As a world leader and beneficiary of the international system, the United States should be at the forefront of efforts to enforce rules and laws to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, protect civilians in conflict, and block weapons transfers to states that engage in war crimes or genocide.
In the packed conference hall of the Heritage Hotel, the sound of Pacific voices filled the air—not just through speeches, but in song, rhythm, and poetry. The Dreamcast Theatre Performing Arts group opened the Second Pacific Island Ocean Conference with an evocative performance, reminding leaders and practitioners why they had gathered: to listen. To listen to science. To listen to communities. To listen to the ocean itself.
For the past 23 years, Gabriel Oshie has started his mornings at Drill Ranch in the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Boki, Cross River state, southern Nigeria.
In the
Global South, where people under the age of 18 comprise more than 50 percent of the population, youth activism is increasing rapidly. Youngsters are more agile and volatile than older people, less restrained by family, prestige and work. However, many suffer from marginalisation, lack of employment, and poverty. Furthermore, insecurity and limited life experience make young people an easy target for manipulating and unscrupulous politicians, criminal networks, and religious fanatics.
In less than nine months, Israel has demolished more Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over building permits than in the whole of last year.
On September 30, the United Nations (UN) convened a high-level meeting on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar shortly following the end of the 80th session of the General Assembly (UNGA80). The conference was an opportunity to draw global attention once more to the Rohingya refugee situation with dialogue from UN officials, world representatives and civil society organizations.
The international community
convened for a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters, this time to mobilize political support for the ongoing issue of the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar.
The dust was already swirling when Asherly William Hogo lifted himself from a makeshift bed before dawn. The 62-year-old pastoralist, lean from a lifetime of walking these plains, slipped into his sandals and stepped outside. Stars glittered over Dodoma, but the air was warmer than it used to be, Hogo swears. He whistled for his cows. Years ago, this hour meant an arduous trek to distant waterholes.
I was 16 years old when Super-Typhoon Haiyan tore through my community in Eastern Samar in the Philippines. It remains one of the deadliest storms in history, killing more than 6,000 people and displacing millions. My community lost everything: Loved ones, family homes and land, our ways to earn a living and rebuild, and our sense of safety all vanished overnight.
DANGER – WARNING – ALARM: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Maria Ressa is warning that lies are being weaponized deliberately to manipulate people around the world. Big, profit-oriented, and technology-enabled companies are now disregarding or trampling over the sanctity and veracity of facts and information to speed up disinformation, (using AI) in ways that quickly erase truth and leave people manipulated.
The
port of San Antonio, Chile's main port, is promoting a historic and sustainable expansion with its own investment and that of international consortiums, aiming to improve its current ninth place among the largest and busiest ports in Latin America.
Thirty years since the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the resolve that defined and united the world toward a global agenda for gender equality make it just as relevant in 2025.
Just a few years ago, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of families in Latin America and the Caribbean did not know whether they would have enough food for the next day. The shutdown of economies, massive job losses, and the sharp rise in prices pushed food insecurity to levels not seen in decades.
When you think of climate action, images of wind farms, solar panels, bicycles or electric vehicles may come to mind. Perhaps lush forests or green landscapes. What you may not think of is the humble seed.
Is the unpredictable Trump administration toying with the idea of resuming nuclear tests?
The New York times reported April 10 that some of Trump’s senior advisers had proposed the resumption of “test denotations for the sake of national security". The last such US explosion took place in 1992.
Last week, the United Nations (UN) marked its 80th anniversary against the backdrop of an unprecedented global crisis. With the
highest number of active conflicts since 1946, trust in multilateralism is faltering.
CIVICUS discusses North Korea’s closed civic space with Hanna Song, Executive Director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB). Based in Seoul, South Korea, NKDB documents systematic human rights violations in North Korea through testimonies from escapees, and has built the world’s largest private database of such abuses.
As the
COP30 approaches amid darkening geopolitical clouds—marked by rising rightwing extremism, corporate backtracking and rising militarism—Ali T. Sheikh, Pakistan’s leading expert on sustainable development and climate change, views the world’s largest diplomatic gathering with a mix of apprehension and caution.
In her opening statement, Annalena Baerbock (Germany),
President of the 80th UN General Assembly, only the fifth female to hold this position over 80 years, stated, “Our future as an institution will also be shaped by the selection of the next Secretary-General. And here we must pause and reflect. In nearly eighty years, this Organization has never chosen a woman for that role. One might wonder how out of four billion potential candidates, there could not be found a single one. … Like 80 years ago, we are standing at a crossroads.”
This September the UN turns 80, but the lessons of peace, justice, and cooperation are still unfinished. The world today faces the flames of inequality, conflict, ecological collapse and growing digital threats. In short, the very problems the UN was created to solve are once again staring us in the face.
World leaders convened in New York to deliberate over the efforts needed to address non-communicable diseases.
On September 25, the United Nations (UN) convened a
high-level meeting on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and the promotion of mental health and well-being during the 80th session of the General Assembly (UNGA80).