The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. Credit: Unsplash/Youssef Abdelwahab
By Maximilian Malawista
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 18 2025 (IPS)
In the Arab region, a thought-to-be oil oasis, green jobs constitute 29 percent of energy sector roles, and 23 percent of the oil and gas sector. These numbers signify a push towards sustainable business and practices, with the Arab region striving to get away from oil, in their advancement towards the completion of the SDGs on time for 2030.
New primary data from the UNESCWA Skills Monitor shows that the entire region is on a steady upward trajectory in terms of the share of green jobs in the online job market space. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asis (UNESCWA), these postings only consist of 5.06 percent of postings as of 2024, but it represents significant growth from just around 3.5 percent in 2021.
The total share of green jobs by country in the Arab region, and the United States by comparison. Credit: Maximilian Malawista
Saudi Arabia has led this shift in sustainable energy roles with green jobs accounting for 6.22 percent of their job market. This movement reflects their significant investment into economic diversification and green initiatives in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which closely mirrors the UN 2030 agenda.
In Qatar and Oman the rates are lower, with green jobs comprising 4.59 percent and 3.53 percent of their respective job markets, followed by the rest of the region shortly behind. In contrast, a leading share of green jobs globally, the United States, features 11.40 percent, which is 7.55 percent higher than the average of 3.85 percent set by the Arab region. These numbers appear not to be linked by wealth as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt are below Qatar in energy roles, while the UAE has a 514 billion nominal GDP followed by Egypt with a 396 billion nominal GDP compared to Qatar’s 213 billion nominal GDP.
Green job integration
In the oil and gas sectors, Saudi Arabia leads again with 28 percent of their roles being green, followed by Oman (22.5 percent), Qatar (16 percent) and the UAE (15 percent). Data from UNESCWA shows that managerial and engineering positions account for the majority of occupations with the highest green demand in the Arab region. The top six jobs leading with the highest green shares are: project managers, health and safety engineers, health safety and environmental managers, electrical engineers, construction engineers, and civil engineers. The presence of engineering jobs with the highest combined share of green demand represents the Arab region’s full push to turn its infrastructure into a green oasis.
In the United States, the composition across specific industries is different, with technician roles for energy production and the environment being much higher in share than that of engineering roles. As UNESCWA noted in their brief: “These differences reflect diverse national approaches to sustainability, shaped by energy policies and strategic investments in green technologies.”
From only one year ago, green jobs within the energy sector in the Arab region represented 23.26 percent of the entire market of energy, however this number jumped up to 29.10 percent, marking a 5.93 percent jump in a very short amount of time.
The Arab region, as the report reiterates, leads in energy transformation across the oil and gas sectors. This push represents multiple nations — mostly Gulf Cooperation Council members — pushing for economic diversification away from majority oil-dominated economies, especially in Saudi Arabia. In these countries’ pursuits of further economic diversification, the result will be the creation of massive quantities of green energy roles, which will only increase at a faster rate to the point of a near carbon-zero future.
UNESCWA proposed four policy recommendations which seek to encourage green job growth:
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Representatives from Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and Panama spoke to media ahead of the UN Security Council debate on Sudan. Credit: Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levine/IPS
By Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levine
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 18 2025 (IPS)
The UN Security Council convened today (August 18) to discuss South Sudan and the “interlinked challenges of climate change and conflict” affecting the region.
Security Council members who have joined the Joint Pledges on Climate, Peace and Security – Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and Panama – spoke at a media stakeout ahead of what the representative from Panama called a “compounding crisis” in South Sudan.
The representative for Panama noted the “interlinked challenges of climate change and conflict affecting South Sudan,” referring to climate crises causing flood, drought, minimal resources and famine, further straining peace and fostering inter-communal violence.
He highlighted worsening gender-based violence specifically, saying, “Women and girls are disproportionately and systematically affected by the intersection of climate shocks and insecurity… the breakdown of community support systems heightens the risk of gender-based violence, early marriage, abduction and exploitation, yet women and girls remain key actors in community resilience and peace-building.”
In the Security Council meeting, many other representatives echoed this concern for aid provisions. The Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, warned Security Council members of the risks caused by lack of funding, saying, “funding cuts are leaving millions without life-saving assistance.”
According to the latest UNICEF South Sudan Humanitarian Situation Report, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 28.5 percent funded over halfway through the year. Between April and July, approximately 7.7 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity, including 83,000 at risk of catastrophic conditions. Approximately 9.3 million people are in dire need of various humanitarian assistance.
The primary conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the country’s official military, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, has fueled this humanitarian crisis.
Since clashes erupted in April 2023, the fighting has displaced millions internally and across borders – contributing to famine, widespread violence and food insecurity.
The conflict heightened further in March of 2025 when First Vice President Riek Machar was arrested on charges of stirring up rebellion. His arrest effectively ended the 2018 peace agreement which had ended the civil war and established a government – since then, political legitimacy across the country has grown steadily weaker. Many see the upcoming December elections as a chance to reinstate democracy and fair, representative governance.
Murithi Mutiga, Program Director for Africa at the International Crisis Group, said, “The immediate priority should be to prevent any escalation of violence.”
He encouraged UN member states with close ties to South Sudan like Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa and Tanzania to “call for opposing military actions to create an opportunity for dialogue between the government and opposition groups” and other Security Council members to amplify these discussions without overtaking them.
The representative from Somalia, speaking on behalf of the A3+, a group of African and Caribbean nations, echoed this statement. He said, “an African-led approach, grounded in partnership, inclusivity and respect for South Sudan’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity offers the most sustainable path to peace.”
The Pobee further emphasized the necessity of all stakeholders collaborating and acting in good faith to promote democracy in the upcoming elections in December.
She warned, “Failing this, the risk of a relapse into widespread violence will only grow against the background of an already unstable region. It is therefore our shared responsibility to work in close coordination and synergy to help the South Sudanese parties to avoid such an outcome. The people of South Sudan are counting on us.”
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Excerpt:
Security Council members discussed solutions to the climate crisis in South Sudan, advocating for more humanitarian aid and influence from international bodies to foster democracy and minimize violence.UNFSS+4 delivered a clear message: solutions already exist. What’s missing is political will, adequate funding, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Credit: UNFSS by kin creative-9555
By Stefanos Fotiou
ROME, Aug 18 2025 (IPS)
The global food system is under pressure from every direction – climate, conflict, inequality, and economic instability. But in Addis Ababa this July, something shifted. At the UN Food Systems Summit +4 Stocktake (UNFSS+4), over 3,500 people from 150 countries came together to confront the lack of progress and push forward solutions that can no longer wait.
Crucially, Africa wasn’t just a location for a global meeting. It led the conversation. Ethiopia showed what political commitment to transformation can deliver – investing in school feeding programmes, linking environmental restoration with jobs and food security, supporting local markets, and working across levels of government. These efforts are producing measurable outcomes under real-world conditions.
Governments that are serious about change now need to prove it. That proof depends on financing, coordination across sectors, and policies that support those making change happen
UNFSS+4 was also different in tone and structure. It didn’t rely solely on government declarations. Hundreds of civil society groups, farmers’ organizations, youth networks, research institutions, and private sector actors played an active role in shaping the Summit’s agenda and outcomes.
As Director of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, I was tasked with leading the team that supported this process. What I saw behind the scenes was the real engine of the Summit: a team of people – from governments, NGOs, development partners, and grassroots coalitions – working together with urgency, arguing through difficult decisions, staying focused on what mattered. The energy behind the Summit came from people who were committed to getting things done.
The outcomes reflected that. The Summit’s Call to Action spelled out the scale of the crisis:
On top of that, governments are scaling back humanitarian funding. Food systems are being hit by inflation, debt, war, and ecological breakdown. And while political leaders often speak about the urgency of transformation, most continue to act as if change can wait.
UNFSS+4 focused on practical steps. First, it called for a reversal of the decline in food-related aid. People living through conflict or crisis need access to food now – and humanitarian actors need resources to reach them.
Second, it demanded progress on National Pathways – the country-level plans created after the first Food Systems Summit in 2021. These plans are where real change happens, or doesn’t. But without domestic funding and political backing, they risk stalling.
Third, it challenged public and private investors – including development banks – to back smallholder farmers, food workers, and local food economies. This means shifting incentives away from industrial monocultures and toward approaches that protect ecosystems and livelihoods. It also means connecting food policy with land use, financial systems, and public procurement, instead of treating them as separate agendas.
Finally, the Summit emphasized one point that too often gets lost in global meetings: the role of youth. Young people are organizing, farming, creating food enterprises, shaping policy debates – and demanding space to lead. The UNFSS+4 Youth Declaration, developed through months of consultations and adopted at the Summit, is a clear signal that young people are no longer asking to be included. They are already doing the work, and they expect institutions to catch up.
The obstacles ahead are real. Many governments still make food policy behind closed doors, influenced more by political calculations than public needs. Agricultural subsidies often benefit those who already hold power, rather than those feeding communities or regenerating land.
The same dynamics play out at the international level – where trade rules, financial flows, and climate decisions frequently ignore the priorities of low- and middle-income countries.
If we want transformation, we have to deal with these structures directly. That means more transparency. It means real accountability – tracking how funds are spent, who benefits, and what results are achieved. It means recognizing that technical solutions – better seeds, smarter logistics, improved data – won’t deliver much if the underlying incentives still reward extraction and exclusion.
Africa’s leadership at the Summit was not a symbolic gesture. It was a political statement: that the region hardest hit by the current food crisis is also prepared to lead efforts to fix the system.
But global actors must respond accordingly. That means more than offering praise or short-term grants. It means shifting the terms of engagement – on finance, on trade, on governance – and recognizing that power imbalances are part of the problem.
Summits often generate headlines and then fade. This one shouldn’t. With only five years left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, and with hunger rising rather than falling, we are moving in the wrong direction. If we continue to delay action, the consequences will be measured not in targets missed, but in lives lost.
UNFSS+4 delivered a clear message: solutions already exist. What’s missing is political will, adequate funding, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Governments that are serious about change now need to prove it. That proof depends on financing, coordination across sectors, and policies that support those making change happen.
Food is not just an economic sector. It is the foundation of human survival and dignity. And it’s time we treated it that way.
Excerpt:
Dr. Stefanos Fotiou is Director, UN Food Systems Coordination HubAbortion is illegal in Uganda. Girls who get pregnant resort to deadly backstreet abortion providers. However, it is also criminal to provide safe abortion services. Credit: Wambi Michael/IPS
By Wambi Michael
KAMPALA, Aug 18 2025 (IPS)
Sarah Namukisa nearly missed her final year exams earlier this year. She was subjected to a mandatory pregnancy test—the 25-year-old student at the Medical Laboratory Training School in Jinja was then expelled because she was pregnant.
While Namukisa’s case sparked public criticism, activists say it was by no means an isolated incident.
Across Uganda and other East African countries, pregnant students continue to face expulsion, forced school dropout, and stigma in both public and private educational institutions.
Labila Sumaya Musoke, from the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), told IPS that the widespread practice reflects deep-seated systemic discrimination and patriarchal control over young women’s bodies and futures
She said the expulsion mirrors systemic and institutional discrimination that international and regional human rights bodies have explicitly deemed unlawful and incompatible with human rights standards.
Namukisa was lucky that her case attracted the attention of the civil society and Uganda’s Equal Opportunities Commission. The commission ordered her school to rescind the expulsion. Many young women resort to deadly “backstreet” abortions in an effort to find ways to return to school or higher learning institutes. Abortion is still outlawed in Uganda and its neighbors—Kenya and Tanzania.
The most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) datasets of the 12 East African countries found that the overall prevalence of adolescent pregnancy in East Africa was 54.6 percent. The survey concluded that it is vital to design public health interventions targeting higher-risk adolescent girls, particularly those from the poorest households, by enhancing maternal education and empowerment to reduce adolescent pregnancy and its complications.
Teenage pregnancy and motherhood rate in Kenya stands at 18 percent. This implies that about one in every five teenage girls between the ages of 15-19 years has either had a live birth or is pregnant with their first child.
The rate of teenage pregnancy has stagnated for over a decade in Uganda; it stood at 25 percent in 2006, at 24 percent in 2011 and now shows trends of rising at 25 percent. Teenage pregnancy in Tanzania is a significant public health issue, with 22 percent of women aged 15-19 having been pregnant, according to a 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey.
Rosemary Kirui, the Legal Advisor at the Center for Reproductive Rights—which works in seven countries, including Uganda—said the enjoyment of the Sexual Reproductive Health rights has been limited by barriers related to the legal and policy framework.
“We have a legal environment that has restrictive laws that criminalize some SHRH services. Most of the laws were adopted or inherited from the colonialists. And most of the countries have not changed the laws. So you will find that the penal code is similar, giving a blanket criminalization of abortion. So you will find this is being interpreted narrowly in many African countries,” said Kirui.
She told IPS that the other aspect of restrictive laws is the age of consent, where there is a mandatory third-party requirement for adolescents seeking information and sexual reproduction health services.
Primer Kwagala, a Ugandan Lawyer whose organization, Women Pro Bono Initiative (WPI), has been litigating for access to SHR services, told IPS that the country maintains restrictions on abortion.
“We are saying that 16 women are dying each day due to lack of services in public health facilities. And there are those who are dying in communities due to unsafe abortion. We have on our law books outdated colonial policies preventing health workers from providing life-saving services.”
Uganda’s constitution says that no one can take the life of an unborn child except in exceptional circumstances.
“For many women to exercise autonomy over their bodies and to say, ‘I cannot carry this pregnancy; I need an abortion,’ they cannot go ahead and have that discussion. The first thing the health worker will say is, ‘I don’t want to go to prison,’” said Kwagala.
The Ministry of Health in Uganda has issued guidelines allowing safe abortions in cases of defilement, rape, and incest. But the guidelines, according to Kwagala, are more on paper than in practice.
In 2020, a ruling by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) against the Republic of Tanzania found that Tanzania’s policy of expelling pregnant schoolgirls constituted a violation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, particularly the rights to education, health, dignity, and non-discrimination.
Six girls who were pregnant were expelled from the school. The committee urged Tanzania to reform its education policies.
Dr. Godfrey Kangaude, an expert on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights based in Malawi, said there is a tussle between the gatekeepers who think the SHR issues are for the civil society to handle.
“But I think this is closest to us. Sex and reproduction are relevant to everyone,” said Kangaude while speaking to the East Africa Law Society on litigating for sexual health rights.
He said sexual and reproductive justice is closely interrelated with finance and labor justice and generally the overall well-being of humans.
Kagaunde explained that in Malawi and other countries in the region, there are anomalies when it comes to the age of consent.
“In Malawi, the law says an adult cannot have sex with a child. Okay, we want to protect children. Isn’t it? But the line has been so rigid that an 18-year-old boy can’t have sex with a 17-year-old girl, because a 17-year-old is a minor and an 18-year-old is an adult. We understand that we want to protect people from harmful sexual conduct, especially children, but the law shouldn’t just be arbitrary. It should take into account that the 17-year-old and 18-year-old are peers.”
Criminalization of Consensual Sex
Kangaunde and others argue that rights-based reform is needed. Laws should be gender-neutral, orientation-neutral, and distinguish exploitative adult–child sex from non-exploitative peer sex. Kangaude points to alternatives like multi-stage consent and close-in-age (“Romeo & Juliet”) exemptions.
Kangaunde and others have been criticized over their stance on the age of consent to sex and access for individuals younger than 18 to access contraceptives and safe abortion services.
“But look, there is a 19-year-old boy who is being charged with the offense of having sex with a girlfriend of 17. I mean, for him, life just went crazy. He is at school, and he had to stop schooling,” said Kangaude, the director at Nyale Institute. His institute provides legal support and engages in strategic litigation to protect and promote sexual and reproductive health rights.
Activists have since 2017 been pushing for a regional Sexual Reproductive Health Rights law. They contend that across East Africa, sexual and reproductive health rights have been narrowly defined as standalone rights.
If enacted, it would require the EAC member states to harmonize provisions on sexual and reproductive health services and information.
The bill has, however, faced significant resistance based especially on social and cultural barriers. The resistance has focused on aspects of comprehensive sex education for teenagers and provisions regarding legal abortion.
Dr. Tom Mulisa, a human rights and constitutional law researcher based at the University of Rwanda, told IPS that sexual and reproductive health rights are broad.
“Constitutions have those rights, and national health laws and policies have those rights, we are talking about the right to health, which most constitutions have, and we are talking about the right to privacy, the right to information, and sexual and reproductive health rights,” he said.
The partner states have ratified the Maputo protocol, which allows for the termination of pregnancy. The protocol is the main regional instrument that advances women’s rights especially sexual and reproductive health rights. The protocol also provides for elimination of discrimination and prohibition of harmful practices, such as female genital cutting.
Within the region, some countries have ratified the protocol, others have not and others have ratified it with reservations. Enforcement of the protocol has been split, making it difficult for all to enjoy the broader rights therein.
Kenya made reservations about Article (14), which provides for safe and legal abortion. Kenya’s constitution, on the other hand, provides for a right to legal and safe abortion when the life of the mother or fetus is at threat.
Learning From Advances in Rwanda
Rwanda has made significant progress in improving the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of its population, especially young individuals. Like many countries in the region, it had post-colonial laws. It embarked on reform since 2009. The reforms laid the groundwork for what many describe as a flexible system.
Earlier this month, Rwanda’s Parliament passed a new law granting adolescent girls the right to access Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services—particularly family planning—without requiring parental consent. It lowered the legal age to access contraceptives from 18-15.
Mulisa stated that the country modified its new penal code by eliminating the court’s requirement for an abortion. The penal code also included sexual reproductive health rights.
“Previously, the government held the right to health, while individuals were obligated to comply with it. But now the constitution has an explicit right to health,” revealed Mulisa, the founder of the Great Lakes Initiative For Human Rights and Development, which does public interest litigation in Rwanda.
It is now a crime under the penal code in Rwanda if a woman is denied access to contraceptives. And there are fewer restrictions on safe abortion following the removal of the court order requirement.
Rwanda’s ministerial order on abortion defines the right to health more broadly, incorporating the scope outlined by the WHO.
According to the WHO, the right to health includes four essential, interrelated elements: availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality.
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The preambular words of the UN Charter displayed at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 18 2025 (IPS)
When the 193-member General Assembly commemorates the UN’s 80th anniversary during a high-level meeting in mid-September, how many political leaders and delegates will be barred from entering the United States –despite the 1947 US-UN Host Country Agreement?
US President Donald Trump last June issued a Proclamation titled Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.
This White House proclamation –a virtual black List –restricts travel into the U.S. by nationals from 19 countries who will be refused US visas.
The list includes Afghanistan, Myanmar, Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen. In addition, Egypt is under review.
But will this result in barring political leaders and UN delegates?
Any denial of visas will be a violation of Sections 11-14 of the Host Country agreement which ensures “that representatives of member states, UN officials, and others with legitimate business can access the headquarters district without significant impediments.”
But the agreement also stipulates the US will facilitate the issuance of visas for those with UN-related travel needs.
That Agreement, along with the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, outlines the legal framework for the UN’s presence and operations in the US. It covers aspects like the privileges and immunities of UN representatives, officials, and their families, as well as the handling of disputes and other practical matters.
So far, the US has imposed sanctions on UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory Francesca Albanese because of her critical report on Israel.
Reacting to the announcement, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters last month the imposition of sanctions on UN Special Rapporteurs sets a “dangerous precedent.”
“The use of unilateral sanctions against Special Rapporteurs or any other UN expert or official is unacceptable,” he told journalists.
He also highlighted the independent mandate and role of the Special Rapporteurs, noting that Member States “are perfectly entitled to their views and to disagree with” the experts’ reports.
“But we encourage them to engage with the UN’s human rights architecture,” he added.
Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, urged the US to reverse the sanctions and said that the attacks and threats against Albanese and other Human Rights Council mandate-holders “must stop.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. has also imposed sanctions on officials of the Palestinian Authority and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) accusing them of undermining peace efforts with Israel —even as other Western powers moved toward recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Judging by the Trump administration’s track record, and its violations of federal rules and legislation, will the US adhere to the Host Country agreement or ignore it?
Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, a retired professor of international relations, most recently at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU), told IPS “knowing Trump’s track record, he will find any way to tamper with any system or law just so that people will talk about it—good, bad, or in between, as long as he is front and center of what’s happening around him.”
He doesn’t only want to assert authoritarian governance here in the United States; he is also trying to project himself as the leader of the whole world, wanting foreign leaders to bow to him, said Dr Ben-Meir.
“Many of his actions, including his deeply misguided tariffs, are his attempt to use his power to show that he is above all other leaders in the world. I wouldn’t put it past him to try to create problems for the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting in September.”
Most likely, he will block any UNSC resolution critical of Israel and any resolution recognizing a Palestinian state.
Dr Ben-Meir also pointed out that Trump’s executive order, while reviving accusations of xenophobia and isolationism, provides exceptions for those traveling on diplomatic visas, which is intended for those traveling to and from the United Nations Headquarters District.
“Unless there is some sort of extraordinary interference from Trump, his travel ban on 19 countries should not impact those nations’ diplomats traveling to the United States for the General Assembly, or other United Nations business,” he pointed out.
Mandeep S. Tiwana, Secretary General, CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organizations (CSOs), told IPS the United States derives immense economic and political benefits from hosting the UN headquarters in New York. It would be highly unwise to restrict the entry of foreign government and civil society representatives to attend UN sessions and participate in UN related meetings.
“The United States Government has a legal responsibility to facilitate their entry to support the UN’s mission to secure peace, justice and sustainability in the world,” he said.
Norman Solomon, executive director, Institute for Public Accuracy and national director, RootsAction.org, told IPS contempt for the United Nations is nothing new coming from Washington, although it has varied in extent and candor over the decades.
“While U.S. administrations have always sought to bend the world body to its nationalistic will, some U.S. presidents have participated in the UN with an extent of good faith”.
The current Trump administration, he pointed out, is at the opposite end of the spectrum, making no effort to conceal its utter contempt for the precepts of the UN and making no effort to do anything but undermine it.
“Barring diplomats from entering the United States to participate in UN proceedings is beyond the pale – an expression of extreme arrogance that violates not only the basic principles of the UN but also conveys the global aspirations of U.S. foreign policy. The de facto approach is “Do as we say, not as we do.”
There is much to condemn in the human rights records of many of the governments that the Trump regime seeks to bar from entrance to the United States, he argued. At the same time, a country notably absent from the list is Israel, which is waging a genocidal war on Palestinian people made possible by massive nonstop arms shipments from the USA.
While the U.S. exercises veto power and leverage within the Security Council, the General Assembly is a venue where justified distrust and anger toward the United States can only grow, given the policies of the U.S government, declared Solomon, author, “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine.”
Meanwhile, the United States has, in the past. been accused of imposing unfair travel restrictions on U.N. diplomats in the country.
Back in August 2000, the Russian Federation, Iraq and Cuba protested the “discriminatory” treatment, which they say targets countries that displease the U.S.
Pleading national security concerns, Washington has long placed tight restrictions, in a bygone era, on diplomats from several “unfriendly” nations, including those deemed “terrorist states,” particularly Cuba, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and Libya.
U.N. diplomats from these countries, posted in New York, also have to obtain permission from the U.S. State Department to travel outside a 25-mile radius from New York City.
When former Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, accused of war crimes, was refused a US visa to attend the high-level segment of the General Assembly sessions in September 2013, Hassan Ali, a senior Sudanese diplomat, registered a strong protest with the UN’s Legal Committee.
“The democratically-elected president of Sudan had been deprived of the opportunity to participate in the General Assembly because the host country, the United States, had denied him a visa, in violation of the U.N.-U.S. Headquarters Agreement. It was a great and deliberate violation of the Headquarters Agreement,” he said.
The refusal of a visa for the Sudanese president was also a political landmine because al-Bashir had been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
But one question remained unanswered: Does the United States have a right to implicitly act on an ICC ruling when Washington is not a party to the Rome Statute that created the ICC?
When Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was denied a US visa to visit New York to address the United Nations back in 1988, the General Assembly defied the United States by temporarily moving the UN’s highest policy making body to Geneva-– perhaps for the first time in UN history–- providing a less-hostile political environment for the PLO leader.
Arafat, who first addressed the UN in 1974, took a swipe at Washington when he prefaced his statement by saying “it never occurred to me that my second meeting with this honorable Assembly, since 1974, would take place in the hospitable city of Geneva”.
This article contains excerpts from a book on the United Nations titled “No Comment – and Don’t Quote Me on That,” available on Amazon. The book is authored by Thalif Deen, Senior Editor at the UN Bureau of Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency, who is also an ex-UN staffer and a former member of the Sri Lanka delegation to the General Assembly sessions. The link to Amazon via the author’s website follows: https://www.rodericgrigson.com/no-comment-by-thalif-deen/
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Plastic waste washes ashore in the Maldives archipelago. Credit: UNDP
"The vast majority of governments want a strong agreement, yet a handful of bad actors were allowed to use process to drive such ambition into the ground," said one environmentalist.
By Jake Johnson
NEW YORK, Aug 18 2025 (IPS)
Negotiators in Geneva adjourned what was expected to be the final round of plastics treaty negotiations on Friday without reaching an agreement, a failure that environmentalists blamed on the Trump-led United States, Saudi Arabia, and other powerful nations that opposed any effort to curb plastic production—the primary driver of a worsening global pollution crisis.
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution agreed after 10 days of talks to resume negotiations at a yet-to-be-announced future date. Lobbyists from the fossil fuel industry swarmed the negotiations, working successfully to prevent a binding deal to slash plastic production. More than 99% of plastics are made from fossil fuel chemicals.
“The inability to reach an agreement in Geneva must be a wake-up call for the world: ending plastic pollution means confronting fossil fuel interests head-on,” said Graham Forbes, Greenpeace USA’s Global Plastics Campaign lead.
“The vast majority of governments want a strong agreement, yet a handful of bad actors were allowed to use process to drive such ambition into the ground. We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result. The time for hesitation is over.”
The high-stakes talks marked the sixth time international negotiators have convened in an effort to craft a plastics treaty as production continues to grow and toxic pollution damages oceans, waterways, and communities across the globe. Talks in December similarly concluded without a deal.
The latest round of negotiations faltered after nations refused to rally around a pair of draft treaty documents—but for different reasons.
Supporters of a strong agreement—including Fiji, France, and Panama—objected to the exclusion of any binding plastic production cuts in the drafts, while the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and others balked at the scope of the proposals and argued any treaty should focus primarily on waste management.
The proposal unveiled Friday in a last-ditch attempt to reach consensus acknowledged that “current levels of production and consumption of plastics are unsustainable” but did not include any binding limits.
Under the current process, every nation must agree on a proposal’s inclusion in treaty text.
Countries that want a treaty must now leave this process and form a treaty of the willing. And that process must include options for voting that deny the tyranny of consensus we have watched play out here.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, France’s minister of ecological transition, didn’t attempt to hide her fury at the outcome of the latest round of talks, calling out the “handful of countries” that “blocked the adoption of an ambitious treaty against plastic pollution” because they were “guided by short-term financial interests rather than the health of their populations and the sustainability of their economies.”
“The scientific and medical evidence is overwhelming: plastic kills. It poisons our oceans, our soils, and ultimately, it contaminates our bodies,” said Pannier-Runacher. “I am angry because France, together with the European Union and a coalition of more than 100 countries from every continent—developed and developing, determined and ambitious—did everything possible to obtain an agreement that meets the urgency of the moment: to reduce plastic production, ban the most dangerous products, and finally protect the health of our populations.”
David Azoulay, who led the delegation for the Center for International Environmental Law in Geneva, called the talks “an abject failure” and warned that any future negotiations will end similarly “if the process does not change.”
“We need a restart, not a repeat performance,” said Azoulay. “Countries that want a treaty must now leave this process and form a treaty of the willing. And that process must include options for voting that deny the tyranny of consensus we have watched play out here.”
Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams.
Source: Common Dreams
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Aux côtés de Jean-Luc Soulé, président fondateur du Festival, une équipe de bénévoles et de salariés, efficaces et passionnés, s'engage toute l'année pour porter et développer le Festival et ses activités artistiques ou solidaires. Cette mobilisation est soutenue par de fidèles mécènes et partenaires publics et privés depuis trente-cinq ans.
Le Festival du Périgord Noir tient à remercier chaleureusement tous ceux qui ont choisi de s'investir dans le quotidien du Festival et d'en soutenir (…)
Entre jazz, pop et chansons traditionnelles du Zagorje, c'était l'une des plus grandes voix croates du XXe siècle. Gabi Novak est décédée à l'âge de 90 ans, deux mois après son fils, le pianiste de jazz Matija Dedić.
- Le fil de l'Info / Culture et éducation, Croatie, Personnalités, Courrier des Balkans“Litter Flourish”- A collage by New York-based artist Juno Lam that represents the “amalgamation of the negligence people have for the environment”. Credit: Juno Lam
By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 15 2025 (IPS)
In the 1900s, global discussions around climate change and fossil fuel usage reached new heights, leading to the emergence of climate change art. Since then, it has remained a key theme in contemporary art, with artists and corporations alike continuing to push messages of climate reform to instill a sense of urgency, fear, and shared responsibility in viewers.
The climate crisis has severely escalated over the past few years, with 2024 and 2025 being marked by brutal natural disasters, environmental decay, and significant losses of human life around the world. Despite the vast amount of climate change data released since the 1970s, a significant portion of the world still denies the existence of climate change, particularly in the United States.
Oftentimes, the general public struggles to understand the scope of scientific and political developments due to their complexity or inaccessibility. Data surrounding the acceleration of the climate crisis is often rooted in complex terminology and shrouded by significant amounts of mis- and dis-information on popular social media platforms.
Historically, artists have relied on visual arts to convey messages to their audience, using tools such as symbolism, composition, and color to evoke specific emotions or draw attention to certain world issues. Many works in the climate change art movement use these tools to depict the destructive impact of human activity on the environment, the disproportionate effects on marginalized communities, and the growing threat of human extinction.
Large-Scale Impact Projects
One such project is Scaling Urban Nature-based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SUNCASA), a three-year project driven by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) that aims to empower marginalized communities, promote sustainable practices, and find environment-based solutions to benefit over 2.2 million people living in high-risk communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
On June 10, SUNCASA unveiled its transformative, new art project at the Nature, Climate, and Gender Symposium. The Litter Traps and Art Project, based in the Alexandra township of Johannesburg, South Africa, creates interactive art installations that act as tools to reduce flooding, clean up solid waste from rivers, strengthen biodiversity, and foster new conversations surrounding climate action.
“We’ve turned the detritus of urban life into guardians of the river,” said Hannelie Coetzee, an environment scientist and the lead artist on the project. “Each trap speaks to what has been discarded — physically and socially — and transforms it into a symbol of care. Art is not an add-on here; it is central to ecological restoration.”
David van Niekerk, CEO of the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership (JICP), noted that this installation stands out for its involvement from the local community and its role as an educational resource for both tourists and locals. Being more than just an aesthetic feature of the township, the installation symbolizes the importance of community-centered approaches, as well as sustainability and environmental protection.
In 2023, the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM), the nonprofit arts organization Julie’s Bicycle, the Gallery Climate Coalition, and ART 2030 established the Art Charter for Climate Action (ACCA) in an effort to recognize the transformative role of visual art in the fight against the climate crisis.
ACCA currently contains over 1,000 members from 70 countries, including partners from museums, corporations, and nonprofit groups, as well as contemporary artists and arts sector stakeholders. In 2024, Julie’s Bicycle announced that ACCA would collaborate with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), aiming to achieve global net zero emissions by 2030.
“In order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, it is essential that all sectors take transformative climate action now,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell. “In addition to reducing its global emissions, arts and culture play a critical role in inspiring people to imagine and realise a low carbon, just and climate-resilient future.”
The Individual Level
An IPS correspondent spoke with local artists in New York City that incorporate messages of climate reform and sustainability through their work. Among them is Oriel Ceballos, also known as OR1EL, a mixed-media artist based in Brooklyn.
“Throughout history, art has helped humanity bring greater attention to issues like colonialism, racism, police brutality, gender inequality, climate change, militarism, the prison industrial complex, poverty, global hunger, homelessness, and many others that plague our existence. Without the voice of artists, it is difficult to amplify issues and mobilize people. That’s why all art forms are crucial in raising important issues that impact people,” said Cellabos.
OR1EL elaborated on his artistic approach when addressing climate issues, stating that his recent pieces employ language and a minimal use of color to emphasize advocacy messages of advocacy. “I am known for doing pieces with figures wearing gas masks to highlight air pollution. In my work, you can see pieces where I address how factories or urban life destroys nature. Other works depict the juxtaposition between urban life and a life more in harmony with nature,” he said.
Juno Lam is an illustrator and collagist who advocates for sustainability by repurposing found objects and scraps to reimagine the world using man-made materials. “My work with collage is a response to climate change with the ephemera I find. Right now, we are considered to be living in the Anthropocene era, a time where humans are really a defining force on Earth,” Lam told IPS.
Lam continued: “One thing I feel we can take for granted is really being able to use everything you have around you. A lot of things that we use are used once and thrown away. A lot of these things end up in landfills or are incinerated, becoming trapped in our atmosphere. What would it mean to be able to give something discarded a place where it will be appreciated? To make use of a material, or item, time and time again until it breaks. The broken pieces I put together make an attempt to connect, whether it be glued or drawn together.”
IPS also spoke to Ripley Rice, a multimedia artist and sculptor who works in bio-art. Looking to evoke a sense of unease and inspire audiences to look further into science, Rice stated that bio-art can include studying biotechnology, genetic engineering, conducting surveys and research, and presenting this data in a visually striking way in an effort to spread awareness on humanity’s role in environmental degradation, and engage communities in science and ecology.
Wooden dolls carved by Rice, made with wood stained with a fungus (C. Aeruginescens) that’s present in Northeastern America more frequently as a result of climate change and rising temperatures. Credit: Ripley Rice
“When I make art, my goal is to create something visually interesting enough to get people to care about what I’m trying to say,” said Rice. “By engaging my audience with science and nature, I’m connecting them to the earth and trying to spark that love and fascination that I have…Something I talk about in my art a lot is humans’ impact and power over the organisms that we share this planet with.”
Rice also explained the messages of some of their newest ecology-inspired pieces, including a portrait of a deer that gazes confrontationally at a viewer, as though judging humans “for our sin of encroaching on their land”. Rice is currently working with biopolymers in the hopes of incorporating them into their newest works, as well as studying the mycelium of a fungus that stains wood blue as it digests decaying logs in forest ecosystems.
“There is a throughline of nature, biology, and power structures. We can only bring about change if we dismantle the power structures and relinquish some of our control over the Earth and its resources…If I think too hard about our destruction of nature, I feel hopeless and nihilistic. All you can do is try your hardest to shine your little light while the world gets darker and darker”.
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Follow @IPSNewsUNBureauIndia is grappling with a pressing issue-a stray dog population that exceeds 62 million, leading to a severe public health toll. Credit: Hari Krishna Nibanupudi
By Hari Krishna Nibanupudi
HYDERABAD, India, Aug 15 2025 (IPS)
During a suo moto hearing, a Supreme Court (SC) of India judge startled the Solicitor General and Amicus Curiae with a line from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966): “When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.” For animal welfare advocates, it felt like a warning shot—not at criminals, but at India’s street dogs.
The two-judge bench questioned the rule requiring sterilised dogs to be returned to their original localities, ordered all strays rounded up and moved to shelters (that don’t exist), ordered immediate action over legal formalities, and asked pointedly, “Will animal lovers bring back children who died due to rabies?”
The Court warned that “so-called animal lovers, obstructing removals, would face contempt charges”. In the gallery, Gauri Maulekhi of People for Animals watched in disbelief as her counsel’s interventions were cut short.
When respected, street dogs become allies and guardians; when abused, they respond with fear and aggression, perpetuating conflict. India faces a choice between punitive crackdowns and humane, proactive management that protects both people and animals
The Court’s combative tone and disregard for due process sparked nationwide uproar. Police crackdowns on peaceful protests further inflamed emotions, as celebrities and civil society leaders joined a growing movement against what many saw as the criminalisation of compassion.
The Chief Justice of the SC intervened on time, transferring the case to a new three-judge bench, which thankfully heard all sides on 14th August, and reserved its verdict.
The Escalating Public Health Crisis and the backlash
India is grappling with a pressing issue-a stray dog population that exceeds 62 million, leading to a severe public health toll. In 2024 alone, there were 3.7 million animal bite cases and 54 confirmed rabies deaths, a nearly 70% rise in bite incidents since 2022.
Children under 15 accounted for 5,19,704 instances—20% of all victims. Chilling attacks underscore these numbers: a four-year-old in Hyderabad mauled on CCTV, a seven-month-old in Noida killed in a gated society, and multiple fatal incidents in Delhi, Telangana, and Rajasthan, including hospital premises. Such tragedies, even in supposedly safe spaces, have intensified demands for immediate and decisive action.
Public outrage has at times turned violent. In August 2025, a man in Rajasthan shot 25 dogs in two days (India Today), while a Karnataka legislator boasted of killing 2,800 dogs and being “ready to go to jail.” In Mumbai, a housing society hired bouncers to stop residents from feeding strays, prompting the Bombay High Court to protect feeders.
Judicial comments have also drawn criticism for lacking a scientific and ethical basis. The Delhi High Court claimed feeding strays makes them territorial, and a Kerala judge said human lives should take precedence. Such views ignore research showing that feeding with sterilisation and vaccination reduces aggression and stabilises populations, while root causes lie in human neglect and poor waste management.
Legally, animals are protected under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, safeguarding caregivers from harassment. A 2022 amendment bill seeks stronger protections but remains pending. The SC’s National Capital Region (NCR) order, however, alters the impact of existing provisions and effectively nullifies aspects of the proposed amendment in the region.
A Measured SC Directive, but Feasibility Remains in Doubt
The SC’s written order, in stark contrast to the aggressive tone of its hearing, offers a ray of hope. It replaces rhetoric with detailed operational measures, embedding public safety within a constitutional framework. The order mandates the complete removal of stray dogs from the NCR, links rabies control to public health services, and sets strict shelter standards.
As per the order, authorities must relocate all strays to shelters, suspending the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules 2023 “capture-and-release” clause. Dogs must be sterilised, vaccinated, and dewormed, with facilities for 5,000 animals ready in six to eight weeks, ensuring proper care, staffing, and CCTV oversight.
A helpline must be operational within a week, enabling pickups within four hours. The order also requires daily tracking of dogs, immediate medical aid for bite victims, public disclosure of vaccine stocks, and consideration of a dedicated animal-control force. Framed as an urgent public health mandate, the directive demands strict timelines and accountability.
Yet, feasibility remains in question. Maneka Gandhi, a leading animal rights activist and former environment minister, estimates Delhi alone would require $2 billion to establish such shelters, excluding costs for food, medicine, and sanitation. With no large-scale, functional shelter currently in place, developing the necessary infrastructure could take at least five years.
Choosing Co-Existence Over Conflict
India’s problem is not policy gaps but weak enforcement. Strict application of the ABC Rules 2023—sterilisation, vaccination, and responsible feeding—can stabilise stray populations.
Municipal bodies must partner with NGOs and trained feeders to ensure health monitoring, humane treatment, and rapid response. Scaling up sterilisation and vaccination through mobile clinics and sustained funding, as seen in Goa’s Mission Rabies, can eliminate rabies without mass confinement. Hostility toward street dogs is unethical and ineffective.
Humane, coordinated action—combining vaccination, sterilisation, trained community caretakers, and animal sensitivity education—is essential. Empowered NGOs and resident associations, supported with veterinary services and funding, can manage populations responsibly, ensuring safety, health, and harmonious co-existence between humans and animals.
Like abandoned children who flourish when nurtured, street dogs, too, thrive with care. Suresh and Hema, my neighbours in suburban Hyderabad, adopted two strays, feeding and treating them warmly.
They grew healthy, resembling Labradors, while their littermates perished or became aggressive. Similarly, Parnasri cares for four strays—feeding, medicating, and even educating dog-fearing neighbours. Now, these dogs are embraced by multiple households and protect homes from thieves.
When respected, street dogs become allies and guardians; when abused, they respond with fear and aggression, perpetuating conflict. India faces a choice between punitive crackdowns and humane, proactive management that protects both people and animals.
The SC’s NCR order tackles public health but demands scrutiny on cost, feasibility, and ethics. Success lies in creating safer streets and dignified animal lives—balancing compassion with science and law to set a global example.
Hari Krishna Nibanupudi is an India-based animal Rights Advocate and is associated with multiple animal welfare organisations
The OIC Group at an Aug. 12 press briefing to present their joint statement on recent developments in the Gaza Strip, following an OIC Group emergency meeting on Aug. 11 after Israel announced its plan to take complete military control of the Gaza Strip. Credit: Naomi Myint Breuer/IPS
By Naomi Myint Breuer
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 15 2025 (IPS)
The world is becoming increasingly outraged at Israel for its actions in the ongoing war against Hamas, particularly amid the recent killings of Palestinian journalists and Israel’s announcement of its plan to seize complete military control of the Gaza Strip.
The plan, which the Israeli Security Cabinet approved on August 8, includes disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, implementing Israeli control of the Gaza Strip and establishing “an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority,” according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s posts on X.
“The [Israel Defence Forces (IDF)] will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” Netanyahu posted on X.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation to the United Nations (OIC Group) released a joint statement condemning and rejecting the plan on August 12. The statement was released following an OIC Group emergency meeting on August 11.
“We consider this announcement a dangerous and unacceptable escalation, a flagrant violation of international law, and an attempt to entrench the illegal occupation and impose a fait accompli by force, in contravention of international law, international humanitarian law and relevant United Nations resolutions,” the statement said.
The Group demanded an immediate and complete end to Israel’s violence against the Gaza Strip and an end to the damages to civilians and civilian infrastructure. They also demanded that Israel permit humanitarian assistance to enter and work in the Gaza Strip at scale.
“The group reaffirms that this declared course of action by Israel constitutes a continuation of its grave violations, including killing and starvation, attempts at forced displacement, and annexation of Palestinian land, the settler terrorism, which are crimes that may amount to crimes against humanity,” the statement said.
In a statement on August 8, United Nations (UN) Human Rights Chief Volker Türk demanded the “immediate halt” of the plan. The plan, he said, conflicts with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling that Israel must end its occupation and agree to a two-State solution and that Palestinians have the right to self-determination.
“Instead of intensifying this war, the Israeli Government should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid,” he said.
Another major topic of discussion is the Aug. 10 targeted killing of six journalists, including four Al-Jazeera journalists, in Gaza City, which increased discussion about Israel’s human rights violations. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) reported that 238 journalists have been killed since the war began.
“The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination, amid the inability of the int’l community & its laws to stop this tragedy,” Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani posted on X. “May God have mercy on journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Mohammed Qraiqea, & their colleagues.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an independent and impartial investigation into the killing.
“Journalists and media workers must be respected, they must be protected, and they must be allowed to carry out their work freely, free from fear and free from harassment,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said on August 11.
The OIC Group will be hosting a special meeting to discuss next steps following this tragedy, according to Deputy Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the UN Fikriye Asli Güven. Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, said the OIC Group is also pressuring the Security Council to take action.
“This is a deliberate policy to silence the journalists, but we were all aware that the truth cannot be silenced,” Güven said.
Amid the developments in Gaza, Dr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, said the OIC Group and the Security Council are observing a more unified front developing against Israel.
“There is a merging cohesion and unity and outrage of what is really happening, and they are exerting tremendous amounts of pressure in order to stop the killing, stop the military operations to have a permanent ceasefire, to force allowing humanitarian assistance to take place,” Mansour said.
This shift is also visible in the positions an increasing number of countries criticizing Israel’s plans.
The foreign ministers of Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom, as well as the High Representative of the European Union, released a joint statement on August 9 rejecting the Israeli plan for Gaza.
“The plans that the Government of Israel has announced risk violating international humanitarian law,” the statement said. “Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law.”
The ministers urged for an end to the “terrible conflict” and for Israel to change its registration system of humanitarian organizations to allow humanitarian workers into the region.
“Their exclusion would be an egregious signal,” the statement said.
The ministers also asserted their support for a two-state solution.
Mansour praised the recent actions of European countries to pressure Israel, such as Spain’s reduction of arms sales to Israel and Germany’s arms export ban to Israel, which he called a “modest but it’s a very important step.”
He also praised Norway’s withdrawal of assets in Israel, Colombia’s withdrawal of coal trade, and Australia’s recognition of the state of Palestine. He calls these steps “practical” and a fast way to pressure Israel.
The OIC Group called upon the international community, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, to stop Israel’s policies undermining peace and violating international and international humanitarian law.
They also pushed for a two-State solution and the implementation of the Arab-Islamic reconstruction plan of the Gaza strip, a plan led by Egypt to rebuild Gaza, and participation in the upcoming reconstruction conference in Cairo.
“We affirm that a just and lasting peace can only be achieved through the implementation of the two-State solution,” the Group’s statement said.
For Mansour, a united global front will be crucial to accelerating the pace at which countries decide to take action against Israel.
“There is nothing that we can do about those who are killed, but we can do a lot about saving the lives of those who are still alive, and it is our responsibility to do everything possible in order to save their lives,” he said.
By September, Mansour said he hopes to have 100 more counties sign the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State solution, which was created by France and Saudi Arabia at the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in July. The conference will resume on September 22, according to Mansour. He said the New York Declaration must become the “blueprint” and “global consensus.”
“It is not the destiny of the Palestinian people to have an eternal conflict with Israel and to keep losing thousands of our children and women and our people at the hand of this war machine by Israel,” Mansour said. “It is our duty to convince everyone that there is another alternative, the alternative of immediate ceasefire.”
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Strong health systems start with midwives. Credit: Unsplash
By Shreya Komar
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 15 2025 (IPS)
Asia-Pacific’s midwives are a healthcare lifeline capable of delivering nearly 90 percent of essential maternal and newborn services. Yet the region grapples with severe shortages, underinvestment, and systemic neglect.
The newly released State of Asia’s Midwifery 2024 Report, released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), reveals that despite midwives’ lifesaving potential, many countries lack enough workers, face poor training and support systems, and struggle with weak policy backing. The findings underscore an urgent need to elevate midwives from auxiliary roles to central pillars of health systems across the region.
Drawing on data from 21 countries in the UNFPA Asia-Pacific (AP) region, the report was intended to assist countries in the region to meet the challenges of the health-related SDGs and the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE) agenda, a global initiative focused on accelerating the reduction of preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
The report shows hundreds of thousands of maternal and newborn deaths in 2023 across the Asia-Pacific that timely midwife interventions could have largely prevented. The region faces a shortage of approximately 200,000 midwives, contributing to an annual toll of roughly 66,000 maternal deaths alone. These stark figures expose both the human cost and the systemic failure to invest in this essential healthcare workforce.
According to the report, at least five Asia-Pacific countries, including Lao PDR, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Timor-Leste, are estimated to face needs-based midwife shortages, with Pakistan and PNG experiencing the most severe gaps.
The report projects that Pakistan and PNG will still face shortages by 2030, even if they maintain current rates of midwife graduation and full employment. Other countries, such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Viet Nam, are also likely to experience ongoing shortages; however, limited data prevents precise estimates of these shortages.
Beyond shortages, the report points to alarming gaps in education quality, regulatory frameworks, and leadership pathways for midwives. Many countries still struggle with limited pre-service training, scarce continuing education opportunities, weak licensing systems, and fragmented governance. Retention suffers as poor pay, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of professional recognition push midwives away, especially from rural and underserved areas.
The report also emphasizes how placing midwives in leadership roles can strengthen decision-making on policies that directly affect maternal and newborn health, improve supervision and mentoring, and ensure midwifery perspectives shape regulation, training, and service delivery.
Countries like Afghanistan, Iran, and Malaysia show how midwife-led governance can integrate professional expertise into national health strategies, ultimately enhancing the quality, reach, and effectiveness of sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health (SRMNAH) services.
Since 2021, nine countries have increased midwife availability (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Iran, Lao PDR, Maldives, Nepal, PNG, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam), four have seen decreases (Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and the Philippines), and two show no significant change (Mongolia and Timor-Leste). It shows that while some nations are making progress, regional gains are uneven, and shortages can worsen without sustained investment and retention strategies.
The WHO estimates that countries with fewer than 25 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 people will struggle to provide adequate primary healthcare, a threshold that, while general, offers a benchmark for minimum workforce density.
Acting on this information is imperative because midwives are the most cost-effective, accessible answer to achieving safe motherhood and newborn survival goals. As the World Health Organization notes, when well-trained and integrated, midwives can address roughly 90 percent of essential reproductive and newborn health needs. Still, the world faces a global shortfall of nearly 900,000 midwives, and many in Asia endure poor working conditions, low pay, and limited career paths. Thus, saving lives demands investing in midwifery education, fair compensation, regulation, leadership, and full integration into health systems.
Midwife supervisor Arafin Mim, who oversees a team serving over 32,500 Rohingya refugees on the remote island of Bhasan Char in Bangladesh, captures the importance of her work simply.
“I feel this profession from the corner of my heart. It’s about making a connection with a pregnant woman, building a relationship during her pregnancy.”
Mim’s dedication illustrates the commitment and resilience midwives bring to some of the world’s most challenging environments.
In UNFPA’s recent opinion piece, the Regional Director Pio Smith shares a vivid image of midwives delivering in remote Bangladesh during climate crises to describe their resilience.
“When non-stop rain caused flooding in her village, the maternity ward, pharmacy, and storage room were submerged by water. She still continued to deliver babies, without electricity, even supporting emergency cesarean sections as needed with the doctors on call.”
The report urges governments and partners to close needs-based midwife shortages by expanding education in line with ICM standards, improving faculty and curricula, and ensuring equitable deployment. It recommends updating policies so midwives can work to their full scope, using data-driven workforce planning to create sanctioned posts, and adopting fair recruitment, deployment, and retention strategies.
Finally, it calls for empowering midwives with leadership roles in SRMNAH governance, regulation, and service improvement.
UNFPA’s Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem, reminds us in a statement that “midwives are instrumental to navigating these challenges: They can provide up to 90 percent of essential services for sexual and reproductive health and bring their expertise and counsel to women wherever they are.”
Country examples such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Cambodia offer hopeful signs. Bangladesh’s midwife-led birthing centers, Nepal’s rural midwifery deployments, and Cambodia’s regulatory reforms are exemplary, but much more action and investment are needed.
Midwives must be valued and supported as key professionals with quality education, fair pay, robust licensing, leadership opportunities, and a seat at health policymaking tables. This will result in fewer maternal and infant deaths, stronger newborn health, and more resilient healthcare systems.
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Morning after an Israeli attack in Tyre, Lebanon. Credit: Nour
By Eliane Eid
JNOUB, Lebanon, Aug 15 2025 (IPS)
“Special, targeted operations in southern Lebanon,” a phrase that has echoed repeatedly over the past two years in Israeli Defence Force (IDF) statements. But behind these clinical military terms lies a human cost that statistics cannot capture.
The residents of southern Lebanon—mothers, fathers, children, and elders—are the ones who face the daily reality of displacement, loss, and uncertainty. Their homes become coordinates on military maps; their neighborhoods, theaters of “operations.” Yet their stories of endurance, grief, and quiet acts of resilience rarely reach beyond the headlines.
Through interviews with residents of “Jnoub,” we examine how communities are navigating displacement, processing communal loss, and finding ways to grieve while continuing to live. These are voices from a region too often reduced to geopolitical analysis, voices that reveal the profound human dimension of conflict.
“Ironically, my workplace is close to my old house’s rubble. I see it, as well as the zone where my pet died, on a daily basis. I haven’t grieved as I should… haven’t cried as much as I should have.
“I hate the sound of phone calls, especially the landlines and my father’s good old Blackberry phone, as they remind me of the time we received the threat and people were calling to warn us,” said Sarah Soueidan when asked about her daily routine after her home was destroyed.
Having both her residential house and her family’s house bombed by the Israeli Defence Forces, she and her family had to move repeatedly throughout the past two years. Her hometown, Yater, located in South Lebanon, was directly affected by the war, leaving nothing but old memories and rubble.
The night they had to flee their house in Southern Beirut, Sara and her family woke up to a series of calls while listening to the sounds of ‘warning shots’ on the streets. These shootings were made to help draw attention to residents who did not receive the warning to leave their houses and find shelter before the attack.
As it was only 10 am, they had to act fast, so she and her mother left the house first to see what was going on and then realized that their building would be hit. Sarah had to go back home to warn her father and siblings. Since there was not enough time, and her father needed assistance in movement, they had to pick him up and leave the house with as few objects as possible.
They made sure to put Halloum (Sarah’s cat) in his cage, but due to the rush and many people in the house trying to help, Halloum got scared and jumped out of his cage. Sara and her siblings tried to look for him before leaving, but there was no more time; people were dragging them out of the house. On that day, Sarah took his toys and food, hoping to find him again, but she never did. The Israeli attack on Sarah’s house in Southern Beirut reduced it to rubble.
Sarah and her family had nowhere to go as their house in their hometown, Yater, was also bombed, and they had to leave the area until things settled down.
The interview took place a while after the attack, as Sarah was now ready to talk about what happened with her and her family, stating, “While I am not politically affiliated with anyone, nor would I discuss the reasons for escalation, as it is debatable, yet aggression and terrorism would always be so, without any reason. I was born and raised in these areas and streets. None of the allegations regarding ‘weapons, machinery, or drones under a three-story building’ are true. We need answers or proof.”
Halloum the cat, lying next to a Christmas tree. Credit: Sarah Soueidan
Many neighborhoods, streets, and buildings were targeted in the process; no one knew how or why, they only received images of their building with a warning that they needed to evacuate.
“The bomb was so close and I heard the sound of the missiles just before they reached the ground (and here you didn’t know if the missile would fall on you or no) and when I heard that, I ran toward my son and hugged him, then the missile exploded. This was repeated three or four times,” said Zaynab Yaghi, who is a resident in Ansar, a village in South Lebanon. Zaynab and her family had to leave South Lebanon under stress and fear of the unknown, all while trying to control the emotions of her son in order not to scare him even more.
Zaynab, like many others, had to live under stressful conditions, waiting for the unknown. Even after the ceasefire was agreed upon, residents in Southern Lebanon were still unable to go back home or live a normal life.
“Nearby buildings were struck after the ceasefire (one as far as 100m away from our own home). We were very surprised the first time it happened and scrambled to leave. It was very frightening,” said Mohammad Wehbe, who lost his home in Ainata and his apartment in the suburbs of Beirut, which was affected by the bombing of nearby buildings.
After talking to many people from different villages and areas in South Lebanon, there was one thing that made them feel a sense of hope, and that was community, traditions, and resistance. Resistance by choosing to go back, to have a future, present, and past within their grandparents’ land, and to grieve by holding on to what was left.
When asked, Nour described her village as a step back in time, a place of simplicity, serenity, and beauty. Nature all around and people who are warm and always have their doors open for strangers. Nour’s village, which is located within the Tyre district, was directly affected by the Israeli attacks. Her old neighborhood was completely demolished, and while the streets feel empty, she is trying to visit the area as much as possible to remember, to tell the story of those forgotten, and to belong to something greater than a title.
“The first time I went in winter, it felt strange: silence and destruction. But visit after visit, nature and the people of nature try to live again. That gives me hope. We’ll be fixing our home again. What matters is that we acknowledge this land is ours. And on our land, I can sense existence.”
While Nour gets her strength from people around her and her will to go back and build her home again, some have lost it completely, as it is not black or white; there is not a single way of grieving, existing, and living within times of chaos and displacement. “What beliefs I had before the war are long gone now. I don’t think I have processed what happened and I cope by ignoring everything and focusing on survival. Hope certainly feels like a big word these days,” Mohammad Wehbe said.
Compounding these challenges is the absence of government support. None of the interviewees have received any assistance from official channels, instead relying on their savings and help from family members to survive. This reality adds another layer of uncertainty to their daily struggles, as they navigate displacement and loss without institutional backing
These stories from Southern Lebanon reveal the complexity of human resilience in the face of displacement and loss. While some find strength in community and connection to their ancestral land, others struggle with the weight of survival itself. What remains constant is the need to bear witness to these experiences, to ensure that behind every military briefing and policy discussion, the human cost is neither forgotten nor reduced to mere statistics.
The residents of Jnoub continue to navigate an uncertain future, carrying with them the memories of what was lost and the fragile hope of what might be rebuilt. Their voices remind us that recovery is not just about reconstructing buildings but about healing communities and honoring the stories of those who endure.
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Credit: Food production in Guatemala - Salmonnegro Stock/shutterstock.com
By Janani Vivekananda
Aug 15 2025 (IPS)
Peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and crime prevention are no longer niche security concerns—they are global imperatives for sustainable climate action. From the migration crisis in Venezuela to the deforestation-driven conflicts in the Amazon, to organised crime in Central America, the ripple effects of instability and environmental degradation are felt far beyond national borders. In 2025, nearly 80% of countries experiencing risks to peace remain off-track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Addressing these challenges isn’t just about safeguarding peace, stability and development. It’s also about ensuring sustainable climate action.
The climate crisis, meanwhile, is no longer a distant threat—it has arrived, and communities facing risks to peace are bearing the brunt. From catastrophic droughts in northeastern Brazil to devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean, states grappling with weak institutions, social tensions, and organised crime are disproportionately vulnerable to climate shocks. Yet, despite their heightened exposure, these regions receive only a fraction of global climate financing.
Aligning climate action with peacebuilding and conflict prevention isn’t just a moral imperative; it’s a smarter, more strategic approach. These regions are where climate risks and human vulnerabilities collide, threatening not just local stability but regional and global security. Without targeted interventions, we risk losing the opportunity to the fight against both climate change and instability.
Climate Change and Peace: A Dangerous Feedback Loop
Climate change and peace are deeply intertwined. Climate shocks affect the roots of peace—for example, straining efforts to advance governance, social equality, and tackle crime. In Colombia, for example, shifting rainfall patterns have disrupted agriculture, fuelling tensions over land use and exacerbating long-standing conflicts. Meanwhile, in Central America’s Dry Corridor, prolonged droughts have displaced farming communities, amplifying poverty and creating fertile ground for organised crime and migration.
The OECD’s multidimensional framework on instability highlights how economic, environmental, political, security, and societal risks intersect in these contexts. Climate impacts compound these risks, creating a dangerous feedback loop. Climate shocks can weaken peace and deepen instability, leaving affected communities least equipped to adapt to or mitigate these shocks. This dynamic not only undermines local peacebuilding efforts but also fuels transnational challenges such as migration, trafficking, and cross-border violence.
A Smarter Approach to Climate Financing
Despite their vulnerability, communities facing instability remain underfunded in global climate action. In 2024, less than 10% of international climate finance reached these contexts. Instead, the majority of funding flows to middle-income countries with stronger institutions and lower risks.
This imbalance is shortsighted. Communities where climate action is most urgently needed—and where it can have the greatest impact are often those facing risks to their human security and stability. For example, investments in climate-resilient agriculture in Guatemala have reduced food insecurity and strengthened community resilience, helping to break cycles of conflict and displacement. Similarly, renewable energy projects in rural Brazil not only reduce emissions but also create jobs, foster stability, and reduce reliance on illicit economies.
Smarter climate financing doesn’t just mean more money—it means better-targeted investments. Funding must be long-term, adaptive, and aligned with local priorities. It must thus address the structural drivers of instability, from weak governance to social exclusion. For example, promoting inclusive decision-making in water management or land-use planning can reduce resource-based conflicts and strengthen trust between communities and governments.
The missing peace at COP30: Bridging Climate and Peacebuilding
As the world gears up for COP30 in Brazil this December, there is a unique opportunity to bring peacebuilding and conflict prevention to the forefront of global climate discussions. Including peacebuilding and peace in the thematic days at COP30 would be important, not only as a space to highlight the intersection of climate action, equitable development, and peace, but also to ensure that climate action does no harm to inadvertently worsen conflict dynamics in contexts affected by conflict. This focus would not only raise awareness but also drive actionable commitments to address the challenges faced by unstable regions.
By framing peace as a central theme, COP30 could catalyse international support for targeted interventions in unstable contexts, ensuring they receive the attention and resources they urgently need.
Four Principles for Climate Action in Regions Affected by Instability
1. Pivot to Prevention: Early action saves lives and money. For example, investments in flood early warning systems in Brazil have reduced the need for costly humanitarian interventions during extreme weather events.
2. Operationalise the Nexus: Climate action must cross all sectors of government, e.g. development, peacebuilding, and environmental crime prevention efforts. This calls for climate security risk analyses to become standard operating practices for all initiatives. For example, integration of climate into the role of law enforcement agencies in promoting climate resilience and responding to environmental threats.
3. Flexible, Localised, Inclusive Responses: In the Andes, for instance, partnerships with indigenous communities have strengthened the role of law enforcement agencies in the fight against environmental crime and climate-related insecurity while fostering trust and collaboration.
4. Regional Cooperation: Instability and climate risks transcend borders. Regional cooperation, innovation and capacity building in the face of climate security challenges for example through initiatives like the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization show how collective action can address shared challenges.
A Call to Action
Peacebuilding is the missing piece in global climate action. Without targeted – and conflict sensitive- interventions in unstable regions, the world risks failing its climate goals—and leaving millions behind. Yet the solutions are within reach.
The international community must act with urgency and foresight. By aligning climate financing with peacebuilding strategies, integrating foreign policy into climate action, and adopting smarter, multidimensional approaches, we can turn instability from a barrier into an opportunity for progress.
Integrating peacebuilding into climate action is not just a moral imperative but a strategic necessity. As the host of COP30, Brazil has a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership by championing policies that link climate resilience with conflict and crime prevention and peacebuilding. This means prioritising investments in vulnerable regions, fostering regional cooperation, and ensuring that climate financing reaches those most at risk. The cost of inaction is calculable, and it is far greater than the price of bold, coordinated action today. It’s time to stop treating peace as a side issue and start addressing it as the cornerstone of smarter, more effective climate solutions. It’s time to stop fighting fires and build a sustainable climate for peace.
Related articles:
Building Resilience Through Climate Action: Gender, Peace, and Security in Sri Lanka
Left Behind: Why Afghanistan Cannot Tackle Climate Change Alone
Flooding in the Sahara, Amazon Tributaries Drying and Warming Tipping Over 1.5°C – 2024 Broke All the Wrong Records
COP29: Keeping Climate Security Human-Centric
Janani Vivekananda is the Senior Research Fellow on Climate, Peace and Security at the Toda Peace Institute. She is also the Head of Programme for Climate Diplomacy and Security at adelphi, a leading independent think tank on climate, environment, and development, and holds a senior fellowship with the UN University. With extensive experience in climate security risk assessments and gender-responsive approaches, she has worked globally to integrate peacebuilding into climate action. Janani co-led the Gender-Responsive Climate Security Assessment for Sri Lanka and is passionate about fostering inclusive and sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished from the original with their permission.
By CIVICUS
Aug 15 2025 (IPS)
CIVICUS speaks with a West Bank-based Palestinian activist about her family members currently enduring the war in Gaza. She has asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 60,000 people and displaced more than two million. The Israeli government’s prolonged obstruction of humanitarian aid has now pushed people to starvation. Although people worldwide have protested in solidarity with Gazans, many states have failed to act or continue to support Israel. Civil society continues to play a crucial role in documenting human rights violations despite facing criminalisation and persecution.
What was life like in Gaza before the current war?
Before the war began following Hamas’s 7 October attack, life in Gaza embodied resilience, vitality and unwavering hope, even as the area had been deeply scarred by years of Israeli blockade and hardship. Economic and living conditions were precarious, characterised by high unemployment – particularly among young people – and heavy reliance on humanitarian aid and UNRWA, the United Nations refugee agency for Palestinians.
Though many families lived below the poverty line, strong community bonds ensured mutual support. People had strong family ties and celebrated weddings and religious occasions such as Eid Al-Fitr and Ramadan, gathering to share joy despite adversity. Art, music and theatre were powerful tools for expression and resistance, with young people and artists defying the blockade through their creative endeavours.
Education was still a priority, with universities such as Al-Azhar and the Islamic University continuing despite limited resources and schools running double shifts due to overcrowding. Health services struggled with severe shortages of medicines and equipment, yet dedicated medical staff persevered.
Electricity was limited to just four to eight hours per day, and clean drinking water was scarce due to the lack of desalination facilities. Nevertheless, Gaza’s young people brimmed with creativity and ambition, working in fields such as design, e-commerce and programming, freelancing and connecting with the world through digital platforms. Despite overwhelming challenges, Gaza’s markets, cafés, coastline, universities and even refugee camps pulsed with life. People were determined to live fully and joyfully even under oppression.
How has displacement affected your family?
Like countless others across Gaza, my family has been in a state of constant displacement, having moved yet again just two days ago. Since the current war began, they have been forced to flee 16 times, moving from north to south and east to west, each time leaving behind more of their belongings until they possessed nothing.
Displacement drains physical, emotional and mental energy, and now they have none left. Forced evacuations often follow instructions from the Israeli Defence Forces, delivered through websites, social media or leaflets dropped over shelters and neighbourhoods.
Tragically, during my family’s ninth displacement, as they evacuated a shelter under threat of bombing and headed towards the beach area, a soldier shot my mother. She was killed as she was fleeing for safety.
What’s daily life like in the shelters?
It’s a daily struggle for survival. Life is marked by overcrowding and deprivation, but also by the quiet endurance of human dignity. Entire families – often 10 to 15 people if not more – squeeze into single classrooms or tents, stripped of privacy, comfort or adequate sleeping space. Even sleep offers little relief, as people sleep on bare floors or cardboard without mattresses, exposed to extreme temperatures, under the constant threat of bombing. True rest is impossible.
Women lack basic dignity, unable to find private spaces to change clothes or use toilets. When available, food – simple staples such as rice, canned goods, lentils and bread – comes from charity or someone’s generosity. But quantities remain insufficient, with some families going days without a proper meal. Drinking water is scarce and sometimes contaminated, so it’s consumed sparingly. Mothers often go hungry to feed their children, sometimes surviving on water alone.
Bathrooms are overcrowded, poorly maintained and insufficient for the massive numbers of displaced people. Women and children endure long queues, and due to inadequate facilities, families resort to using buckets as makeshift toilets. This has fuelled the spread of skin diseases, diarrhoea and infections, particularly among children, while medicines and medical care remain almost non-existent. Pregnant women receive no proper care, and some are forced to give birth in tents or on the ground.
How are communities responding, and what support exists?
Amid this suffering, solidarity persists. People have assumed active roles in organising and distributing humanitarian aid alongside local and international organisations and individual donors, united in a collective effort to preserve life amid devastation.
Families share their meagre food supplies, distribute extra bread to neighbours and lend cooking gas when possible. Mothers exchange nappies, medicines and clothes. Young people organise simple games, songs or drawing sessions to comfort children. Neighbours console each other, and nights fill with whispered conversations, Quran recitations and collective prayers that bring moments of peace. Some women teach children to read or recite the Quran to ease their sense of loss.
However, securing even minimal aid has become increasingly difficult, often needing what feels like a miracle. Simply searching for food can prove deadly – people risk being shot or trampled in desperate crowds of hundreds of thousands seeking relief. Just two days ago, I lost my cousin while he was collecting aid. My sister’s husband and other relatives have also been killed in similar circumstances.
Despite the heartbreak, I’ve been fortunate to receive support from friends, both directly and through a GoFundMe campaign I established to raise donations for my family.
How do you assess the international response?
The international response to Gaza’s crisis has both positive and negative aspects. Many voices worldwide rejected the ongoing violence from the outset, demonstrated through widespread marches, protests and various expressions of solidarity with Gaza’s people. Conversely, others openly support the war and its devastating consequences.
Ultimately, however, political decisions continue to override popular will. The international stance remains notably weak, whether due to inability to stop the war, hold Israel accountable or propose meaningful, long-term solutions. This is also reflected in the failure to consistently deliver humanitarian aid to those most in need.
What has been keeping you and your family going?
My family and I appear destined to survive, but survival itself has become our inescapable reality – a life defined by hardship and loss. Despite all current difficulties and those yet to come, we continue clinging to fragile hope that nothing remains unchanged forever. Change is inevitable. It will come, whether through the war’s end or through our deaths.
But even if the war ends, regardless of how – whether through a deal, withdrawal or declarations of defeat or victory – this will not end our suffering. What we endure now represents one phase of torment likely to be followed by many more. Nothing in Gaza remains fit for life anymore. History seems to repeat itself in endless cycles of pain. Perhaps the only way to endure is accepting that this is our fate, something we must experience, whether we choose it or not.
SEE ALSO
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Gaza: a year of carnage CIVICUS Lens 07.Oct.2024
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The time for hand-wringing and empty declarations is over. The EU has ample tools at its disposal to pressure Israel to end its brutal war in Gaza
By Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff
FREIBURG, Germany, Aug 15 2025 (IPS)
The EU likes to think of itself as a normative power — a community of values, committed to upholding international law, promoting peace, protecting civilians and building a rules-based global order. These are not just lofty ideals; they are enshrined in EU treaties, declarations and Council conclusions.
But when it comes to the brutal, drawn-out destruction of Gaza and the continued illegal occupation of Palestine, these principles seem to have become hollow rhetoric. Worse, they are being actively undermined by the craven inaction of the EU’s institutions and the blockage of governments like Germany, Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
The European Commission has been shamefully absent as well. Only as a result of recent pressure from many Member States did it propose the most tepid of measures by asking the Foreign Affairs Council to suspend access for Israeli SMEs that have applied for financial support under the dual-use technology EIC Accelerator window of Horizon Europe.
Even this minor proposal of the Commission has so far been blocked by several EU countries, including Germany and Italy, thereby failing – again – to enforce the existing conditionality clauses of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which require respect for human rights and international law.
While hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians are being killed, maimed, starved and displaced, the European Union dithers. The International Court of Justice has not only issued provisional measures towards Israel because of the plausible risk of genocide in Gaza – orders the Netanyahu government has flatly ignored – but also declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful and constitutes the crime of segregation or apartheid.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The UN, human rights organisations, as well as most former Israeli top military and intelligence officials, have sounded the alarm about Israel’s catastrophic actions in Gaza and its dehumanising policies in the West Bank.
The time for hand-wringing and empty declarations is over. The EU has ample tools at its disposal to pressure Israel to end its brutal war in Gaza, dismantle the occupation, and move towards a viable two-state solution, with an independent and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel.
What individual states can do
If the European Union remains unable to muster the political will for collective action to apply EU-wide restrictive measures, such as suspending the Association Agreement, banning trade with Israel’s illegal settlements, applying sanctions on government officials and military commanders, halting arms supplies or suspending Horizon Europe, then the moral, political and legal burden falls on individual Member States.
Countries like Spain, Ireland and Slovenia have already taken encouraging steps in recognising the State of Palestine and demanding accountability for Israeli crimes. But so much more is needed now. European countries that claim to support human rights and uphold international law must lead by example and start acting within their own prerogatives.
This can include actions such as unilaterally suspending or revoking arms export licenses to Israel under their own national export control laws, including for dual-use equipment and technology.
Secondly, with respect to Horizon Europe, any Member State can stop funding national co-financed projects involving Israeli entities or withdraw from joint research agreements with Israeli institutions. Universities and research bodies can also be directed not to cooperate with certain Israeli institutions.
Moreover, Member States can impose their own national sanctions regimes on human rights grounds, including visa bans and asset freezes. While the UK and some Nordic countries have such laws, others could use anti-money laundering or counterterrorism laws to freeze assets. States can also deny entry to individuals under national immigration law, as done by France and Slovenia.
While a comprehensive trade ban on settlements falls under exclusive EU competence, Member States can exclude settlement-linked companies from public procurement and state investment funds. State-owned enterprises or sovereign wealth funds can divest from settlement-linked companies, as done by Norway. Furthermore, national authorities can ban port calls or airspace use for Israeli military vessels and aircraft.
Lastly, Member States with universal jurisdiction provisions (such as Germany, Spain, Belgium, France and Sweden) can prosecute suspected Israeli and Palestinian war criminals if they enter their territory, or in some cases even in absentia.
The Baltic countries and the Czech Republic can apply sanctions for human rights violations even outside the EU’s global human rights framework. All Member States are, of course, obliged to support the ICC in arrest warrants and investigations.
In the absence of a collective EU response, individual countries should establish coalitions of the willing that take matters into their own hands. This would not only neutralise European spoilers but also create a critical mass of support within the EU and beyond, including in the Arab world and wider Global South, in the pursuit of protecting and enforcing international law.
Undermining European unity and standing
And yet, the EU itself remains frozen — paralysed by the political obstruction of a few Member States and an indefensible unwillingness to confront Israel’s government with meaningful consequences. This failure to act is not only a betrayal of the Palestinian people.
It is a direct threat to Europe’s own credibility and standing in the world. How can the EU expect to be taken seriously when it demands accountability for Russian war crimes in Ukraine, while shielding Israel from any form of sanction, scrutiny or effective pressure?
This hypocrisy is not lost on the international community — particularly the Global South, where memories of colonialism and double standards run deep. African, Latin American and Arab leaders see the EU’s selective outrage for what it is: a continuation of Eurocentric foreign policy that privileges geopolitical allies and punishes adversaries, regardless of the principles at stake.
Europe’s image as a principled, reliable and rules-based actor is being destroyed, not by autocratic Russia and China, or other adversaries with dictatorial regimes, but by its own refusal to enforce international law when the perpetrator is an ally.
At the heart of this disgraceful paralysis are governments that have chosen to side with impunity. While Germany undoubtedly has a historical responsibility to protect Jewish life and the security of the Jewish people, this in no way justifies placing the actions of the Israeli government above international law.
Under the highly problematic political premise of unconditional support for Israel as part of Germany’s ‘Staatsräson’, Berlin has become the Israeli government’s chief enabler in Europe, delivering weapons, blocking EU measures and silencing domestic dissent. It was only thanks to growing public pressure – two-thirds of Germans want their government to take effective measures against Israel – that on 8 August, Chancellor Merz announced the unprecedented step of temporarily stopping the supply of weapons that the IDF can use in Gaza. However, he later underlined that Germany would not support commercial sanctions against Israel.
If the German government were truly serious about securing Israel’s future and preventing another 7 October from happening, it would have to work tirelessly to end the illegal occupation of Palestine and the ongoing genocidal military campaign in Gaza. Berlin could even help rescue the remaining Israeli hostages from their terrible fate by pressuring Netanyahu to resume meaningful negotiations with Hamas towards hostage release, ceasefire and massive entry of humanitarian aid — negotiations that the Israeli Prime Minister abandoned in March only to salvage his own political survival when threatened by the openly racist far-right parties of his coalition.
Germany is unfortunately not alone in its embarrassing lack of engagement and action among EU Member States. Under Meloni’s far-right government, Italy has become an echo chamber for the Israeli war narrative. And Hungary and the Czech Republic, for far too long loyal to nationalist authoritarianism, have consistently obstructed EU consensus on Palestine.
Dr Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff is a diplomat who has been working in the field of EU external relations since 1992. He has served as the European Union’s official representative in various locations, including Jerusalem. He has also been a senior advisor on mediation in the European Union’s External Action Service.
Source: International Politics and Society (IPS) published by the Global and European Policy Unit of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Hiroshimastrasse 28, D-10785 Berlin.
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The origin of COVID-19 remains a mystery, hampered by secrecy, stalled research and global inaction.
By Shreya Komar
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 14 2025 (IPS)
More than four years since Covid-19 upended the world, the question of how it began remains unanswered. Did SARS-CoV-2 originate from animals to humans naturally, or did it accidentally escape from a laboratory? The World Health Organization’s latest report offers little new clarity and raises serious concerns about international cooperation and scientific transparency. On June 27, 2025, the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) released its second report examining how the virus emerged. Despite years of work and renewed international focus, the findings have been widely criticized for failing to break new ground. Much of the blame lies in what wasn’t included. Critical data requested from China was never provided, leaving glaring holes in the investigation.
“The report adds almost nothing to what a few talented independent investigators found several years ago,” said Viscount Ridley, co-author of Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid-19.
“That it has taken five years and 23 people to produce this ‘all but useless’ addition to the literature on the origin of Covid-19 is frankly a disgrace.”
The search for COVID-19’s origin is not simply an academic exercise. Understanding how this virus entered the human population is crucial for preventing the next pandemic. Scientists agree that future coronavirus outbreaks are not only possible but also likely. Knowing whether SARS-CoV-2 came from a wildlife market or a laboratory accident informs how humanity prepares for the next spillover.
While the SAGO report acknowledges both the zoonotic spillover and lab-leak theories as plausible, it stresses the need for further evidence. That evidence remains frustratingly out of reach.
“If China had been transparent all along, we would have been able to pinpoint what happened,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, who served as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator from 2020 to 2021.
Most virologists continue to believe that the virus has a natural origin, a view reinforced in a new documentary titled “Unmasking COVID-19’s True Origins” released by Real Stories on July 15. “The vast majority of virologists understand the virus had a natural origin,” one expert says in the film. Still, without access to early samples and full records, both theories remain scientifically viable, and political tensions continue to cloud the inquiry.
This latest WHO report comes just weeks after a major development in global health policy. On May 20, 2025, the World Health Assembly adopted the long-anticipated WHO Pandemic Agreement, a legally binding treaty intended to strengthen preparedness for future outbreaks. The agreement aims to fix the deep weaknesses revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic: sluggish coordination, delayed data sharing, and unequal access to vaccines and treatments.
The treaty commits countries to share information on emerging pathogens faster, to improve cooperation on disease surveillance, and to distribute medical tools like vaccines more equitably. It also respects national sovereignty, meaning that countries will not be forced to relinquish control of their public health decisions. Still, some provisions, particularly those concerning the sharing of pathogen samples and related benefits, remain under negotiation and are expected to be finalized in 2026.
The WHO’s first SAGO report, released on June 9, 2022, also found that both leading origin theories were possible and called for further data from Chinese authorities. The absence of transparency since then has only hardened frustration among scientists. The call for cooperation is not just about this virus but about preparing for what comes next.
Meanwhile, research vital to fighting COVID-19 and future respiratory diseases has quietly stalled. In 2024, Ohio State University was awarded USD 15 million to study new treatments for SARS-CoV-2 and long COVID. One promising clinical trial focused on a drug to treat hypoxemic respiratory failure, a leading cause of death among hospitalized patients. But halfway through, the National Institutes of Health abruptly terminated the funding.
The cancellation saved USD 500,000 but came after USD 1.5 million had already been spent. As a result, researchers were forced to abandon the trial entirely, delaying possible treatments that could have helped the nearly one million people hospitalized annually for respiratory failure caused by COVID, flu, and other infections. “This is a disaster for all of us,” said a veteran scientist at Ohio State.
“We’re all depressed and living on a knife-edge, because we know we could lose the rest of our grants any day. These people really hate us, yet all we’ve done is work hard to make people’s health better. A flu pandemic is coming for us; what’s happening in cattle is truly scary and all we have is oxygen and hope for people.”
Scientific leaders argue that the world must do the opposite of what is currently happening: invest more, not less, in pandemic-related science. Research that has languished or been underfunded must be revived and expanded. More international partnerships are needed, especially with researchers in hotspot regions such as China, to ensure the global community is better equipped to face the next threat.
As the WHO itself notes, “The work to understand the origins of SARS-CoV-2 remains unfinished.”
But without transparency, funding, and political will, it may remain that way for years to come. And if that happens, the world could be left just as vulnerable when the next pandemic emerges.
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Fiji is a Pacific Island nation renowned for its tourism industry, but it has also endured four armed coups and 38 years of political instability. Credit: Julie Lyn
By Catherine Wilson
SYDNEY, Aug 14 2025 (IPS)
Fiji, a nation located west of Tonga in the central Pacific, is renowned for its natural beauty and beach resorts. But for 38 years it has endured a political rollercoaster of instability with four armed coups that overturned democratically elected governments and eroded human rights.
Now, following a peaceful transition of power at the last 2022 election, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and his coalition government want to deal with the past with a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to pave the way for a more peaceful and resilient future.
The commission will “facilitate open and free engagement in truth-telling regarding the political upheavals during the coup periods and promote closure and healing for the survivors,” Rabuka, who led the first coup, told parliament before supporting legislation that was passed in December last year. Now he has pledged to oversee the country’s reconciliation and return to democratic norms.
The TRC is tasked with investigating what happened during the coups d’état of 1987, 2000 and 2006, related human rights abuses and the grievances that have driven the relentless struggle for power between Fiji’s indigenous and Indo-Fijian communities. Its focus is on truth-telling and preventing a repetition of conflict; it will not prosecute perpetrators of abuses or provide reparations to victims.
“This commission aims to serve the people of Fiji to come to terms with your own history… the purpose is not to put blame and to deepen the trauma and the difficulties, but to help the people of Fiji to move on for a better future for everyone,” Dr. Marcus Brand, the TRC chairman, who has extensive experience with transitional justice initiatives and held senior roles in the United Nations and European Union, said in January.
He is joined by four Fijian commissioners, namely former High Court Judge Sekove Naqiolevu, former TV journalist Rachna Nath, former Fiji Airways Captain Rajendra Dass, and leadership expert Ana Laqeretabua.
The Fiji Parliament, Suva, Fiji. Credit: Josuamudreilagi
Florence Swamy, Executive Director of the Pacific Centre for Peacebuilding, a non-governmental organization based in the capital, Suva, told IPS that the TRC is important to building trust in the country, where many people still experience fear and anxiety about the violence they witnessed.
“As a first step, it is creating a safe space for people to talk about what happened to them,” she emphasized.
Fiji’s political turmoil has roots in the past. British colonization in the nineteenth century was accompanied by policies that were intended to strengthen indigenous land rights and prevent dispossession, rights that were reinforced in Fiji’s first constitution at Independence in 1970.
But, at the same time, Fijian society was irrevocably changed by the organized immigration of Indians to work on sugar plantations and boost development of the colony. By the mid-twentieth century, the Indo-Fijian population was larger than the indigenous community and their demands for equal rights increased.
“Fijian Indians were brought to the country, in many cases, under the false pretense of better work and wage opportunities, to develop the economy of Fiji…while indigenous Fijians were hardly consulted about such a momentous decision,” Dr. Shailendra Singh, Head of Journalism at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, told IPS.
Soon the country’s politics were mired in a fierce contest for power. And in 1987, Rabuka, then an officer in the Fiji military, led the overthrow of the first elected Indo-Fijian government under Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra.
Rabuka then became Prime Minister from 1992 to 1999 before another Indo-Fijian government, led by Mahendra Chaudhry, was voted in. This triggered a second coup instigated by nationalist George Speight in 2000 in which the government was held hostage in the nation’s parliament for weeks. Then, in 2006, Frank Bainimarama, head of the armed forces, orchestrated the third coup, which he claimed was necessary to eliminate corruption and divisive policies in the government of the day presided over by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. For the next eight years he oversaw an authoritarian military government until democratic elections were held again in 2014.
Fiji’s capital city Suva. Credit: Maksym Kozlenko
The coups inflicted a significant human cost. Lawlessness, inter-community violence, military and police brutality, and arrests and torture of people critical of the regime occurred increasingly after 2006.
Three years later, Amnesty International called for “an immediate halt to all human rights violations by members of the security forces and government officials, including the arbitrary arrests, intimidation and threats, and assaults and detentions of journalists, government critics and others.” It also called for the repeal of the Public Emergency Regulations imposed by the government in 2009 that led to impunity for state officials involved in abuses.
Today, the demographic balance has shifted again in the wake of an outward exodus of Indo-Fijians, who now comprise about 33 percent of Fiji’s population of about 900,000, while Melanesians constitute about 56 percent. But societal divisions remain entrenched and the past has not been forgotten.
The commission is now preparing to hold hearings over the next 18 months. And Rabuka has promised to be one of the first to testify of his involvement in the political upheavals.
I will swear to say everything, the truth… I want to continue to live with a clear conscience. I want people to know that at least they understand my reasons for doing it,” he told the media in January. But the TRC also promises to place victims and survivors at the center of its mission, claiming that “their lived experiences are vital to fostering accountability, encouraging healing and building a more united and compassionate society.”
However, there are voices of caution, too, warning of the risks of reviving memories of conflict and pain and the need to prevent this from inflaming divisions.
While experts in the country speak of the need to go beyond the TRC and tackle structural issues of inequality and disenfranchisement, which have driven community grievances, “to make everyone feel a sense of belonging and loyalty to the country of their birth,” Singh said.
In particular, “indigenous fears concerning political dominance in Fiji” and “Indo-Fijians’ feeling of being marginalized by the state and not treated as equal citizens” need to be addressed, he continued.
The Fijian armed forces, which played a decisive role in executing the coups, often justifying their actions in protecting Fiji’s internal order, are also critical to the success of the country’s return to democratic governance.
In 2023 an internal reconciliation process began, aimed at ending military intervention in the country’s politics and elections. In April, during an official meeting with the TRC, the military leadership pledged ‘to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated, and that its role as a guardian of Fiji’s constitutional order remains anchored in service to all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, background or political belief.’
After the commission has concluded its estimated two years of work, it will make recommendations in its final report for public measures and policy reforms to support the country’s social cohesion. Here Swamy emphasizes that it is crucial the recommendations do not remain on paper but are acted on.
“In terms of the recommendations, who will be responsible for them? Will they ensure that the recommendations are implemented? And what mechanisms will be put in place to make sure that institutions are held accountable?” she declared.
Looking into the future, Swamy said that she would like to see her country become one “where everyone feels safe, where there is equal opportunity… a country where everyone can realize their potential.”
Note: This article is brought to you by IPS Noram in collaboration with INPS Japan and Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.
IPS UN Bureau Report
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