IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Archives

DRC’s First Peaceful Transition of Power Was At Expense of Women

When Felix Tshisekedi, the 55 year old son of the former opposition leader, won the recent presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it should have felt like a new dawn for many of us living here.

Munich Security Conference – Old Question Marks in the Shadow of the Anthropocene

By Dan Smith

This year’s Munich Security Conference (the MSC), held on 15-17 February raised many questions but didn’t have the answer. It was not a happy and certainly not a self-confident gathering. Yet a couple of moments suggested the first new blooms of new ways to think about security might soon poke through the soil.

Attacks on Human Rights Defenders: A Daily Occurrence in Latin America

By Emilio Godoy

"We're in a very difficult situation. There is militarisation at a regional level, and gender-based violence. We are at risk, we cannot silence that," Aura Lolita Chávez, an indigenous woman from Guatemala, complained at a meeting of human rights defenders from Latin America held in the Mexican capital.

In the World of Sustainability, Colonialism is Not Dead

By Zafirah Zein

Scandinavian fashion label and global It-brand Ganni hardly caused a stir recently when it closed Copenhagen Fashion Week with a sustainability-themed showcase titled “Life on Earth.”

Sexual Violence Surging in South Sudan

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage

Women and girls continue to face the brunt of violence in the northern region of South Sudan with persistently high and brutal levels of sexual violence, a new report found.

What, After Buenos Aires Conference on South-South Cooperation?

By Branislav Gosovic *

Initially, in its BAPA+40 follow-up, the Group of 77 should address – in its own circle and in a comprehensive manner – the challenges and opportunities facing South-South cooperation.

Bringing #MeToo to the Fashion Industry

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage

The global #MeToo movement has put a spotlight on sexual harassment and violence in various industries including the film and music industries. Is it now time for the fashion industry to address these issues within their supply chains, one organisation says.

The Hidden Economic Costs of Displacement

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage

While the impacts of displacement on wellbeing are well-known, one group has pointed to the equally burdensome economic costs for those displaced as well as host communities.

How Devastating is Climate Change for World Peace & Security?

By Thalif Deen

When the Security Council, the most powerful body at the United Nations, met last month to discuss the growing new threats to world peace and security, the discussion veered away from international terrorism, nuclear Armageddon and the rash of ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Are Sustainable Development Goals Reaching Indigenous Peoples?

By Peter J. Jacques

Life and death for whole communities hang in the balance of achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include eliminating poverty, conserving forests, and addressing climate change in a resolution adopted unanimously by the United Nations in 2015.

Is UN Planning to Replace Humans with Machines & Robots?

By Thalif Deen

The United Nations-- once facetiously described as an institution whose bloated bureaucracy moves at the leisured pace of a paralytic snail -- is steadily zooming into the field of fast-paced, cutting-edge digital technology where humans may one day be replaced with machines and robots.

Transforming Economies, States, & Societies – Building Evidence for Achieving SDGs

By Kunal Sen

Following on from Finn Tarp, my predecessor, is a daunting prospect, but I look forward to working with my colleagues at UNU-WIDER and with our many partners to build on the achievements of the past 10 years.

The Right to Life, Liberty, and Land

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage

Sustainable land management is becoming more important than ever as rates of emissions, deforestation, and water scarcity continue to increase. But what if you don’t have rights to the land? While the impact of agriculture on land is well known, the relationship between land degradation and land tenure seems to be less understood.

As Treaties Collapse, Can We Still Prevent a Nuclear Arms Race?

By Christine Muttonen, Jacqueline Cabasso & Alyn Ware

The United States last week officially announced it is walking away from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, an agreement made between the USA and the Soviet Union in 1987 to eliminate a whole class of nuclear weapons that had been deployed in Europe and had put the continent on a trip-wire to nuclear war.

Q&A: The Nature of Value vs the Value of Nature

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage

Humans have long had a varied and complicated relationship with nature—from its aesthetic value to its economic value to its protective value. What if you could measure and analyse these values? One group is trying to do just that.

Fighting Machismo in Latin America: The Formula to Combat Femicides

By Mariela Jara

Peru began the year with 11 femicides in January, despite progress made in laws and statutes and mass demonstrations against gender-based violence. This situation is also seen in other Latin American countries, raising the need to delve deeper into the causes of the phenomenon.

2019: Year of Return for African Diaspora

By Benjamin Tetteh

In the heart of Accra, Ghana’s capital, just a few meters from the United States embassy, lie the tombs of W. E. B. Du Bois, a great African-American civil rights leader, and his wife, Shirley.

Is the UN Being Undermined by a Demagogic Trump Administration?

By Thalif Deen

The United Nations, which embodies the core principles of multilateralism since its creation more than 74 years ago, is being steadily and systematically undermined by a reactionary and demagogic Trump administration recklessly flaunting American imperialism at its worst.