Private Sector Key to Unlocking the Future of Development

Geopolitical tensions – from deepening rivalries between major powers to regional conflicts – have placed acute pressure on the international development agenda. Development assistance from major funders has been on the decline. The world is becoming more unpredictable.

Broadcasting Hope: Women’s Voice Radio Helps Afghan Teen Reclaim Her Future

Mehrangiz is a sixteen-year-old girl from Badakhshan, a province in the northeastern Afghanistan famed for its rubies, jewels, and a land of love and beauty.

Victims of Japan’s Eugenic Protection Law Sterilized and Mutilated Without Consent

Victims of Japan's costly Eugenic Protection Law took to the stage sharing their life stories, offering their tragedies of sterilization and mutilation, in return for the hopes of “a society without discrimination”. At a side event on International Sharing of the Experiences and Lessons of Japan's Former Eugenic Protection Law held on June 10th, The Conference of Parties on the Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities Discussed the struggle for Anti eugenic ideology. Hosted by the Japan Disability Forum along with several legal defence teams for the victims, an outline of ideology, policy, and retribution was displayed, in an attempt to fight against “eugenics-based discrimination”.

‘Truth and Justice Have No Statute of Limitations; The State Must Assume Its Responsibility’

 
CIVICUS discusses struggles for historical justice with Graciela Montes de Oca, a member of Mothers and Relatives of Detained and Disappeared Uruguayans, a Uruguayan civil society organisation that seeks truth, justice and prevention of future crimes like those committed under dictatorship.

US Threatens UN Members Seeking a Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestine Conflict

The United States, a longstanding and unyielding Israeli ally, is threatening UN member states urging them to keep off an upcoming high-level meeting aimed at recognizing a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestine conflict. The meeting, to be co-chaired by France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and Saudi Arabia, a strong political ally of the US, is scheduled to take place June 17-20.

End Child Labour Forever through Education for All Children

As we mark today’s World Day Against Child Labour, we must confront an urgent global truth: over 160 million children around the world are engaged in child labour – many of them in the most dangerous, degrading and life-limiting conditions imaginable. These are children forced to work in fields, factories and conflict zones – deprived of their right to safety, to dignity and, above all, to an education.

Nia Tero: Indigenous Guardianship the ‘Only Time-Tested Approach’ To Healthy Ocean Ecosystems

The 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) has seen a significant presence from Indigenous peoples, who insist that their perspective and guidance be taken into account in the global efforts for sustainable ocean use and conservation. The sense of responsibility to the ocean and recognition of its history is an example that the international community can learn from.

Atoll Nation of Tuvalu Faces Climate Existential Crisis, Frustration With Slow Funding

Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Feleti Teo, describes himself as an optimist—despite the existential crisis his atoll nation faces with climate change-induced sea level rise and frustration with existing international financial mechanisms to fund adaptation and mitigation.

UNOC3: A Cry for Global Action to Save Small-Scale Fisheries

Just before dawn, the worn wooden dhows begin gliding toward the shore at Magogoni fish market in Tanzania’s port city of Dar es Salaam. Their tattered sails flutter against the orange sky. Exhausted fishers step out onto the muddy sand, hauling frayed nets and plastic crates, their sun-creased faces tight with fatigue.

Military Conflicts at Historic High as US Signals Retreat from World Stage

The world is experiencing a surge in violence not seen since the post-World War II era. 2024 marked a grim new record: the highest number of state-based armed conflicts in over seven decades.

‘A Wake-Up Call from the Womb’—Indigenous People Rally for a Binding Plastics Treaty

As the sun peeked through the French Riviera clouds and a dozen reporters sipped orange juice aboard the WWF Panda Boat docked at Port Lympia, Frankie Orona, a Native American rights advocate from the Society of Native Nations in San Antonio, Texas, stunned the room into a moment of absolute stillness.

Vanuatu Anticipates New Era With Climate Change Reparations

To the outside world, a sea level rise of 34 cm (or slightly longer than a child’s ruler) may not seem dramatic, but it’s an existential threat to the Pacific island state of Vanuatu.

Why Are We Failing to Protect Gaza?

During President Trump’s tour of Gulf monarchies last month, he mentioned Gaza only two times. The first time was in Doha, when he expressed his desire to make Gaza a “freedom zone.” Gaza’s 2.1 million residents, nearly half of whom are children, would like that, too.

Pandemic Agreement: Important Step but Big Decisions Deferred

When the next pandemic strikes, the world should be better prepared. At least, that’s the promise states made at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Health Assembly on 19 May when they adopted the first global pandemic treaty. This milestone in international health cooperation emerged from three years of difficult negotiations, informed by the harsh lessons learned from COVID-19’s devastating global impacts.

‘The Regime Seeks to Consolidate Absolute Control by Eliminating All External Oversight’

 
CIVICUS discusses Nicaragua’s withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other international organisations with Wisthon Noguera, an activist, student and deputy coordinator of the National Youth Platform of Nicaragua.

How to Spur Economic Growth in Africa’s Fragile and Conflict-Affected States

More than half of sub-Saharan Africa’s population lives in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS)—economies that face profound challenges such as stagnant economic growth, weak institutions, inadequate public services, extreme poverty, war, and forced internal displacement.

UN vs US: the Battle for Transgender Rights

As the Trump administration continues its battle against the United Nations-- over war crimes, human rights, and the climate treaty, among others -- they also remain sharply divided over Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex. (LGBTI) rights. The US has taken several actions, some by Executive Order, related to transgender people, including restricting Access to Gender-Affirming Care, banning Transgender Individuals from Military Service, rescinding Protections for Transgender Students and ending Federal Funding for gender Ideology.

UN Ocean Decade vs. Coastal Reality: ‘They Took Our Sea,’ Say Vizhinjam Fishworkers

As the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) approaches, bringing renewed attention to SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and the rights of ocean-dependent communities, India’s Vizhinjam coast highlights the environmental injustice and human cost of unchecked coastal development.

Solar Energy Brings Water to Iconic Salvadoran Village of El Mozote

The worst massacre of civilians in Latin America occurred in the Salvadoran village of El Mozote, where environmental projects are beginning to emerge, slowly fostering awareness about protecting the natural resources of this deeply symbolic site, embedded in the country's historical memory.

Girls in Kenya Are Repurposing the Invasive Mathenge Tree Into Furniture

Char Tito is hammering nails into wood at Kakuma Arid Zone Secondary School in Turkana County, northern Kenya. The 16-year-old is making a traditional chair under the scorching sun outside one of the classroom blocks.

Is There a Case for UN Optimism?

On April 16, Seton Hall University's School of Diplomacy and International Relations hosted UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang as part of its World Leader Forum.