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Friday, June 19, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse
Improving People’s Lives with Digital Technology during COVID-19
Digital technology has been crucial in ensuring community and connection during the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. And its shown that collaboration between the private and public sector can ensure that digital technology continues to advance in a way that improves people’s lives under crises, experts said on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities Offer Best Hope for Our Planetary Emergency
Indigenous peoples and local communities offer the best hope for solutions to our planetary emergency. These solutions are grounded in traditional, time-tested practices and knowledge.
Q&A: Women in Mali Play Critical Role in Preventing and Resolving Conflicts
The coronavirus pandemic has affected the safety and sense of community for many women in Mali given the travel restrictions and lockdowns in place, Bassirou Gaye, an assistant researcher for a 2019 report on the role of Mali women in peacekeeping, told IPS this weekend.
Nobel Peace Prize to World Food Programme Delivering Life-Saving Sustenance to Millions Worldwide
With the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize bestowed on the Rome-based World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations and its affiliated agencies continue to hold a monopoly of one of the world’s most prestigious annual awards.
Why We’re Uniting in Support of African Girl Leaders to beat AIDS & Shift Power
The International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October is a call for us to reflect on our responsibilities. Twenty-five years ago, governments adopted the historic Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action.
Mayors Explore how COVID-19 Pandemic will Redefine Urban Cities
The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to bring about positive changes for cities, and give leaders the opportunity to make long-term, transformative changes as a result, according to renowned architect Norman Foster, who was speaking at the first ever Forum of Mayors 2020.
The Wreckage Of Trump’s Presidency*
Like many Americans, I have been observing Trump’s rise to power with some perplexity, often asking myself how and why a man of his character became the President of the United States, which is viewed as the most powerful political office in the world.
With Armed Groups on the Rise, Youth Engagement is More Important than Ever
As governments worldwide struggle to contain COVID-19, recent reports suggesting armed groups like Islamic State are resurging offer a sobering account of the many challenges that the global community now faces.
World Peace is Not Only Possible But Inevitable
COVID-19 has shifted our world. Over the last six months, no matter where we live, our lives, assumptions, and relationships have changed. Now, more than ever, we have witnessed people from all backgrounds and all ages rise to assist each other.
We Need Nature and Biodiversity if We Want a Sustainable Future
“Investing in nature is investing in a sustainable future,” was one of the key messages from yesterday’s first-ever United Nations Summit on Biodiversity where world leaders and experts agreed on the urgency to act swiftly to preserve biodiversity globally.
To Achieve Gender Equality Within, the UN Must Do More to Tackle Sexual Harassment
In September 2017, Secretary-General António Guterres launched the “System-wide strategy on gender parity”, which set the goal of reaching gender parity within the United Nations by 2028 and outlined a strategy on how to achieve this, including the introduction of special measures, senior appointments, targets and accountability, amongst other things.
To Achieve Progress on Gender Equality, Gender Data Must Be at the Forefront
In 1995, world leaders gathered in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women and adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This marked a significant turning point for the global agenda for gender equality. This week, a high-level event will take place as part of the United Nations General Assembly to celebrate the meeting’s 25th anniversary. However, despite ambitious commitments to gender equality, nearly 25 years later, progress still lags far behind.
Staff to UN Management: Please Drop Your Plans for Uber-Style Contracts
As the United Nations prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary we have been made aware of an extremely worrying development concerning the future of UN staff contracts.
Q&A: How Fast Fashion Sits at the Crucial Intersection of Environmental & Gender Justice
Racism “keeps the global north oblivious to the effect of fast fashion addiction on the global south” say environmental and gender justice experts.
‘Leave No one Behind’: How Inclusive is World Leaders’ Call to Climate Action?
Wrapping up Climate Week at the United Nations General Assembly, global leaders called for climate action that may be “ambitious but achievable” and called for climate measures that would “leave no one behind”. But some climate activists remain concerned about how this can be achieved.
#TurnItAround: One Week to Mobilize for the Future
The year 2020 will most certainly mark a critical moment for the planet and future mobilizations. In a society shaken by Covid-19, people are gathering, regrouping and acting collectively for a sustainable world, an egalitarian future, and for global awareness on the climate emergency.
Pushing the Reset Button will not Change the Game
Governments have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with unprecedented intensity. They have taken far-reaching regulatory measures to contain the pandemic and mobilized financial resources on an enormous scale.
What UN Needs is a Cease-Fire Inside its own Security Council
With more than 20,000 civilians killed last year in conflicts in 10 countries — including Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen-- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for a “global cease-fire”: a proposal which failed to generate a positive response since he first announced it last March.
The Future We Want, The UN We Need
As we reflect on this week and celebrate the United Nations’ rise in the war-ravaged world some 75 years ago, humanity is again being asked to lay the foundation for a new world.
Trump Pitched his Vision of a Global Order — at Odds with the UN Charter
President Trump took the UN stage to settle scores and shift blame as he sought to spin an alternate version of his administration’s response to the pandemic.
Scientists Draw up Guidelines to Help Agri-food Companies Align with 2030 Agenda
In Amuru district, 47 kilometres from Gulu town in northwestern Uganda, the Omer Farming Company has proven that it is possible to farm on thousands of acres of land using methods that conserve the environment and its biodiversity.« 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
