UN 80 Restructuring: No Office or Agency will be Exempted from Staff Layoffs

When billionaire Elon Musk, a former short-lived advisor to President Donald Trump, was mandated with the task of decimating the federal bureaucracy and laying off thousands of staffers, he was famously pictured carrying a hacksaw to symbolize his cost-cutting agenda.

Euro-visions: A Larger Global Role for the Euro?

In a recent speech, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), articulated a clear desire for the euro to play a more significant role as an international currency.

From Deterrence to Disarmament: Global Advocates Call for Justice and Peace

Marking 80 years since the dawn of the nuclear age, peace advocates, diplomats, educators, and atomic bomb survivors from around the world gathered for the “Choose Hope” symposium on March 12–13, 2025, in Santa Barbara, California. Co-organized by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) and Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the event was held at the Music Academy of the West.

Time to Rethink Health Financing: It’s Not Just a Public Sector Concern

As G7 leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations wrapped up their summit in Kananaskis June 16, a critical issue was absent from the agenda: the future of global health financing.

The Fallout from Losing a UN Job

Ten years ago, I lost more than a job. When my post was abolished, there was no warning, no closure, no golden parachute—just a quiet erasure. Overnight, I went from a UN professional with decades of service to an invisible statistic in a system that eats its own.

‘Live Facial Recognition Treats Everyone as a Potential Suspect, Undermining Privacy and Eroding Presumed Innocence’

 
CIVICUS discusses the dangers of live facial recognition technology with Madeleine Stone, Senior Advocacy Officer at Big Brother Watch, a civil society organisation that campaigns against mass surveillance and for digital rights in the UK.

The Global Mental Health Crisis Surges Amid $200 Billion Funding Gap

Although access to mental health and psychosocial support services is considered a fundamental human right by the United Nations (UN), hundreds of millions of people experience limited or inadequate access to mental health and psychosocial support services.

Tanzania Champions Aquatic Foods at UN Ocean Conference in Nice

With less than six harvest seasons left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the urgency to find transformative solutions to end hunger, protect the oceans, and build climate resilience dominated the ninth panel session at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France.

Ocean Protection is a Multi-Billion Dollar Opportunity

The services the ocean provides are the backbone of our collective health, wealth and food security, yet today just 2.7% of the ocean has been assessed and deemed to be effectively protected. In failing to establish adequate safeguards, not only are we condemning communities and ecosystems across the world to decline and collapse, we are also overlooking a significant economic opportunity.

Weaponizing Food Worsens Starvation

Wars, economic shocks, planetary heating and aid cuts have worsened food crises in recent years, with almost 300 million people now threatened by starvation.

Disaster Risk Reduction: The Insurance That Always Pays Off

Floods, earthquakes, and droughts are striking the wallets of the world harder than any other time in history. According to the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, the cost of disasters is only growing, with annual expenditures exceeding 2.3$ trillion; accounting for over 2% of global GDP, and if represented as a nation, it would have the seventh largest GDP.

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.

France Rallies World Leaders to Seal Ocean Protection Deal at UN Conference in Nice

With the future of the world’s oceans hanging in the balance, global leaders, scientists, and activists gathered in the French Riviera city of Nice this week for the historic UN Ocean Conference, where France declared a new era of high seas governance and marine protection.

UN Ocean Conference Closes with Historic Commitments, But Activists Demand Action Beyond Words

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) concluded today in Nice with an urgent call for governments to translate bold words into concrete action to protect the world’s oceans. Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the summit brought together more than 15,000 participants, including 50 heads of state and government, civil society leaders, scientists, youth, and Indigenous communities in an 11-day event hailed as both a milestone for ocean diplomacy and a test of global resolve.

Mexico, Spain, East Africa, Awarded For their Ecosystem Restoration Programs

At the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognized three countries and regions for their large-scale programs to restore their native ecosystems.

Ocean Action Boosted in Africa as Biodiversity Leaders Call for Urgent Synergy, Funding Reform

As the curtains draw on the UN Ocean Conference, a flurry of voluntary commitments and political declarations has injected fresh impetus into global efforts to conserve marine biodiversity. With the world’s oceans facing unprecedented threats, high-level biodiversity officials and negotiators are sounding the alarm and calling for renewed momentum—and funding—to deliver on long-standing promises.

From Villain to Vanguard: How the Shipping Industry Could Help Save Our Seas

Once cast as a culprit of ocean degradation, the global shipping industry is quietly reshaping its image—with experts now betting on it as a key ally in saving our seas.

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.

‘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.

Artificial Intelligence Presents Risks and Opportunities for the Disabled

On June 10, the United Nations (UN) held a conference titled Artificial Intelligence for Inclusion: Strengthening Workforce Participation for Persons with Disabilities. This conference, which was organized by the Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN, featured a discussion by a panel of experts from various sectors, looking to shed light on the ways AI tools can be used to create inclusive workforces that maximize fairness and accessibility.

Beating Plastic Pollution in Our Food Systems

Each year, more than 12.5 million tonnes of plastic are used in agriculture alone, and another 37 million tonnes become food packaging. Very little gets recycled.