Armed Conflicts

What the Sino-Russian Declaration Exposes

By Jordan Ryan

 
The joint declaration issued by Russia and China on 20 May, Joint Declaration of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on the Establishment of a Multipolar World and a New Type of International Relations, has been read in sharply different ways. Some welcome its language of sovereign equality, multilateralism and a UN-centred international order. Others dismiss it as legal rhetoric deployed in bad faith. Both responses miss the more important point.

Increased Rates of Deaths, Displacement and Diesel Amid New Ceasefire Escalations in Lebanon

By Maximilian Malawista
Last week on May 28, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation order to Lebanese civilians ordering them to move north of the Zahrani River, approximately 25 miles from the Israeli border, and roughly 20 percent of the Lebanese territory. These new escalations bring the displaced population to more than 1.3 million people, including more than 300,000 of those people being children. 1.3 million people represents approximately 1/4th of the nation's population of 5.3 million.

US-Israeli Ceasefire: You Cease, We Fire

By James E. Jennings
If you have been paying attention to the ongoing wars in Ukraine, Iran, Lebanon, and many other places, perhaps you have noticed that battles today are far different from those of the last century. Now it’s not only tanks and planes but also scores of long-range missiles and massive flights of drones linked to cybernetic warfare.

Ebola Outbreak in the DRC Raises Global Health Concerns Amid Conflict and Displacement

By Oritro Karim
Since May 16, there has been a significant increase in the number of laboratory-confirmed and suspected Ebola cases reported across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), primarily in Ituri Province, with additional unrelated cases identified in Kampala, Uganda. Although the outbreak has remained largely confined to that region, it has been heavily linked to areas affected by insecurity, civilian displacement, and mining-related migration, raising concerns among global health experts that the outbreak could spread without effective monitoring and response efforts.

Iran War Deepens Activist Dangers

By Andrew Firmin
Narges Mohammadi, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her human rights activism in Iran, has been allowed to go home. After guards found her unconscious in her cell, the apparent victim of a heart attack, she was granted temporary release from prison and transferred to a hospital. However, she still faces the threat of being taken back to jail once her condition has improved.

Scarcity of Treatment Makes Syrians More Vulnerable to Mental Health Crisis

By Sonia Al Ali
The protracted years of conflict in Syria have inflicted profound scars that transcend physical destruction, permeating the psychological well-being of millions.

The Iran War Exposes the Fragility of Our Fuel-Dependent Food System

By Lulseged Desta and Jonathan Mockshell
Sharp surges in energy, fertilizer, and food prices triggered by the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf strikingly illustrate the deep interconnections between geopolitical conflict, food insecurity, and the fragility of fossil fuel–dependent food systems.

The 3Ds for a Credible Post-2030 Development Agenda

By Silla Ristimäki, Miguel Santibañez, Emeline Siale Ilolahia and Aoi Horiuchi
Just four years of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development remain. What comes after 2030 is already a political battleground.

Stop the Madness: Civil Society Cannot Thrive on Burnout

By Hannah Wheatley, Joanna Makhlouf and Taís Siqueira
In an era when civil society funding is in decline, it’s time to rebel against a broken system.

Civilian Casualties Grow Amid Russian and Ukrainian Drone Strikes

By Oritro Karim
Four years after the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War, 2026 has marked a significant escalation in hostilities, with intensified bombardments from both sides causing immense destruction across the region, complicating humanitarian operations, and deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis. As exchanges of attacks have intensified in recent days, the United Nations (UN) warns that women and girls will be disproportionately impacted as violence disrupts access to basic, lifesaving services.

Building Resilient Food Systems in an Age of Disruption

By Neena Joshi
The latest shock to global food systems, triggered by conflict in the Middle East and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, has once again exposed a fragile truth: the world’s food systems remain highly vulnerable to external shocks.

The Global Epidemic of Violence in an Age of Impunity

By Alon Ben-Meir
Violence has metastasized into humanity's baseline condition. Yet international institutions remain paralyzed by vetoes and rivalry, offering hollow declarations while dehumanization becomes normalized. Coordinated action, not gestures, is desperately needed.

Ambitious Great Green Wall Shows Slow, Steady Progress in Strengthening Landscapes, Improving Livelihoods

By Promise Eze
In 2021, Gadeja Shehu and about a hundred farmers in Garbadu village, Zamfara State in northwestern Nigeria, were invited by officials of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall to plant trees across a large stretch of land in their community.

The Iran War Is Costing Children’s Lives in Somalia

By Mohamed Omar
When war erupted in the Middle East in late February, the most visible consequences were playing out in the Persian Gulf, with smoke rising from Dubai's Jebel Ali port and shipping traffic across one of the world's most critical maritime routes grinding to a near halt.

Gaza’s Deepening Health Crisis Leaves Hospitals Overwhelmed

By Oritro Karim
Despite the implementation of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel last October, Israeli forces continue to launch airstrikes into the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This has resulted in extensive destruction of infrastructure, loss of human life and exacerbating immense health needs amid an increasingly strained health system in Gaza.

‘Nuclear Weapons Are Not Just Tools of War. They Are Weapons of Mass Suffering.’

By Naureen Hossain
"We choose hope because despair is a form of surrender that we cannot accept,” UN Ambassador to the Philippines, Enrique Manolo, told civil society representatives and the diplomatic community, considering the question of whether to pursue nuclear disarmament in a world that is becoming more polarized on the issue.

The War in Iran Isn’t Just Raising Food Prices — It’s Revealing Who Really Sets Them

By Mihaela Siritanu
As the United States and Israel’s 2026 attack on Iran remains on pause, most eyes have fixed on oil. Tankers reroute around the Strait of Hormuz, oil benchmarks climb, and insurance costs spike. But while the headlines focus on energy, warning signs are already flashing from the food commodities markets.

Rivalry Within Limits

By Sebastian Sons
While the world watches the Strait of Hormuz and the discord in negotiations between Iran and the United States, the role of the Gulf states is fading into the background. Iran’s attacks on the Arab Gulf states have triggered a threefold shock.

Addressing the Mental Health of Ukrainian Children living on Frontlines of War

By Ed Holt
“What’s important is to make sure that you can immerse yourself in an environment that is positive for your mental health and wellbeing,” says Olena*.

American-Israeli War on Iran Risks Fuelling the very Nuclear Proliferation it Claims to Prevent

By HMGS Palihakkara
As delegates from 191 countries, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, gathered Monday at UN headquarters for a month of diplomacy at the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the stakes could hardly be higher.

US Military Strategy Document Misleads. Deliberately?

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Nurina Malek
The January 2026 US National Defense Strategy (NDS) departs significantly from those preceding it, including from Trump’s first term. Is it deliberately misleading? Or is actual policy, including war, being driven by other considerations?
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