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.

The New Silk Road of Central Asia: Landlocked Countries Now Connected

Once landlocked, now connected, the UN Global Compact has bridged the gap between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East: having many call it the “New Silk Road”.

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.

Seychelles’ Path to Macroeconomic Stability and Resilience

Seychelles—a nation of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean—today enjoys a comparatively high degree of economic stability. Inflation is below 2 percent, real GDP has largely recovered from the pandemic, public debt is on course to reach the government’s target of less than 50 percent of GDP before 2030, and per capita income is the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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.

How Mongolia Can Expedite It’s Just Transition Plans to Include Its Nomads

Youth activist Gereltuya Bayanmukh still reflects on the events in her formative years that inspired her to become a climate activist. When she was a child, she would visit her grandparents in a village 20 km to the south of the border between Russia and Mongolia.

Genocide Made Invisible

Whatever the outcomes of Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House on Monday and the latest scenario for a ceasefire in Gaza, a bilateral policy of genocide has united the Israeli and U.S. governments in a pact of literally breath-taking cruelty.

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.

Kenya’s Shirika Plan: A New Dawn for Refugee Rights and Integration

When Jean Baremba arrived in Kenya in 2018, he looked forward to rebuilding a life shattered by war in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Bangladesh’s Democratic Promise Hangs in the Balance

When Bangladesh’s streets erupted in protest in mid-2024, few could have predicted how swiftly Sheikh Hasina’s regime would crumble. The ousting of the prime minister last August, after years of mounting authoritarianism and growing discontent, was heralded as a historic opportunity for democratic renewal. Almost a year on, the question remains whether Bangladesh is genuinely evolving towards democracy, or if one form of repression is replacing another.

How Global Fund is Saving Lives from Malaria, TB, & HIV across Africa

In Gabú, Guinea-Bissau, a grandmother named N’beta hesitated. Her six-month-old grandson, Seco, was healthy, so why give him medicine? But community health workers Jamilia and Amadu gently explained that the medicine wasn’t for illness, but for protection. It was part of a seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaign designed to protect children during the worst malaria transmission months — the rainy season.

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 Silencing of Hong Kong

Joshua Wong sits in a maximum-security prison cell, knowing the Hong Kong authorities are determined to silence him forever. On 6 June, police arrived at Stanley Prison bringing fresh charges that could see the high-profile democracy campaigner imprisoned for life. This is the reality of Hong Kong: even when behind bars, activists can be considered too dangerous ever to be freed.

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.

Sudanese Refugees and IDPs Disproportionately Affected By Crisis

Since the wake of the Sudanese Civil War in 2023, Sudan has faced a dire humanitarian crisis that has been marked by extreme violence, widespread civilian displacement, and an overwhelming lack of basic services in relation to the massive scale of needs. The latest reports from a host of United Nations (UN) organizations shed light on the rapid deterioration of living conditions for Sudanese internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees.

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.

African Fish Workers Excluded From International Trade Deals: Report

A new report has raised concerns about the exclusion of African fish workers from trade protocols between their governments and developed countries, resulting in impoverished communities relying on fishing.