palestine.

The July Revolution in Bangladesh Is Rooted in Meta-Modernist Philosophy

The students and the common people of Bangladesh dared to do something in 36 days of July-August that was considered simply impossible by most people just days before August 5, 2024. They said ‘enough is enough’ to an old order that outraged their humanity, robbed their dignity and the rulers imagined that their citadel of power was simply impenetrable. The revolutionists refused to bow down to the murderous regime that knew no bounds to its cruelty and plundering. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of the besieged nation.