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Friday, April 26, 2024
News and Views from the Global South
Armed Conflicts
Niger’s Military Coup Triggers Child Marriages, Sex Work in Neighboring Countries
A group of young girls aged between 15 and 17 sit tight, following attentively a lesson being taught by a Mualim (Islamic teacher) in a makeshift madrassah (Qur’anic school) located in one of the impoverished townships of Benin’s economic capital, Cotonou. They arrived in Benin recently, fleeing poverty, hunger, climate change, and rising insecurity in their home country, Niger, in the aftermath of the military coup that toppled democratically-elected president Mohamed Bazoum.
Gaza Teetering on the Brink of Mass Starvation
As we pass 200 days of war, the population of northern Gaza is teetering on the brink of mass starvation. Oxfam analysis found that the 300,000 people in northern Gaza had been forced to survive on an average of 245 calories per day from January to March—less than a single can of beans, and well below the recommended daily intake of 2,100 calories.
By Sending Nuclear Weapons to UK, Could US be Fueling Nuclear Proliferation?
For the first time in 15 years, the United States is reportedly planning to station nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom, a decision many experts interpret as attempting to counter growing geopolitical instability.
Attacks on UNRWA Not About Its Neutrality, Says UNRWA Chief
The UN Palestinian refugee agency welcomed the recommendations made in the report from the independent investigation led by Catherine Colonna and warned of new and continuing concerns that threaten the agency’s operations.
US Foreign Policy in Middle East Still Governed by Israeli Priorities
The vote and the American veto at the United Nations Security Council on April 18 was predictable. Though European countries are increasingly supportive of a Palestinian state, the US is not yet ready for that eventuality, for these reasons:
Seeking Justice for the Civilian Victims of the Syrian Civil War
When the Syrian Army launched its offensive against the stronghold of rebel FSA (Free Syrian Army) in Homs in February 2012, the safety of civilians was not a factor.
Will a Two-State Solution include Palestine as a UN Member State?
The Biden administration, once again displayed its political hypocrisy by denying UN membership to Palestine, while continuing to advocate a “two-state’ solution” to the crisis in the Middle East. But one lingering question remains: will the two-state solution include-- or exclude-- Palestine as a full-fledged UN member state?
Making the Global Financial Architecture Work for Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDEs)
The world is facing multiple crises that must be tackled quickly, with innovative approaches and brave decisions. The global financial architecture is an area that needs reform and thinking outside the box. The system created 80 years ago is not able to deal with today’s problems that range from climate change to pandemics, to increasing inequality, to conflict and fragility, to food insecurity and poverty.
The Summit of the Future Is a Rare Chance to Fix a Broken System: Civil Society Must Be Included
Today, the spectre of a major regional conflict, and even a possible nuclear conflagration, looms large in the Middle East. Despite stark warnings issued by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, the multilateral system is struggling to resolve the very challenges it was supposed to address: conflict, impoverishment and oppression. In a deeply divided world, this September’s Summit of the Future offers a rare chance to fix international cooperation and make good on gaps in global governance.
Education Cannot Wait in Responding to the Regional Crisis Stemming From the Armed Conflict in Sudan
The conflict in Sudan is one of the worst in the world today, and millions of children and adolescents bear the brunt within and across the border from Sudan.
Rwanda: A Ravaged Country That Bounced Back
As we contemplate the clouded futures of Gaza, Ukraine, and other dire conflict zones that get far less coverage, it may be instructive to recall the surprising success story of a ravaged country that bounced back: Rwanda.
When the Man Who Built the Bombs Met the Man Who Dropped the Bombs…
The award-winning Hollywood movie Oppenheimer portrays the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped create the atomic bomb, which claimed the lives of an estimated 140,000 to 226,000 people and devastated the two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
China, India & Sri Lanka Embroiled in the Geo-Politics of the Indian Ocean
Unfortunately, a rivalry that should not exist and did not exist historically between China and India is being stoked by the media and some policy makers, especially in the West. It is not too difficult to discern the Machiavellian geo-strategic objectives of this complex game plan.
Kwibuka30: Learning from the Past, Safeguarding the Future Against Genocide
One should never lose sight that for people who experienced genocide, the warning signs were there. Genocide is a process. It requires preparation and capacities to carry it out.
UN Staff Warned Against Public Comments on the Devastating Conflict in Gaza
The deadly six-month-old Israeli-Hamas war, which has claimed the lives of more than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza and over 1,200 in Israel, has sharply divided the world with vociferous protestors on both sides of the conflict. But the United Nations is no exception with some of the estimated 35,000 staffers—both in New York and UN affiliates worldwide-- have been increasingly vocal, mostly on social media, critical of either Israel or Hamas.
In the Shadows of the Wars in Ukraine & Gaza, Iran and Russia are Growing Ever Closer
Russia and Iran currently appear to be pulling firmly in the same direction in terms of foreign policy; ‘What has caused humanity’s suffering is unilateralism and an unjust global order, one manifestation of which can be seen in Gaza today.’ These were the words of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on 7 December.
30 Years On, Genocide Survivors Embark on a Journey To Build a Resilient Future
A minute of silence was observed on April 7 across Rwanda as the country held a memorial ceremony to mourn more than one million people, overwhelmingly Tutsis, who were systematically killed in the 100 days of atrocities between April and July 1994.
‘Scattered Measures’ in Humanitarian Aid for Gaza Are Not Enough – UN Secretary General
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza drags into its sixth month on Sunday, April 7, the UN Secretary-General calls for a “true paradigm shift” in the delivery of humanitarian aid. On Friday April 5, 2024, Secretary-General António Guterres spoke before reporters to mark six months since the October 7 attacks, where 1,200 civilians in Israel were killed in a terrorist attack led by Hamas, which has since led to a military campaign by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into Gaza.
Education Either Makes Us or Breaks Us
There is a fork in the road before us. We have to choose who we are as human beings and as a human family. Do we break humanity or do we make it?
UN Security Council Holds Rare Nuclear Disarmament Debate
Japan chaired a rare, high-level UN Security Council meeting on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation on March 18. Although the meeting underscored the urgency of addressing the growing threats posed by nuclear weapons, it also highlighted the chronic divisions among key states on disarmament and nonproliferation issues.
Israel’s De Facto Peace Plan
The de facto peace plan of Israel is Greater Israel (Eretz Yisrael Hashlema) with a dominant Jewish majority, which Israel expects America will accept and support.Next Page »
Armed conflicts are a sad constant on daily front pages worldwide. Wars, civil wars, revolts, coups, genocides, ethnic and political violence, and global terrorism capture our attention for the geopolitical landslides, human suffering, food crises and streams of migration that follow in their wake. As in times of natural disaster, man-made crises claim frequent casualties among the poor, women and children. IPS examines emerging and ongoing armed conflicts around the world with an eye on the underlying social and political dynamics, and special focus on the lived experiences of those most affected by armed conflict.
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