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Monday, August 17, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse
UNRWA Warns of Unprecedented Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza
As of today, my UNRWA colleagues in Gaza are no longer able to provide humanitarian assistance. As I speak with you, Gaza is running out of water and electricity. In fact, Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity.
UN Chief Urged to Create Civil Society Envoy
When the United Nations commemorated the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter back in 2020, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres paid a supreme compliment to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
Seize Opportunity to End Last Major Mercury Device
As the Minamata Convention on Mercury’s fifth Conference of the Parties (COP5) approaches, momentum builds to adopt the Africa Region’s proposed amendment to phase out dental amalgam – a cavity filling material that is approximately 50% mercury.
It’s Time to Close the Sustainable Energy Gaps in Asia & the Pacific
This year we pass the halfway mark both on our journey towards implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
“Israel’s 9/11” is a Slogan to Rationalize Open-Ended Killing of Palestinian Civilians
When Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations spoke outside the Security Council on Sunday, he said: “This is Israel’s 9/11. This is Israel’s 9/11.” Meanwhile, in a PBS NewsHour interview, Israel’s ambassador to the United States said: “This is, as someone said, our 9/11.”
El Niño’s Impact on Central America’s Small Farmers Is Becoming More Intense
The effects of El Niño on agriculture in Central America are once again putting pressure on thousands of small farmer families who are feeling more vulnerable economically and in terms of food, as they lose their crops, due to climate change.
To End Child Marriage in Southern & East Africa, Governments Need to Strengthen Laws & Implementation
Almost one third (32%) of women aged 20 to 24 in Eastern and Southern Africa - around 50 million – were married before 18 years old. To address this pervasive problem, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum has adopted the SADC Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage, a legal framework providing a comprehensive, integrated approach to ending child marriage and protecting children already married.
Effective International Aid Depends on the Application of Girl-Centered Design
In a year that is rapidly becoming the costliest on record for climate-related disasters, the International Day of the Girl Child appeals to the global community for greater investments for and with adolescent girls.
Faced with Crushing Debts, World’s Poorest Nations to Slash Public Spending by Over 229 Billion Dollars
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are returning to Africa, for the first time in decades, with the “same old failed message”. “Cut your spending, sack public service workers, and pay your debts-- despite the huge human costs,” says Oxfam International’s interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar, following the release of new Oxfam report.
Young People Shape Sustainable Development in Timor-Leste
In 2002, a group of young people in Timor-Leste were asked to look ahead into the future and write down on a postcard what they hoped their country could achieve by the year 2020.
A Turning Point for Sustainable Development in Cuba — and Beyond
In 2015, 193 countries adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as “a shared plan for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.”
Pronatalism on the Rise to Counter Growing Push for Gender Equality
There’s an insidious new tactic emerging for selling right-wing ideology to wider audiences, evident in last month’s Budapest Demographic Summit for “family-friendly thinkers and decision-makers,” the upcoming pro-birth Natal conference in Austin, Texas, and the recent film “Birthgap.”
UN’s High-Level Appointments Should Give Priority to Gender in Geographical Rotation
The UN’s high-level appointments have mostly been on the basis of “equitable geographical rotation”—with Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean taking turns.
Record-Breaking Global Migration
On 14 June, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued his flagship annual report, Global Trends: Forced Displacement 2022. It states that by the end of 2022, the number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence and human rights abuse had dramatically increased by 19.1 million — the biggest increase on record — reaching a total of 108.4 million.
The Human Cost of a Green Energy Transition Without Safeguards
The world is moving away from fossil fuels towards so-called “green” energies as a solution to the climate crisis, which has increased the demand for strategic minerals such as cobalt, copper and lithium.
Wanted: A New Local Oversight Structure to Achieve SDGS, Climate Action & Biodiversity Preservation
The links between Agenda 2030 and SDGs, including climate action and biodiversity preservation are clear and straightforward. Yet, leveraging them, and bringing them to together in a unified framework, remains extremely challenging.
Peru Faces Challenge of Climate Change-Driven Internal Migration
Nearly 700,000 people have migrated internally in Peru due to the effects of climate change. This mass displacement is a clear problem in this South American country, one of the most vulnerable to the global climate crisis due to its biodiversity, geography and 28 different types of climates.
Global Leaders Plead for Peace in Ukraine at UN
As it did last year, the 2023 United Nations General Assembly has been debating what role the United Nations and its members should play in the crisis in Ukraine.
Navigating Challenges of New City Development for Nusantara, Indonesia’s Future Capital
Many nations are engaged in ambitious urban planning endeavors and the creation of new capital cities. Nusantara, Indonesia, is the latest in a series of modern cities that have sprung up across Asia.
Alarm Bells are Ringing at Halfway Point of the 2030 Agenda
The world is now half way to 2030 but the ambitious goals agreed in 2015 including the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are under threat, action is urgently needed.
Beyond Words: The Urgent Call for the US to Address Global Inequality Through Climate Action
With its global representation, one would expect the UN General Assembly to touch on many diverse issues. And it does. But talks have repeatedly come back to one unifying call: if we want to save ourselves, our planet, and our future, we must act now.« 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.
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