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Friday, July 31, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Human Rights
Sudan’s Crisis: Mass Killings Continue While the World Looks Away
Satellite images show corpses piled high in El Fasher, North Darfur, awaiting mass burial or cremation as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia tries to cover up the scale of its crimes. Up to 150,000 El Fasher residents remain missing from the city, seized by the RSF in November. The lowest estimate is that 60,000 are dead. The Arab militia has ethnically cleansed the city of its non-Arab residents. The slaughter is the latest horrific episode in the war between the RSF and the Sudan Armed Forces, sparked by a power battle between military leaders in April 2023.
‘Zambia Has Environmental Laws and Standards on Paper – the Problem Is Their Implementation’
CIVICUS discusses environmental accountability in Zambia with Christian-Geraud Neema, Africa editor at the China Global South Project, an independent journalism initiative that covers and follows China’s activities in global south countries.
The Fight Against Femicide: Victories and Setbacks in 2025
Hours before world leaders gathered in Johannesburg for the 2025 G20 summit in November, hundreds of South African women wearing black lay down in a city park for 15 minutes — one for each woman who loses her life every day to gender-based violence in the country. The striking visual protest was organised by a civil society organisation, Women for Change, which also gathered over a million signatures demanding the government declare gender-based violence (GBV) a national disaster. Hours later, the government acquiesced.
‘People Reacted to a System of Governance Shaped by Informal Powers and Personal Interests’
CIVICUS discusses Generation Z-led protests in Bulgaria with Zahari Iankov, senior legal expert at the Bulgarian Centre for Not-for-Profit Law, a civil society organisation that advocates for participation and human rights.
A Grim Year for Democracy and Civic Freedoms – but in Gen Z There Is Hope
2025 has been a terrible year for democracy. Just over 7 per cent of the world’s population now live in places where the rights to organise, protest and speak out are generally respected, according to the CIVICUS Monitor, a civil society research partnership that measures civic freedoms around the world. This is a sharp drop from over 14 per cent this time last year.
UN Warns Gaza’s Fragile Improvement Could Reverse Without Sustained Aid and Access
Despite notable improvements in the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip following the October 10 ceasefire, progress remains critically fragile. With the enclave having averted famine across multiple regions, the United Nations (UN) and its partners warn that sustained humanitarian access, a steady flow of resources, and the restoration of critical civilian infrastructure are essential in preventing further deterioration, which could have long-lasting consequences for an already deeply traumatized population.
‘From the Moment They Enter Libya, Migrants Risk Being Arbitrarily Arrested, Tortured and Killed’
CIVICUS discusses migrants’ rights in Libya with Sarra Zidi, political scientist and researcher for HuMENA, an international civil society organisation (CSO) that advances democracy, human rights and social justice across the Middle East and North Africa.
Nigeria: Will Nnamdi Kanu’s Life Sentence End the Violent Agitation for Biafra?
On 20 November 2025, a Nigerian court in Abuja sentenced separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of terrorism and several related offenses, bringing an end to a decade-long legal battle.
The World’s Right-Handed and Left-Handed Torturers
Jeanne Kirkpatrick, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, once made a highly debatable distinction between "friendly" right-wing "authoritarian" regimes (which were mostly U.S. and Western allies) and "unfriendly" left-wing "totalitarian" dictatorships (which the U.S. abhorred).
A Global Movement for Nutrition Is Needed Now More than Ever
In my more than 30 years with the United Nations, I’ve seen enormous change, collaboration and progress towards improving human development. But I’ve also seen how history has a way of repeating itself to entrench some of the most intractable global challenges.
Climate Justice Denied by Delays
Opinions have been divided over the annual UN climate conferences. While some see COP30 in Belém, Brazil, as confirming their irrelevance, others see it as a turning point in the struggle for climate justice.
Downward Spiral of Bangladesh Politics and Economy
Who Should be Blamed ?
Bangladesh in recent years started drawing global attention for its success in emerging out of poverty through economic growth and agricultural development. From early 2000 until 2023, while population growth continued to decline from 1.2 in 2013 to 1.03 in 2023, this growth has been the powerful driver of poverty reduction since 2000. Indeed, agriculture accounted for 90 percent of the reduction in poverty between 2005 and 2010 (World Bank).
Day Laborers, Trapped in a Complex War Between M25 Rebels and the DRC, Return Home
Fulgence Ndayizeye, a Burundian bicycle taxi driver who used to cross the Congolese-Burundian border every day to support his family, wanted to return home. He and more than 500 other Burundians, including women, men, and children, stranded in Uvira on the border between the DRC and Rwanda, were finally allowed to return to their country on Sunday, December 14, 2025, by M23-Congo River Alliance (AFC) rebels after being stuck in the DRC due to an M23 rebel offensive that had taken the town a few days earlier.
End of Year Video 2025
Multiple shocks defined 2025: conflict, climate breakdown and shrinking democracy.
Multilateral institutions were tested as never before.
Rescued from Fire: the World in 2025
Our traditional “year-ender” usually kicks off with a grim litany of world disasters and crises over the past 12 months, highlights IPS partners and contributors and culminates in a more positive-sounding finale. This time I’d like to begin on a more personal note intended also as a metaphor.
Myanmar’s Sham Election: Trump Legitimises Murderous Military Dictatorship
Myanmar is heading for an election, beginning on 28 December, that’s ostensibly an exercise in democracy – but it has clearly been designed with the aim of conferring more legitimacy on its military junta.
Escalating Food Insecurity in Asia-Pacific Undermines Health, Economic Growth, and Stability
2025 marked a notable year of progress in reducing global hunger; yet climate pressures, economic instability, and ongoing conflicts continue to push agri-food systems to their limits, undermining food availability. In a new report, UN agencies raise the alarm on how these factors are particularly pronounced in the Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for 40 percent of the world’s undernourished.
Namibia Leads the Way: Honouring 25 years of Women, Peace and Security
Last November, the streets of Windhoek came alive with the sound of drums and brass as a marching band led a procession of women from Namibia’s Defence and security forces.
Ahead of Brutal Winter Season, Intensified Attacks Cripple Basic Services Across Ukraine
In recent weeks, the Russo-Ukrainian War has taken a considerable turn for the worse, with armed hostilities escalating in both frequency and intensity, causing extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and a significant loss of life across Ukraine. Attacks on energy infrastructures and the resulting power outages are forcing the most vulnerable civilians to deal with a “cold, frightening ordeal” in the winter season, warned the United Nations (UN) human rights chief.
My Niece Was Killed Amid Mexico’s Land Conflicts. The World Must Hold Corporations Accountable
My niece Roxana Valentín Cárdenas was 21 years old when she was killed. She was a Purépecha Indigenous woman from San Andrés Tziróndaro, a community on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michoacán.
How Pacific Wisdom Is Shaping Global Climate Action
On the Pacific Islands, where the ocean horizon is both a lifeline and a warning, communities have long interpreted environmental change through traditional knowledge, lived experiences, stories, and practice. Their observations echo those across the Pacific region, where traditional knowledge remains central to understanding shifting environments and responsible stewardship.« Previous Page — Next Page »
One world, one humanity, now one court to defend its rights. Another step towards universal human rights, but not remotely a step far enough. The United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights more than half a century ago, but that has done little to stop violations the world over, just as the Geneva Convention has not protected prisoners of war enough. Democracy itself and the freedom it presupposes has not been protective enough. This is the century to move from politicisation of human rights towards humanising political ways. IPS keeps an eye on that difficult path.
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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
