AI ChatGPT Responds to UN’s Proposed Code of Conduct to Monitor Artificial Intelligence

As artificial intelligence (AI) turns into a global phenomenon, it has triggered widespread speculation on both its positive and negative consequences. Is AI technology threatening to go wild? the sceptics question. Will AI be a curse or a divine gift to humanity? ask others.

‘News Deserts’ Are Rampant in Latin America

Without the means to receive information about what is happening around them, millions of Latin Americans who live in poor remote rural or impoverished urban areas inhabit veritable news deserts, according to an increasing number of studies conducted by journalistic organizations in the region.

Massive Fish Mortality Strikes Kashmir’s Lake, Threatens Livelihoods

Abdul Lateef Dar, a 45-year-old man living on the outskirts of Kashmir's renowned Dal Lake, relies on the lake's fish for food and income.

No Peace Until Peace For All

As we head into June, we will commemorate a number of important international days that call for much-needed support to protect refugees, end child labour, stop sexual violence in conflict and ensure human rights for the innocent children victims of aggression.

The Fight for Equity in Education Continues in Africa

June 16 marks the International Day of the African Child, a day commemorating student uprisings in Soweto Township, South Africa, in 1976. The day is meant to honor the brave students who stood against a system of violence and oppression, raising their voices for equality as human beings and for the right to learn in their native languages at school.

Food Insecurity Fears as Pakistan Faces Cyclone, Monsoon Season

A warning by the UN that Pakistan may face acute food insecurity in the coming months should serve as a wake-up call for the government to focus on the flood-hit areas where the people still live without shelter, medication, and proper food, analysts say.

State of Asians in the UN: Need for Proactive, Inclusive & Collective Leadership

The United Nations system has an agreed leadership framework that is inclusive and respectful of all personnel and stakeholders, embracing diversity and rejecting discrimination in all its forms.

Citizen Science Is Key in Helping to Tackle the Threat of Invasive Alien Species

Nature is declining rapidly, and the rate of species extinction is accelerating. The Global Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (2019) revealed that one million species are at risk of extinction. Invasive alien species, alongside climate change, changing use of sea and land, direct exploitation of organisms and pollution, are all major causes of the unprecedented and ongoing declines in biodiversity and ultimately the nature crisis that we are facing now.

Transforming Food Systems through Conscious, Mindful Practices

Deep in the Egyptian desert, the SEKEM community celebrates its first wheat crop – grown to alleviate shortages and price increases caused by the war in Ukraine, and the latest crop in a 46-year history of regenerative development, which has effectively made the desert bloom. On another continent, a consumer who buys acai collected and produced by the Yawanawá in Brazil helps protect 200,000 acres of land.

Cyclone Freddy has put Women & Girls in Malawi at Greater Risk of Sexual Abuse & Exploitation

“Cyclone Freddy was a terrible experience, and now many women who lost their homes and their livelihoods are at increased risk of sexual exploitation and abuse,” warns Caleb Ng'ombo, Director of People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR), a frontline NGO in Malawi that supports vulnerable women whose lives have been devastated by the record-breaking tropical storm.

A 1904 Massacre Could Help Save the Future of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil

Children were thrown into the air and stabbed and cut with knives and machetes. The attackers first opened fire on the victims of the massacre before finishing them off with knives so that none of the 244 indigenous people of the village would survive. The 1904 massacre permanently marked the Xokleng people and may play a decisive role in the future of the native peoples of Brazil.

Hong Kong’s Lights of Freedom Extinguished

Nothing was more predictable than repression. Merely for holding candles and flowers, people were taken away by Hong Kong’s police. The occasion was the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, 4 June 1989. Hong Kong was until recently home to mass annual vigils where thousands gathered to keep alive the memory of that day. But that’s all gone now in the crackdown that followed large-scale protests for democracy that erupted in 2019.

It’s Time to Ban Cigarette Filters

The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution (INC-2), held in Paris, France, from May 29 to June 02, 2023, concluded with optimism and the prospect of ending plastics pollution. Over 700 delegates from 169 Member States agreed to prepare a zero draft of agreement ahead of the third session in November this year.

When the President of the General Assembly was Elected on the Toss of a Coin…

When the General Assembly elected its President for 2023-2024 last week, it continued a longstanding tradition of male dominance in the UN’s highest policy making body. The new President for the 78th session, Ambassador Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago, a longstanding career diplomat and a former Permanent Representative, was elected June 1 “by acclamation”.

We Need to Talk About Deep Blue Carbon

Almost half of the world’s population lives in coastal zones. For islands in the Pacific and Caribbean islands such as Dominica, where up to 90 percent of the population lives on the coast, the ocean is fundamental to lives and livelihoods. From fisheries to tourism and shipping, this essential body which covers over 70 percent of the planet, is a lifeline.

Will Big Powers Condone a UN Role in Artificial Intelligence?

The UN is hustling to play a role – perhaps even a leading role – in the revolution of Artificial Intelligence. To some degree this is perfectly natural.

Guess Who Is the Worst Enemy of the Oceans (And Everywhere Else)?

The good news: oceans cover three-quarters of the Earth’s surface, contain 97% of the world’s water, represent 99% of the living space on the Planet by volume, and are a major source of food and medicine. Much so that they are the main source of protein for more than a billion people around the world.

Kenya Moots Disbanding the Loss and Damage Fund, Seeks Fair Equitable Climate Action

The Climate Change envoy to the President of Kenya has asked Kenya’s and, by extension Africa’s negotiators at the ongoing climate conference in Bonn, Germany, not to put much emphasis on financing the Loss and Damage kitty but instead calls for fairness and equity.

AI Genie is Out of the Bottle – UN Should Take the Challenge to Make it Work for the Good of Humanity

Recently when I was asked to offer my thoughts on the phenomenal advances of artificial intelligence (AI) and whether the United Nations play a role in its global governance, I was reminded of the Three Laws of Robotics which are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov and introduced in his1942 short story.

The U.S. Assault on Mexico’s Food Sovereignty

On June 2, the U.S. government escalated its conflict with Mexico over that country’s restrictions on genetically modified corn, initiating the formal dispute-resolution process under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Conflict & Hunger Deeply Embedded in War-Ravaged Yemen

During the week of May 21, the UN held its annual week dedicated to the Protection of Civilians. The themes of the week’s events, particularly the side events, I had the honor of participating in, mirrored many of the pressing issues in Yemen, as conflict continues.