General Assembly approves $3.72 billion UN budget for 2025
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
The General Assembly wrapped up the main part of its 79th session on Tuesday, approving a $3.72 billion budget for the United Nations in 2025 and adopting a new programme to support landlocked developing countries. Read the full story,...
In Gaza, a Christmas without a tree
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
For the second year in a row, Christmas arrived for the Christian community in the Gaza Strip without celebrations, as daily life remains a constant struggle. Read the full story, “In Gaza, a Christmas without a tree”, on globalissues.org →
Southeast Asia provides fertile ground for women to benefit from AI
Wednesday, December 25, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
Artificial intelligence or AI technology can help to protect vulnerable women, give women a voice in male-dominated communities and increase training opportunities in Southeast Asia thanks to innovative approaches by United Nations...
This Year’s Three UN Summits Set the Stage for COP30 to Transform Food Systems
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 24 (IPS) - This year has been a landmark one for climate and environment policy. Starting with the UN’s COP16 biodiversity talks in October, followed by the COP29 climate talks in November, and closing with the...
Civil Society Trends for 2025: Nine Global Challenges, One Reason for Hope
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
LONDON / MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Dec 24 (IPS) - It's been a tumultuous year, and a tough one for struggles for human rights. Civil society’s work to seek social justice and hold the powerful to account has been tested at every turn. Civil...
Innovative Financing to Unlock Africa’s Blue Economy
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 24 (IPS) - Securing new financing for global good has become more challenging than ever. Negotiations at the recently-concluded COP16 on Nature and Biodiversity failed to reach an agreement on establishing a fund to...
Its Very Tough: Turning Youth Employment Dreams Into Reality
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
SKOPJE, North Macedonia, Dec 24 (IPS) - It’s a bright winter day in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia in the southern Balkans. By lunchtime, the cafes are full. The atmosphere is busy and social, and it is not difficult to see why...
UN General Assembly adopts milestone cybercrime treaty
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
The General Assembly on Tuesday adopted the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, a landmark global treaty aimed at strengthening international cooperation to combat cybercrime and protecting societies from digital threats. Read...
Making the digital and physical world safer: Why the Convention against Cybercrime matters
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
Billions of people worldwide are set to benefit from enhanced safety online and in the physical world following the adoption of a legally binding treaty on cybercrime by the UN General Assembly. Read the full story, “Making the digital...
Tchaikovsky and America: A mutual fascination
Tuesday, December 24, 2024 from Global Issues News Headlines
Tchaikovky’s ballet The Nutcracker is now a staple of the holiday season. Less well-known is the famed Russian composer’s strong connection to the United States and, in particular, New York. Read the full story, “Tchaikovsky and America:...
Georgia: Brutal Police Violence Against Protesters
Monday, December 23, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Thousands gather outside of Georgia’s parliament in the capital, Tbilisi, to protest the ruling party’s suspension of European Union accession talks, December 11, 2024. © 2024 Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto via AP...
Brazil Bans X from Using Children to Power Its AI
Friday, December 20, 2024 from
Click to expand Image The logo of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, displayed on a smartphone in Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 31, 2024. © 2024 Tuane Fernandes/Bloomberg via Getty Images This week, Brazil’s National...
End Prosecutions Targeting Kurdish Language Activities in Türkiye
Friday, December 20, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Rıfat Roni, having spent almost 3 months in pretrial detention, is a victim of abusive use of the criminal law to target Kurdish language and cultural activities. © 2024 Mezopotamya News Rıfat Roni has spent more...
Mexico Moves to Protect Platform Workers’ Rights
Friday, December 20, 2024 from
Click to expand Image A delivery driver for Didi Food, getting ready to deliver orders, in Mexico City, Mexico, on October 16, 2024, could be one of many workers to benefit from labor reform for workers for...
Egypt’s Catastrophic Draft Criminal Procedure Code
Friday, December 20, 2024 from
Click to expand Image A courtroom with soundproof glass in Cairo, Egypt, September 8, 2018. © 2018 Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP via Getty Images This week, Egypt’s parliament rushed to approve, “in principle,” a...
Beyond The Lens: Spotlighting Vietnam’s Marginalized Women
Friday, December 20, 2024 from Global Citizen
Photography and mixed media are easy to find in this vastly overstimulated world. What’s not as easy to find is images and artistry that convey a deep-rooted connection and complete empathy for social issues. Enter: Global Citizen...
Israel’s Crime of Extermination, Acts of Genocide in Gaza
Thursday, December 19, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Palestinians returning to Khan Younis after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, pull water containers to meet their vital needs under catastrophic conditions on May 6, 2024. © 2024 Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty...
2024 in Review: How Global Citizens Made a Difference
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 from Global Citizen
As we close the chapter on 2024, we want to take a moment to reflect on a truly transformative year. Through campaigns like Global Citizen: NOW and Global Citizen Festival , world leaders, artists, and philanthropists came together...
Guatemala: Attorney General Pursues Political Prosecutions
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Guatemala's then-Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras in Guatemala City, November 26, 2024. ©2024 JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images (Washington, DC, December 18, 2024) – Guatemala’s attorney general is...
Cameroon: Minister Suspends Prominent Human Rights Group
Tuesday, December 17, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Scellés imposés par les autorités administratives camerounaises et la police au bureau du Réseau des défenseurs des droits de l'homme d'Afrique centrale à Douala, Cameroun, 2024. © 2024, Privé. (Nairobi)...
Rwanda and Nigeria, Are You Ready for Move Afrika?
Tuesday, December 17, 2024 from Global Citizen
We’re excited to announce that EGOT-winning, critically acclaimed, multiplatinum artist and producer, John Legend will headline the 2025 edition of Move Afrika. “I’m honored and excited to perform in Kigali and Lagos as part of the...
Liberian Warlord-Politician’s Death and the Search for Justice
Tuesday, December 17, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Prince Y. Johnson attends a political rally in Liberia in 2017. © 2017 Zoom Dosso/AFP via Getty Images Liberia’s Prince Y. Johnson, who rose to prominence first as a warlord and then politician, was implicated in...
Egypt: Asylum Bill Threatens Refugee Rights
Tuesday, December 17, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Refugees fleeing conflict in Sudan cross into Egypt through the Argeen Land Port on May 12, 2023. © 2023 Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images Update: President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed the draft asylum...
Russia: Foreign Tech Companies Cave to Authorities’ Pressure
Tuesday, December 17, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Caption: The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor) in Moscow, Russia. © 2023 Sipa via AP Images Update: On December 17, Human Rights...
Syria: Mass Grave in Damascus Should be Protected, Investigated
Monday, December 16, 2024 from
Play Video (Beirut) – The state of a mass grave in Damascus and statements by people living in the surrounding area suggest that the area is a mass crime scene and may have been the site of other summary executions, Human Rights...
Polio in Pakistan: Tackling Fake Vaccine Records, Political Hurdles, and the Fight to End the Virus
Monday, December 16, 2024 from Global Citizen
From fake vaccination records to targeted killings of health workers, global health organizations face a range of challenges as they work to eradicate polio in Pakistan. The country remains one of only two countries worldwide, alongside...
UN Funding Uncertainty Threatens Rights Investigations
Monday, December 16, 2024 from
Click to expand Image The United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, July 16, 2024. © 2024 Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via AP Photo United Nations member countries should take urgent steps to end the UN’s financial troubles, which are...
US: Lasting Harm from Family Separation at the Border
Monday, December 16, 2024 from
Click to expand Image After apprehending a father and son from Honduras near Mission, Texas, on the US-Mexico border, US border agents prepare to send them to a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processing center, where they face...
Sudan: Fighters Rape Women and Girls, Hold Sex Slaves
Sunday, December 15, 2024 from
Click to expand Image RSF fighters took 18-year-old “Hania” from her home in Fayu, South Kordofan when she was three months pregnant. They held her at a military base and repeatedly raped her for three months before she escaped. ©...
South Korea: President Impeached for Abuse of Power
Saturday, December 14, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Protesters gather holding banners demanding the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, December 14, 2024. © AP Photo/Lee Jin-man (Seoul) – The South...
Iran: Detained Activists Denied Medical Care
Friday, December 13, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Exterior view of Evin prison. © Wikipedia (Beirut) – Several recent cases confirm the continuation of Iran’s longstanding policy of denying political prisoners medical care as a tool to silence dissent, Human Rights...
One Price for the Planet: The Case for Universal Carbon Pricing
Friday, December 13, 2024 from Global Citizen
Fiction, Or Soon a Reality? The air shimmered like molten glass, suffocating everything it touched. In an ordinary town in Uttar Pradesh, India, the sun rose like a merciless predator, each ray a lash of unbearable heat. Families crowded...
UN Security Council Recommits to Protecting People with Disabilities
Friday, December 13, 2024 from
Click to expand Image Emina Ćerimović speaks at the United Nations Security Council “Arria formula” meeting on December 6, 2024. © 2024 Private On December 6, I briefed the United Nations Security Council at its first informal...
Saudi Arabia: Hosting UN Internet Conference Amid Crackdown
Friday, December 13, 2024 from
Click to expand Image A message is typed on a smartphone, July 2022. © 2022 Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance via Getty Images (Beirut) – Saudi Arabia is hosting a major United Nations conference on internet governance while...
US Landmine Transfers Contravene Long-Standing Policy
Friday, December 13, 2024 from
Click to expand Image The International Campaign to Ban Landmines holds a demonstration during the Mine Ban Treaty’s Fifth Review Conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia on November 26, 2024 to protest a United States decision to transfer...
Championing Cervical Cancer and HPV Prevention: A Story of Dedication and Resilience in Rural Lesotho
Wednesday, December 11, 2024 from Global Citizen
“Some people in the deep rural areas don’t believe that there is cervical cancer and that it can affect them,” says Mabohlokoa Selemele (31), a “Mentor Mother” at mothers2mothers (m2m) in Lesotho. Mentor Mothers are trained and employed...
The Global Safety Net Frays: European Countries Cut Foreign Aid
Wednesday, December 11, 2024 from Global Citizen
Public spending cuts have become a recurring theme throughout 2024 as governments tighten their budgets under mounting domestic economic and political pressures. Official Development Assistance (ODA), or foreign aid, has consequentially...
How Conflict Damages Global Healthcare Systems
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 from Global Citizen
Conflict zones worldwide have increased 65% over the last three years , threatening economic growth and causing humanitarian crises. The destruction that results from conflict can haunt communities for years, leading to widespread...
COP29: A Growing Crackdown on Civic Space Restricts Future Climate Negotiations
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 from Global Citizen
COP29, the UN’s annual climate conference, wrapped up in Baku in November with a flurry of disappointing outcomes. As representatives from civil society and climate-vulnerable nations decry insufficient climate finance commitments and a...
The Power Of Youth: A Look Into Youth Participation in the 2024 Global Elections
Monday, December 9, 2024 from Global Citizen
The 2024 elections were a global democratic milestone, with nearly half the world voting to shape their leadership for the next few years. Billions, including millions of young people, voted to address issues like healthcare, education,...
$100 Billion for Progress: Inside IDA’s Largest Replenishment Yet
Friday, December 6, 2024 from Global Citizen
In a powerful demonstration of global solidarity, leaders from around the world gathered in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 5-6, 2024, for the International Development Association (IDA) ’s 21st replenishment cycle (IDA21) . IDA drives...
I Saw Cyclones and Floods Swallow Entire Villages — Now I Defend The Planet
Friday, December 6, 2024 from Global Citizen
Sohanur Rahman is a passionate advocate for climate justice, social change, and youth empowerment from Bangladesh where civic space is closed . He is also a Young Activist Summit laureate for 2024. Here, Rahman shares how he helps...
How Vaccination and Sanitation Forge the Excalibur We Need to End Polio
Friday, December 6, 2024 from Global Citizen
Polio , a disease that still lingers in parts of the world, spreads with quiet persistence. Picture this: a sip of water or bite of food, unknowingly contaminated by traces of feces from an infected person, becomes the virus’s way in....
How Persons with Disabilities are Uniquely Vulnerable to Climate Change
Tuesday, December 3, 2024 from Global Citizen
December 3 is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities , a good day to put yourself in the shoes of someone with a disability. Imagine for a second that you are in a wheelchair in Florida and Hurricane Helene hits. Imagine you...
World Aids Day: The Evolution of HIV Treatment Over Three Decades
Sunday, December 1, 2024 from Global Citizen
“I’m sorry. Your test result is positive.” These words, delivered with a heavy heart by health professionals, were once a harbinger of despair. Thirty or forty years ago, a positive diagnosis of HIV felt like a death sentence, shrouded...
And That’s a Wrap on COP29 — This Year’s Global Climate Summit
Friday, November 22, 2024 from Global Citizen
Over the last two weeks, more than 65,000 delegates came together to work on the next global climate agreement at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan , the UN’s annual climate conference event. Held from Nov. 11 to Nov. 22 and unofficially dubbed...
A Beginner’s Guide to Climate Finance: What You Need to Know
Friday, November 22, 2024 from Global Citizen
The latest United Nations climate summit, COP29, earned the nickname “ The Finance COP ” for its focus on questions like who should pay for fixing the climate crisis, and how much? In theory, climate finance is all about figuring out...
I Believe in the Global Community to Call for Climate Justice — You Should Too
Friday, November 22, 2024 from Global Citizen
Eduardo Mosqueda is an environmental activist from Mexico, where civic space is repressed . He serves as Executive Director for a non-governmental organization called Tsiniki which specializes in human rights — particularly environmental...
Global Citizen Launches Power Our Planet Climate Action Campaign at Global Citizen NOW: Rio de Janeiro
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 from Global Citizen
Global Citizen NOW: Rio de Janeiro , an action summit hosted by Global Citizen and the 2024 G20 Presidency, and supported by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, convened over 450 world leaders, innovators, and advocates on the...
Celebrate World Children’s Day by Taking Action for Children’s Rights
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 from Global Citizen
The boundless potential of our youth inspires the world to come together each year to celebrate World Children’s Day on Nov. 20 — a day devoted to honoring, empowering, and advocating for tomorrow’s leaders, dreamers, and changemakers....