OPINION: Refugee Crisis – Diverting Funds From Civil Society is a Bad Idea

Europe is in the throes of a refugee crisis and it’s not difficult to see that it does not quite know how to respond to it. By mid-October more than 600,000 people had reached Europe by sea.

Africa Demands for More Input to Save the Climate

African civil society organisations championing for climate justice have criticised the Intended Nationally Determined Commitments (INDC’s) presented to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, calling them “weak, inadequate and not ambitious enough.”

Opinion: Will We Find the Resources to Create a Better World?

The UN General Assembly adopted the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a global summit of world leaders in September. They agreed on 17 new universal goals, and 169 targets that will provide the framework for economic and political policies of UN Member States over the next 15 years to make the world a better place for humanity.

Urgently Needed: Studies Linking Land Degradation, Migration, Conflict and Political Instability

Some 135 million people could be displaced by 2045 as a result of land desertification, according to a recent UK ministry of defence report. This figure could rise to 200 million who are displaced by other climate change impacts like natural disasters by 2050, said British environment refugee specialist Norman Myers.

Opinion: UN Frontline Staff Consider Options as Pay Cuts Loom

When the world’s most powerful ambassadors gathered in New York last week to celebrate the United Nations’ 70th anniversary, it would have been undiplomatic to mention the looming crisis facing the UN’s proudest achievement - its humanitarian aid programmes.

World Trade Organization Rules Help to Support Better Public Health

Trade and the multilateral trading system can help in creating a more favourable global environment for public health policies and the implementation of a balanced and effective intellectual property system.

Decent Work Crucial To Eliminating Poverty and Hunger

Over the eight years since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, the ranks of the unemployed have swollen to over 200 million worldwide. That number captures only a fraction of those who remain vulnerable and insecure, since more than four-fifths of the global workforce is outside the formal sector, with poor access to unemployment or other traditional social security benefits.

Journalists Under Siege As Occupational Hazards Rise

As news coverage from conflict zones -- and reporting from authoritarian regimes-- continue to be occupational hazards, journalists may fast become an “endangered species.”

Opinion: Integrating Water, Sanitation and Health are Key to the Promise of the UN Global Goals

The 193 member states of the United Nations have adopted an ambitious 15-year sustainable development agenda, the 2030 Global Goals.

Opinion: Women on Reproductive Strike

Women are having fewer than two children on average in 83 countries, representing nearly half of the world’s population. And in some countries, such as Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Singapore, South Korea and Spain, average fertility levels are now closer to one child per woman than the replacement level of about two children (Figure 1).

Opinion: The West Vote for a Better Yesterday

The recent elections in Switzerland and Poland are good indicators of what will happen elsewhere in Europe, with this irresistible growing wave of refugees. But let us first make some crucial considerations.

U.N. Plans New Working Groups Aimed at Nuclear Disarmament

Against the backdrop of a potential military confrontation between the world’s two major nuclear powers – the United States and Russia – the United Nations is taking a significant step towards a hitherto impossible goal: nuclear disarmament.

Civil Society Activists Cold-Shouldered at Climate Talks

A former UN Secretary-General once paid a supreme compliment to the work of civil society groups when he described non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as the world’s “third super power” –- presumably ranking behind the United States and Russia.

Opinion: People-Powered Data Set to Transform Dull Statistics

You probably didn’t notice it was World Statistics Day last week because, let’s be honest, statistics don’t have the most exciting reputation. Thankfully, I have a feeling this is about to change, big time.

NGOs Disappointed With Final Round of Climate Negotiations

Civil society groups have expressed disappointment over the outcome of the final round of U.N. climate change negotiations in Bonn -- 38 days ahead of the upcoming summit in Paris.

Analysis: Taxation for Development

In recent decades, many developing countries have experienced declines in fiscal revenue as a share of national income. There is an urgent need to reverse this trend, with greater revenue collection to finance the realization of developing countries’ developmental aspirations.

U.N. Rights Commissioner Blasts Harsh Treatment of Refugees

As the flow of migrants continues to rise – from war-ravaged countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa to Europe – so do the horror stories of the harsh treatment meted out to these refugees.

Opinion: TPP is Bad for One’s Health

Reflecting President Barack Obama’s pivot to Asia, the US, Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim nations have inked a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. This is the largest mega free trade agreement (FTA) in two decades and represents 40 per cent of the global economy.

Water Remains Largely Marginalized in Climate Talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry last week turned the spotlight on the “record number” of extreme weather-related events the world is witnessing these days.

Opinion: Demography and Destiny

The demographic revolutions the world is experiencing are profound and far-reaching, affecting virtually every aspect of human society. Whether in politics, business, international relations, environmental affairs or even personal matters, understanding the fundamental demographic changes underway and anticipating their juggernaut consequences can contribute considerably to the setting of meaningful goals, designing effective strategies and achieving genuine progress.

OPINION: Time to Reform the Global Casino

The year 2015 highlights the global shift from traditional money-based, gross domestic product (GDP)-measured economic growth to the new models of sustainable, inclusive human development embodied in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ratified by its 193 member nations.