NATO’s Trillion-dollar Gamble: The Dangers of Defence Without Accountability

Donald Trump’s bullying tactics ahead of NATO’s annual summit, held in The Hague in June, worked spectacularly. By threatening to redefine NATO’s article 5 – the collective defence provision that has anchored western security since 1949 – Trump won commitments from NATO allies to almost triple their defence spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035. European defence budgets will balloon from around US$500 billion to over US$1 trillion annually, essentially matching US spending levels.

Will the FfD4 Sevilla Commitment Ever be Followed up?

The extensive plan of action adopted at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), held recently in Sevilla, Spain (30 June - 3 July), triggers the question: Where will the money come from?

UN Reform: Is it Time to Renew the Idea of Clustering the Major Environmental Agreements?

“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Winston Churchill’s famous maxim feels very relevant today, when multilateralism and many environmental causes seem to be in retreat. We now face a triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

Bonn Climate Talks: Why World Needs to go Further, Faster, and Fairer

This 62nd meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB62) from June 16 to 26, 2025 revealed the persistent complexities and political tensions that continue to challenge multilateral climate governance. 

UN Funding Crisis Threatens Work of Human Rights Council

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) has expressed concern at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ announcement that certain activities mandated by the council cannot be delivered due to a lack of funding. The council has sought clarity on why certain activities had been singled out.

HIV/AIDS Funding Crisis Risks Reversing Decades of Global Progress

UNAIDS called the funding crisis a ticking time bomb, saying the impact of the US cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) could result in 4 million unnecessary AIDS-related deaths by 2029.

For the Aged, Their Sunset Years Will Be Bedeviled by Lethal Heatwaves

The global population is aging at a time when heat exposure is rising due to climate change. Extreme heat can be deadly for older populations given their reduced ability to regulate body temperature. Already there has been an 85 percent increase since 1990 in annual heat-related deaths of adults aged above 65, driven by both warming trends and fast-growing older populations.

WHO Launches Initiative to Tax Tobacco and Beverage Corporations to Boost Public Health

On July 2, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the “3 by 35” initiative in an effort to boost public health and limit global consumption of harmful substances. By urging international governments to implement taxes on tobacco, sugary drinks, and alcohol, WHO seeks to reduce worldwide cases of noncommunicable disease amid heightened strains on global health systems and a shrinking supply of funding.

Preventing Pandemics Needs Every Tool in the Toolbox – Including Animal Vaccines

Just five years on from the Covid-19 pandemic, another animal-borne disease is mutating and spreading across borders and species. Avian influenza has already resulted in the loss of more than 630 million birds in the last 20 years. And new figures from the inaugural State of the World’s Animal Health report find that the number of reported outbreaks in mammals, including cattle, sheep and cats, doubled last year compared to 2023.

‘Only a Handful of Environmental Organisations Still Dare Challenge Corporate Projects in Court’

 
CIVICUS speaks to Cristinel Buzatu, regional legal advisor for Central and Eastern Europe at Greenpeace, about how Romania’s state gas company is weaponising the courts to silence environmental opposition.

World Bank’s IFC Finally Adopts Remedial Action Framework

The World Bank’s private sector arm has raised the bar — and others may follow. On April 15, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) became the first development finance institution to adopt a formal remedy policy, publishing its Remedial Action Framework (RAF) to address environmental and social harm caused by IFC-supported investment projects.

Staff Union Dismisses UN Restructuring as “Chaotic, Incoherent, Rushed & Lacking Strategy”

A coalition of UN staff unions, led by the 60,000-strong Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA), has written to UN member states criticizing the UN80 reform process as “incoherent and lacking strategy”. The union, one of the largest single coalitions in the world body, is asking the 193 member states to take over the UN reform process which is currently in the hands of a Task Force.

FfD4 at Sevilla Plants the Seeds of Debtor Unity

UN Member States adopted the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ at the Fourth Financing for Development Forum (FfD4) which concluded July 3-- the culmination of months of contentious negotiations that pitted wealthy nations against the developing world in competing visions for reform of the global economic architecture.

The Rise of Islamophobia in New York’s Mayoral Elections– with the Statue of Liberty in a Burqa

The prospect of New Yorkers electing their first Muslim Mayor, come November, has ignited a rash of paranoid statements by right-wing US politicians, including Islamophobia-- the irrational fear and hatred against Islam and Muslims. Last week, a Republican politician caricatured America’s iconic Statue of Liberty wearing a burqa-- an outer garment worn by some Muslim women that covers the entire body and face. But that internet meme, spreading across social media, was deleted after protests.

Does the UN Overstep Its Responsibility to Protect Mandate?

The UN has been criticized by some member states for overstepping the mandate of its Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine during a debate in the General Assembly.

UN80: Alternative Reform Pathways — Fiscal Prudence, Relocation Realities, & Underutilized Charter Mechanisms

Recent proposals to relocate UN operations to lower-cost duty stations ignore demonstrable economic patterns. Empirical evidence suggests that establishing UN hubs often triggers localized inflation, negating projected savings.

Democracy under Attack: Why the World Needs a New UN Special Rapporteur

When tanks rolled through Myanmar’s streets in 2021, civil society groups worldwide sounded the alarm. When Viktor Orbán systematically dismantled Hungary’s free press, democracy activists demanded international action. And as authoritarianism returns to Tanzania ahead of elections, it’s once again civil society calling for democratic freedoms to be respected.

From Parliaments to the G20: A Call to Champion Women’s Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights

About 21 million adolescent girls get pregnant annually in low- and middle-income countries. Beyond the numbers lie lost futures and deepening cycles of poverty that undermine girls’ education, wellbeing, and, ultimately, national development.

The Juggling of Aid: How WFP is Delivering More with Less

Serious-to-severe food insecurity has been widely felt among those living through the worst, protracted humanitarian crises. For organizations like the World Food Programme (WFP), they must work under the “relentless demand” for humanitarian aid, including food.

FFD4 Must Deliver for the World’s Most Vulnerable Nations

Five years from the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we face a development emergency. The promise to eradicate poverty, combat climate change, and build a sustainable future for all is slipping away. The SDG financing gap has ballooned to over $4 trillion annually—a crisis compounded by declining aid, rising trade barriers, and a fragile global economy.

Women and War: Victims of Violence and Voices of Peace

In 2023, approximately 612 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometers of a conflict zone, more than 50 percent higher than a decade ago. During war, they disproportionately suffer from gender-based and sexual violence.