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Wednesday, November 11, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Human Rights
Internally Displaced in Ukraine: Between Hell and a Future That Does Not Exist
It is impossible to ignore. Loudspeakers across the city broadcast a recorded voice announcing a minute’s silence for those who have fallen in the war. After 60 ticks of the second hand, it is time for the national anthem: “Ukraine has not yet perished.”
Consequences of Inaction: UN Security Council Pressed to Act Before Hunger Becomes Famine
Across the board, UN officials and humanitarian organizations urged the Security Council to act before the consequences of food insecurity and famines hit, during a high-level open debate on Tuesday, August 25. More than 80 representatives took part in Tuesday’s conversation on conflict-related food insecurity under the theme “Food under fire: the Security Council’s role in mitigating global and local food crises”.
Beyond the Horizon: Raising a Generation to Protect the Blue Pacific
For generations, Pacific children have grown up with the ocean as part of everyday life. It is where families fish, where stories are passed down, where livelihoods begin and where cultures are rooted.
Grand Planetary Challenges Need a Grand Coalition to Solve Them
Several coalitions exist today to defend the territories in which people live and work. Global leaders have long understood the importance of shared responsibility for collective security and have invested significant time in establishing networks, partnerships and alliances. In 2025, global spending on defense reached a record $2.9 trillion.
A Divided Vote for the UN’s Human Rights Chief
On 24 July, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly reappointed Volker Türk as High Commissioner for Human Rights for a further four years. Only 10 states – among them Israel, Russia and the USA – opposed the decision.
Retired in Ukraine: One Cheese, Two Chickens and a Dozen Eggs
Marina says she does not particularly like her flowers, but that, “for some reason,” people buy them.
South Africa’s Anti-Immigrant Violence Slows SDG Goals, Rips Apart Africans’ Free Movement Call
When the Malawian government announced the conclusion of the repatriation of its citizens trapped in anti-immigrant violence against foreign Africans in South Africa on August 12, 2026, it had brought home 56,723 nationals, according to data from the Department of Disaster Management Affairs.
GEF Proposes $140 Million Program to Strengthen Drought Resilience
For pastoralists in Arvaikheer — a village in Mongolia’s dry central plains — rain can determine whether there is enough grass for cattle to roam, whether waterholes are replenished and whether families make it through another dry season. But as climate change makes rainfall increasingly unpredictable, even a wet season may no longer provide water and pasture needed to sustain people and livestock.
ECUADOR: ‘Criminalisation Serves as a Deterrent, Seeking to Discipline Others’
CIVICUS discusses the rapid erosion of civic space in Ecuador with Gabriela Panchana, an activist, communicator and founder of the En Voz Alta and Rumbo Plural digital platforms.
Lailuma Built Opportunities for Afghan Women – Then She Was Killed
Afghanistan has seen a number of unexplained murders in recent months. One of the latest victims is Lailuma, the wife of well-known local singer Salam Maftoon and a community activist.
New Emergency Care Skills Help Tanzania’s Frontline Doctors Save Lives
The 14-year-old girl arrived at the hospital fighting for her life. After a tragic hit-and-run car accident, she was rushed into the emergency department with serious abdominal injuries. Every passing minute brought her closer to death.
Cockroach Insult Unleashes Biggest Challenge yet to Modi’s Repressive Rule
India’s strongman leader, Narendra Modi, has just been forced to do the thing he likes least: making concessions in response to protests.
UNAIDS Framework Pushes for the Protection and Integration of HIV Care
As the global HIV response shifts toward sustainable, nationally led, and rights-based care, a new UNAIDS framework published this week argues that integration must start with a country's readiness.
World Humanitarian Day — Protect Aid Workers Against Drones
World Humanitarian Day celebrates humanitarian workers and the life-saving services they provide under the most complex and often dangerous conditions.
How the Taliban Hunt Women in Afghanistan
FIVE years after the Taliban returned to power, Fawzia Koofi, the former Deputy Speaker of the Afghan Parliament, denounces what she describes as “gender apartheid.”
How Mexico’s Search Collectives Claimed a Place at the World Cup
Weeks have gone by since the World Cup ended. Its aftermath has sparked a broader conversation about who football’s biggest tournament belongs to and how it should look in 2030. One postscript to that conversation comes from Mexico.
UN Reiterates its 18-Year-Old Ban on Smoking
When smoking was common in the corridors of the UN, in the delegate's lounge and in committee rooms during the 1970s and 90s, the office of the Secretary-General sent a memo that read: “Smoking was Discouraged” in the UN building—sounding far short of a ban.
GAZA: ‘There Are No Standards to Tell You What to Do in Conditions like Gaza’
CIVICUS discusses the state of civic and humanitarian action in Gaza with Ibrahim Arandas, a Palestinian activist and project manager at SPARK Gaza, a civil society organisation that provides humanitarian and psychosocial support.
Remembering Fidel Castro, a Hero of the World’s Oppressed People
The 13th of August marked the 100th birthday of Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz - in short Fidel Castro. Amidst an intensified US siege and the threat of invasion, Cubans commemorated their dear leader’s centenary birth anniversary with events that included an International Book Fair, art exhibitions, concerts and gatherings of delegates from left-wing organisations across the continent.
Indigenous Peoples Call for Meaningful Influence in Climate Discussions — Nia Tero
Indigenous communities have long advocated for the environment through the lens of their traditional knowledge systems and cultures. But much more work needs to be done to translate their presence into influence.
Nairobi Biodiversity Talks Set the Stage for Key COP17 Decisions
Despite record participation in global biodiversity reporting and planning processes, countries remain off track to meet the world's 2030 biodiversity goals, according to discussions that concluded this month at two key meetings under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).« 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.
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
