Languages
Friday, June 12, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse
Nigeria: Lessons from the Aba Women’s Riots for Today’s Women’s Movements
The Aba Women’s Riots of 1929 remain one of the most powerful demonstrations of Nigerian women’s collective resistance. Thousands of market women, farmers, traders, and mothers mobilized across districts in the then Eastern Nigeria to challenge colonial taxation and the extension of warrant chiefs’ authority over their lives. They organized without formal structures and without institutional support.
Why Does African Leadership Lack Coordination on Reparations?
Professor Jude Osakwe—a Nigerian scholar at the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Continental Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Africa (NIDOAF)—has reiterated the absolute truth over Reparations for Africa, noting that African governments have consistently expressed only 'emotional solidarity' over Reparations instead of tackling and addressing, with seriousness, this pertinent issue within the context of diplomacy.
Only 1 in 7 Countries is Led by a Woman– as Global Political Power Remains Dominated by Men
Across the world, women remain vastly under-represented in political leadership, with the most powerful decisions still overwhelmingly made by men. In 2026, only 28 countries are led by a woman Head of State or Government, while 101 countries have never had a woman leader, according to the latest data released by Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women.
The Most Appropriate Response to Falling Birthrates? Embrace Them
As birthrates continue to decline in many industrialized countries, anxious governments are running out of schemes to keep women procreating.
The Cost of Being Seen: Exposure versus Exploitation
I have often been asked a simple but important question: How can we make it sustainable if we are not being compensated for it?
Gender Discrimination: It’s Time to Flip the Narrative
We have heard it all: • When a woman raises her voice, she’s too emotional. • When she stands her ground, she’s too difficult. • When she leads, she’s too ambitious. • If she wears dark suits they whisper ‘why does she always look like a man’ • But oh my gosh! if she shows up in a colorful dresses and high heels….
Global Arms Flow Jump Nearly 10 per cent as European Demand Soars due to Transfers to Ukraine
The ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia—which began February 2022, with no visible signs of ending—has triggered major arms transfers to Europe.
International Women’s Day 2026: This Year’s International Women’s Day Calls for Electing a Woman as the next Secretary-General
As we observe International Women’s Day (IWD) this year, the global community does so in a time of continuing turbulence, conflicts and uncertainty about the future of our planet.
International Women’s Day 2026 The Gender Architecture of Betrayal: Stop Elite Impunity
International Women’s Day 2026 (IWD 2026), which was commemorated March 8, under the theme, "Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls", calls for action to dismantle all barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls. It demands an end to systemic violence and misogyny, including calls for justice for Epstein survivors.
Heralding an Era of Religious Wars
In recent months, the language surrounding the escalating confrontation between the United States, Israel, and Iran has taken on a tone that should trouble anyone concerned with global peace.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear Decision-Making
As artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to dominate every aspect of human lives —including political, economic, social and cultural --there is also the danger of the potential militarization of AI.
International Women’s Day 2026 No Country in the World has Reached Full Legal Equality for Women and Girls
On 8 March 2026, International Women’s Day, UN Women issues a global alert: justice systems meant to uphold rights and the rule of law are failing women and girls everywhere. Women globally hold just 64 per cent of the legal rights of men, exposing them to discrimination, violence, and exclusion at every stage of their lives.
The US/Israeli Bombing of Iran: A Case Study in Contempt for International Law
Operation “Epic Fury” manifests an epic tantrum by President Donald Trump, supported by his sycophantic minions, with dire consequences for the people in the region, peace and security worldwide, the global economy, and the post-World War II international legal order.
A New World Order Where Might is Right
As the build-up for a proposed “new world order” continues, a lingering question remains: will the country with the most powerful military reign supreme? The United Nations remains politically impotent. The UN charter is in tatters. The sovereignty of nation states and their territorial integrity have been reduced to political mockery. And the law of the jungle prevails—be it Palestine, Ukraine, Venezuela or Iran.
How UNDP & Global Partners are Tackling Root Causes of Violent Extremism in Ghana’s Borderlands
Across the world’s fragile borderlands where insecurity, climate stress, and marginalization intersect, communities often find themselves on the frontlines of violent extremism. Yet these same communities also hold the greatest potential for peace, when given the confidence, tools, and opportunities to shape their own future.
Cuba Has its Back Against the Wall
The crisis could scarcely be more dramatic. The US is blocking practically all oil deliveries to Cuba. The island depends on imports for all diesel, petrol and kerosine. Without diesel trucks cannot move, food cannot reach Cuban towns and hospitals will not get any oxygen.
UN Leaders, Diplomats Warn of Middle East Instability Following Weekend Air-Strikes in Iran
The United States and Israel launched a joint military strike on Iran on February 28. Iran followed with military strikes on Israeli bases and on Arab Gulf states, including Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. The realized threat of a new war has caused alarm for the security situation in the Middle East and its impact on civilian populations.
Over 25,500 Palestinians Killed: Absence of Accountability is Nothing Short of Shameful
The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is a human-made disaster. The report before you sets out events between 1 November 2024 and 31 October 2025 that show Israel’s utter disregard for human rights in Gaza and the West Bank, and the serious violations also committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
International Women’s Day & 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women
International Women’s Day 2026 comes at a defining moment: Women and girls have never been closer to equality, and never closer to losing it. Legal protection against domestic violence has expanded in many countries. Yet, the rights of women and girls are being rolled back in plain sight, and across the world, women still do not enjoy the same legal rights as men.
Will Palestine Preside Over the Next UN General Assembly?
The 193-member General Assembly, the highest-ranking policy-making body at the United Nations, is most likely to elect Palestine as its next President in an unprecedented move voting for a “non-member observer state”—a state deprived of a country to represent.
After a Brutal Winter, Millions of Ukrainians Face Deepening Displacement and Uncertainty
After surviving the harshest winter in a decade, millions of displaced Ukrainians are confronting a growing crisis marked by hardship and ongoing attacks as peace prospects remain distant.« 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
