Armed Conflicts

Social Media – the New Testing Ground for Sri Lanka’s Freedom

By Amantha Perera
Journalists and media activists have cautioned against Sri Lanka’s newfound press freedom as the country heads to the polls in 2020. Separate incidents of hate-speech against a Muslim minority—and the subsequent shutdown of social media platforms—and the harassment of reporters critical of the country’s opposition have led some to believe that the changes in media independence could reverse.

Mission Accomplished: 15 Years of Peacekeeping Success in Liberia

By Kingsley Ighobor
On a bright, sunny day in January this year, Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf turned over power to George Weah, a decorated soccer star, following peaceful and successful elections. This marked Liberia’s first democratic transfer of power in more than 70 years.

A Gender-Specific Approach To Counter-Terrorism

By Carmen Arroyo
Understanding the different way that terrorists target women and how to prevent their recruitment could play a significant role in counter-terrorism efforts, and is gaining increased recognition among the international community.

Peace “Only Way Forward” For Yemen

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Tackling the relentless conflict in Yemen has never been more urgent as it has pushed the Middle Eastern nation “deep into the abyss.” However, much can be learned from recent and ongoing initiatives.

Church and Conflict in South Sudan

By James Jeffrey
Throughout fifty years of struggles, South Sudan’s different churches have remained one of the country’s few stable institutions, and in their workings toward peace, have displayed a level of inter-religious cooperation rarely seen in the world. 

Overly Bureaucratic Procedures and Long Waits Cuts off Support to 22 Million Yemenis

By Maged Srour
As Yemen’s people struggle to survive amid what has been described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the stranglehold by both government coalition forces and rebels over the country’s main ports of entry and distribution is cutting off a lifeline of support to 22 million people.

Mideast Faces Tragic Shredding of its Diverse Religious, Ethnic & Cultural Fabric

By António Guterres
I thank the Russian Federation Presidency for convening this debate at a crucial juncture for the people of the Middle East and North Africa. The region faces profound divisions, troubling currents and a tragic shredding of its diverse religious, ethnic and cultural fabric.

Savagery of Rapes of Minors

By Geetika Dang, Vani S. Kulkarni and Raghav Gaiha
Rapes of minors surged from 16 per day in 2001 to 46 per day in 2016. As if this was not horrendous enough, their savagery adds to it. In 2016, 43.3% of the total female rape victims were minors. Around 13% of the minor female victims were of age 11 and below. The deceased victim in the Kathua rape case from a nomadic Muslim community was barely eight years old. Her crumpled body was found in a blood-smeared dress in January, 2018. A group of Hindu men lured her into a forest, kidnapped her, drugged her, locked her in a Hindu temple, gang-raped her and then strangled her.

America First or America Alone?

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
The United States’ move to withdraw from the Human Rights Council will have “reverberations” throughout the world in years to come, say human rights groups. This week, the U.S. announced its intention to withdraw from the 47-member Human Rights Council, accusing it of bias against Israel.

Three Countries Protect Half the World’s New Refugees

By Jan Egeland
Turkey, Bangladesh and Uganda alone received over half of all new refugees last year. Never before has the world registered a larger number of people displaced by war and persecution.

2.5 Million Migrants Smuggled Worldwide, Many Via Social Media

By Emily Thampoe and Carmen Arroyo
At least 2.5 million migrants were smuggled worldwide in 2016, generating an income for smugglers which ranged between $5.5 billion and $7.0 billion, according to a newly published report “2018 Global Study On Smuggling Of Migrants” by the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Trump is Here to Stay and Change the World

By Roberto Savio
Donald John Trump, 45th and current president of the United States, has been seen in many illustrious circles as an anomaly that cannot last. Well, it is time to look at reality. If we put on the glasses of people who have seen their level of income reduced and are afraid of the future, Trump is here to stay, and he is a result and not a cause.

Ethiopia to Return Land in Bid for Peace with Eritrea

By James Jeffrey
The utterly inconsequential-looking Ethiopian border town of Badme is where war broke out in 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, lasting two years and devastating both countries. 

Now is Not the Time to Give up on the People of DRC

By Jean-Philippe Marcoux
After more than 20 years of brutal conflict, few might believe that things could get worse in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). And yet they most dishearteningly are. In the last year, we have witnessed a continuous escalation of violence that has spread to half of the country, endangering millions. Some 2 million children suffer from acute hunger, and the DRC is home to the largest number of displaced people in Africa.

Europe, Sharing the Love?

By Maged Srour
Even if arrivals of migrants into Italy by sea have decreased between 2017 and 2018 so far, recent events in the Mediterranean rim have strongly drawn attention to the migration issue and a fierce debate is now underway among European countries.

You Are More Powerful than You Think!

By Monique Barbut
Are you overwhelmed by the depressing news coming at you daily? Conflict, forced migrants, famine, floods, hurricanes, extinction of species, climate change, threats of war … a seemingly endless list. It might surprise you, but you can really make a difference on many of these issues.

Sahel in the Throes of a Major Humanitarian Crisis

By Mark Lowcock
I am increasingly concerned by the situation in the Sahel. In Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal, nearly 6 million people are struggling to meet their daily food needs. Severe malnutrition threatens the lives of 1.6 million children. These are levels unseen since the crisis of 2012, and the most critical months are still ahead.

Stop Neglecting African Conflicts

By Will Higginbotham
Conflicts have uprooted millions across several African nations and we must not forget them, said a human rights group. Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) timely message was published through their annual list of the worlds most neglected displacement crises.

Ukraine “Europe’s Largest Crisis”: IOM Regional Director on Visit to Eastern Ukraine

By International Organization for Migration
“Ukraine is the largest displacement crisis in Europe since the Balkan wars,” according to Argentina Szabados, IOM, the UN Migration Agency’s Regional Director for Southeastern and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “Now in its fifth year, with thousands dead and 1.5 million displaced, it is scandalous that this conflict remains largely forgotten.”

Kenya Can End the Moral Indignity of Child Labour

By Jacqueline Mogeni and Siddharth Chatterjee
On 12 June every year is the World Day Against Child Labour. In the world's poorest countries, around one in four children are engaged in work that is potentially harmful to their health.

Human Rights Must Be on the Table During U.S.-North Korea Talks

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Human rights issues must be included in next week’s United States-North Korea summit in order to create a “sustainable agreement”, said a UN expert.
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