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Saturday, May 23, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse
UN Chief Launches New Initiative as World Faces Growing Challenges
Our world is facing challenges on every front. Since the United Nations reflects that world in all its aspects, we feel it in all our work.
Nuclear Testing in Kazakhstan Documentary Showcases Urgent Need for Nuclear Abolition
The documentary I Want to Live On: The Untold Stories of the Polygon exposes the lifelong impacts of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan’s Semey region. As a third-generation survivor born in Semey, international relations legal expert based in New York, Togzhan Yessenbayeva said she was aware of the “profound impact” that nuclear testing has had on her community and environment. She remarked that the tests in Semipalatinsk have left a “legacy of challenges” that people must deal with to this day.
The G20: How it Works, Why it Matters and What Would be Lost if it Failed
South Africa took over the presidency of the G20 at the end of 2024. Since then the world has become a more complex, unpredictable and dangerous place.
Society’s Self-Sabotage: How Discrimination Cripples Nations
One look at the headlines recently and anyone would know that cuts to foreign aid are jeopardizing hard-won progress on a range of issues. AIDS is one of them.
A Cash Crisis Forces UN to Re-Figure its Budget and Freeze Staff Hiring
Faced with an impending cash crisis primarily due to non-payment of dues by the US and over 100 other member states-- along with threats of a US withdrawal from the world body-- there were widespread rumors the United Nations was re-costing and reducing its approved budget for 2025 while deciding to freeze hiring new staffers.
Developing a Thriving e-vehicles Value Chain in Africa
African countries should join hands to make the most of their own resources and build a formidable electric vehicle ecosystem that could help fast-track realisation of SDGs.
How the Arts Play a Role in the Fight for Nuclear Disarmament
This week countries and communities converge in New York for the 3rd Meeting of State Parties on the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), with multiple side events to address the social, political and cultural impact of nuclear abolition across different sectors.
International Women’s Day, 2025
The Quest for a Female UN Secretary-General: Assessing the Probability
The United Nations has chosen “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” as the theme for International Women’s Day on March 8, 2025. This theme emphasizes the importance of equal rights, power, and opportunities for all women and girls, urging action to create a feminist future where no one is left behind.
Nuclear Weapons, Far from Diminishing, Keep Rising
The United Nations, whose primary mandate is to maintain international peace and security, has been one of the longstanding leaders in the global campaign for a world without nuclear weapons. But the progress has been relatively slow – despite the growing number of anti-nuclear treaties. Perhaps the only consolation is the absence of a nuclear attack or a nuclear war in over 80 years.
International Women’s Day, 2025
It’s time for a Feminist Woman Secretary General at the UN
In 2025, the United Nations will celebrate 80 years of shaping global policies, fostering peace, and driving international development. Yet, in those eight decades, not a single woman has held the position of Secretary-General.
International Women’s Day, 2025
New Report Finds Sexist Laws Persist Worldwide
A new global report analyzing sex discrimination in laws reveals that while some commendable gains have been achieved in strengthening legal protections for women and girls over the past five years, progress remains slow, uneven, and increasingly under threat from a growing backlash against women’s rights.
Is the UN Facing its Biggest Single Crisis in 80 Years?
The United Nations, in its nearly 80-year-old history, is on the verge of fighting for its survival, as the Trump administration continues with its threats to drastically cut funding and pull out of several UN agencies which provide mostly humanitarian assistance worldwide. Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, who acts as a virtual Prime Minister to President Trump, has called on the U.S. to exit the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations.
Looming Tariffs Threaten Food Supplies
Who bears the brunt in trade wars? The answer is absolutely everyone. Not just the countries enacting or retaliating with tariffs and export bans, and not just the citizens of those countries. It’s everyone.
The Impact of US Funding Freeze on Civil Society Around the World
The U.S. administration has the prerogative to review and adjust public expenditure policies, including foreign aid. However, this power must be exercised responsibly, adhering to national and international legal frameworks, including the principles of human rights law.
20 Years of the WHO FCTC: It’s Time to Make Big Tobacco Pay
The world took a historic step in the fight against tobacco when the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) came into force—the first legally binding global health treaty of its kind.
How AI Can Help Both Tax Collectors and Taxpayers
New technologies have the potential to improve the relationship between governments and citizens. Tax portals, customs IT systems and online services have simplified interactions with public authorities, reduced bureaucratic hurdles, and increased transparency. Now, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is emerging as the next transformative force.
Outlook for 2025: Strengthening the Foundations of Children’s Futures
In 2025, the world is facing a new and intensifying era of crisis for children. Climate change, economic instability, and conflict are hitting harder and more often, intersecting in ways that make the challenges of addressing them even more severe.
Is the UN’s Human Rights Agenda in Jeopardy?
The UN’s human rights agenda is in danger of faltering since the Geneva-based Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) is planning to “restructure” the office, under the moniker OHCHR 2.0. But this proposal, if implemented, would result in the abolition of the Special Procedures Branch, established by the Human Rights Council (HRC), to report and advise on human rights from thematic and country-specific perspectives.
Where do UN Member States Stand on a Feminist Secretary-General?
The selection of the next UN Secretary-General (UNSG) will be a pivotal moment in global efforts to resist authoritarianism and work together to address shared problems. Where do UN Member States stand on appointing a feminist woman to this role?
The Arab States Must Stop Trump– and Netanyahu– in Their Tracks
When the Arab states convene an emergency session in Egypt to address Trump’s/Netanyahu’s plans to take over Gaza and exile the Palestinians, they must warn Trump that acting on this plan will usher in a catastrophic conflagration that could engulf the entire Middle East.
Trump’s War on Global Governance: Lessons from the Past on How to Fight Back
US president Donald Trump’s recent actions seem designed to reassert American power and demonstrate that it is still the dominant global power and is capable of bullying weaker nations into following America’s lead.« Previous Page — Next Page »
It was dubbed "The Glass House" by U.S. ambassador James Wadsworth in 1966. Half a century later, the United Nations has gradually expanded its role as agent of peace and protector of the world's vulnerable populations, while simultaneously facing internal pressures to become more inclusive, increase transparency and maintain legitimacy in the post-Cold War political and economic order. Highlighting the local impacts of global policies on economic development, environment, health and human rights, IPS's coverage goes beyond the edicts of the Security Council to illuminate the power struggles, successes and shortcomings of the 193-member institution as it grapples with crises like climate change, armed conflict, poverty and HIV/AIDS.
The Week with IPS
