Human Rights

Kashmir’s Small Farmers Endless Wait for Climate Justice

By Umar Manzoor Shah
In the fertile fields of Jammu's R.S. Pura, rice farmer Mohd Yaseen Khan stares at a cracked irrigation canal, battered by erratic rainfall. “One day heavy rain, next week a dry spell,” he says, dusting his palms. “Our crop suffers. Our costs rise.”

‘This People’s March for Climate is For My Son’s Future’

By Tanka Dhakal
In the scorching heat and humidity, Canru Pataxo marched with his one-year-old son firmly held in his arms.

‘Just Transition Must Make Climate Work for People Living its Consequences’

By Joyce Chimbi
An open letter by more than 1,000 organizations from 106 countries, including trade unions, Indigenous leaders, feminist and youth movements, Afro-descendants, peasant groups, environmental advocates, disability networks and community organizations, to all States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is calling for a people-centered Just Transition.

Latin America: a Test Case for Aligning Climate Action, Food Security and Social Sustainability

By Caroline Delgado
The urgency of linking climate action with social and wider environmental priorities is clear. Climate change, environmental degradation and violent conflict are often deeply connected and even mutually reinforcing. At the same time, climate action can either support or undermine efforts to improve social justice and halt environmental degradation.

Forcefully Deported Afghan Women Return to a Life of Fear and Anxiety

When Roya, a former police officer under Afghanistan’s Republic government, left the country with her family, she felt a great sense of relief, having escaped from the horrors of Taliban rule. She never imagined that less than three years later she would be forced back into the same conditions, only worse.

We’re All in the Same Storm, Different Boats, Says Young Activist With Disability

By Tanka Dhakal
At the UN Climate Conference venue in Belém, young activist João Victor da Costa da Silva is trying to make his case heard by negotiators. The 16-year-old Da Silva has a specific request for the parties: the needs of young people with disabilities should be addressed through the lens of climate justice.

Brazil is Breathing Life into Climate Commitments—Human Rights Lawyer

By Joyce Chimbi
Binaifer Nowrojee, a human rights lawyer and the president of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), has lauded the Brazilian government “for significant steps taken to breathe life into the climate commitments.”

Poor Countries Welcome Loss and Damage Fund’s Call for Requests, Warn It Falls Short of Needs

By Farai Shawn Matiashe
Least Developed Countries have hailed the debut call for proposals for the Loss and Damage Fund, which was launched on 11 November at the United Nations climate summit known as COP30 in Belem, Brazil.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 2025


 
Violence against women is a human rights emergency in every country. One in three women worldwide experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime.

Without Truth, There Can Be No Climate Justice—Experts

By Tanka Dhakal
Concerned scientists at the UN climate conference in Belém are appealing for collective action to combat climate change-related misinformation and disinformation.

The World Social Summit in Doha: Time to Act

By Isabel Ortiz
Qatar hosted the Second World Summit for Social Development from 4–6 November. According to the United Nations, more than 40 Heads of State and Government, 230 ministers and senior officials, and nearly 14,000 attendees took part. Beyond plenaries and roundtables, more than 250 “solution sessions” identified practical ways to advance universal rights to food, housing, decent work, social protection or social security, education, health, care systems and other public services, international labor standards, and the fight against poverty and inequality.

Demonstrators Face-Off With Security as COP30 Activism Intensifies

By Joyce Chimbi
In a departure from the past three COPs, in Egypt, Dubai and Azerbaijan, there have been increasingly intense demonstrations from activists at the COP30 venue in Belém, the capital of the northern Brazilian state of Pará.

Hollow Promises or Hope?
COP30 Brazil – Moment of Truth for the Planet

By James Alix Michel
COP30 Brazil, though shadowed by the absence of many world leaders, remains a pivotal milestone in the global fight against climate change, tasked with building on the Paris Agreement’s momentum. Yet the glaring lack of commitment, coupled with withdrawals from the accord, casts a grim shadow over the future. The planet continues to warm, and scientists warn that current targets may not prevent a catastrophic temperature spike. While the summit’s focus on implementation not just new promises—is a welcome shift, it’s clear: words alone won’t cool the Earth.

Syria’s Fragile Transition Threatened by Severe Aid Shortfalls and Increasing Abductions, UN Warns

By Oritro Karim
Eleven months after the fall of the Assad regime, Syria continues to grapple with severe instability as the country navigates a turbulent political transition. Rates of displacement have surged, and humanitarian organizations are struggling to support large numbers of refugees returning home. In recent weeks, the United Nations (UN) has documented numerous cases of enforced disappearances and abductions, calling for stronger accountability measures as the transition continues to unfold.

US Stands Alone Defying UN Vote on Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

By Thalif Deen
The US took another step backward --to break ranks with the United Nations-- when it voted against a draft resolution calling for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The negative vote followed an announcement by President Trump last month that the US plans to resume nuclear testing after a 33-year hiatus. The US stood alone on the UN vote, which was supported by almost all member States in the General Assembly's First Committee.

COP30’s Crossroads: To Accelerate Implementation or Make More Promises?

By Joyce Chimbi
“Devastating climate damages are happening already, from Hurricane Melissa hitting the Caribbean, Super Typhoons smashing Vietnam and the Philippines to a tornado ripping through Southern Brazil,” said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, on the eve of COP30 in the Amazonian City of Belém. “This is why COP must achieve three things: It must send a clear signal: nations are fully on board for climate cooperation—that means agreeing to strong outcomes on all the key issues.”

‘We Want a Place at the Negotiation Table’ — Indigenous Leader

By Tanka Dhakal
Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon region are calling on climate negotiators to base climate initiatives on the recognition of the land rights of affected Indigenous communities. From the COP30 venue in Belém, these leaders are demanding full participation in the design and implementation of proposed projects.

A Lesson for Pakistan in Indian Sweet Syrup Death

By Zofeen Ebrahim
When 23 children died in India’s Madhya Pradesh after consuming contaminated cough syrup in early September, the news barely registered across the border. In Pakistan—where self-medication is rampant and syrup bottles are household staples—the tragedy strikes dangerously close to home.

The Silent War Before COP30: How Corporations Are Weaponising the Law to Muzzle Climate Defenders

By Bibbi Abruzzini and Lucia Torres (Forus) and Jake Wieczorek (Hivos)
As the world prepares for the next COP30 summit, a quieter battle is raging in courtrooms. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are the fossil-fuel industry’s new favourite weapon, turning justice systems into instruments of intimidation.

Displaced Farmers in Southern Lebanon Still Denied Access to Land

By Ed Holt
Food security and livelihoods in southern Lebanon are under severe threat as the repercussions of Israeli bombing continue to be felt across the region, a report released today (NOV 10) has warned.

Turning Indigenous Territories From ‘Sacrifice’ Zones to Thriving Forest Ecosystems

By Umar Manzoor Shah
A report by the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC) and Earth Insight paints a stark picture of how extractive industries, deforestation, and climate change are converging to endanger the world’s last intact tropical forests and the Indigenous Peoples who protect them.
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