Africa

"It feels good to be an inspiration," double Guinness World Record breaker Hilda Baci tells the BBC.

Credit: Forus - UN High-Level Political Forum 2025

By Sarah Strack and Christelle Kalhoulé
NEW YORK, Sep 26 2025 (IPS)

This September the UN turns 80, but the lessons of peace, justice, and cooperation are still unfinished. The world today faces the flames of inequality, conflict, ecological collapse and growing digital threats. In short, the very problems the UN was created to solve are once again staring us in the face.

That’s why the UN’s latest reform push, “UN80,” matters. Launched this spring, it promises to make the multilateral system more inclusive and accountable. But here’s the real question: can it align with 21st century’s needs? Will it be remembered as a budget drill or the start of a renewal that truly delivers for people where they live?

If this moment is going to count, three things must happen.

First, reforms must put people at the center, and we must avoid a reform by spreadsheet.

The UN is under financial strain. Geopolitical tensions are sky-high, negotiations are gridlocked, Member States are late on dues and membership fees, arrears run into the billions, and the UN’s mandate, efficiency, and effectiveness are under question.

“In a polycrisis world, shrinking the UN’s capacity is like cutting the fire brigade during wildfire season,” warns Christelle Kalhoulé, Forus Chair and civil society leader in Burkina Faso. “Reform cannot be about cutting corners. It must be about giving people the protection, rights, and solidarity they are being denied today.”

The UN80 Initiative marks the most sweeping reform effort in decades, with three tracks: streamlining services and consolidating IT and HR systems, reviewing outdated mandates, and exploring the consolidation of UN agencies into seven thematic “clusters.”

On paper, these reforms could bring overdue coherence. But the process has too often felt opaque, with key documents surfacing via leaks and staff unions flagging limited transparency and consultation.

Increasing the use of tools like AI is among the “solutions” being floated to “flag potential duplication” and shorten resolutions — yet without clear guardrails, there’s a risk of automating cuts and reinforcing bias rather than empowering people-first innovation. And the debate has too often been framed around cash flow, back payments, and cuts. The United States alone owes $1.5 billion in dues. Major donors are cutting ODA, and several UN humanitarian agencies are planning double-digit reductions in 2025 in their budgets.

As Arjun Bhattarai, Executive Director of the NGO Federation of Nepal warns: “Reform cannot be a synonym for austerity. Cutting budgets may make spreadsheets look tidy in New York, but it leaves communities in Kathmandu, Kampala, Khartoum, or Kyiv without support when they need it most.”

The danger is a reform focused on management efficiencies instead of reimagining what the UN must be to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.

Second, a better compass exists.

Despite its flaws, multilateralism remains indispensable. Without the UN, the world would be poorer when it comes to peace, cooperation, and collective problem-solving.

What makes the UN matter most, however, are not the halls of New York or Geneva, but the people and communities it exists to serve.

The UN was created “for the people and by the people”. Protecting, safeguarding and promoting healthy sustainable lives for communities must remain the core priority.

Our measure for reform is simple: a transformed UN must reduce inequalities, ensure fairer and more inclusive representation across its governance structures, deliver public goods fairly with accountability, and protect people better, faster, while safeguarding rights.

As Moses Isooba, Executive Director of the Uganda National NGO Forum, puts it: “A reformed UN must stand closer to the people than to the corridors of power. It must be measured not by the length of resolutions, but by the depth of hope it restores and the changes it makes for communities worldwide.”

If UN80 becomes a technocratic exercise in “doing less with less,” we will emerge with a smaller, weaker UN at precisely the moment we need it most.

If instead it becomes a justice-driven reimagining — linking architecture and finance to a clear vision of protection, equity, participation, and decentralization — it could renew the UN’s capacity to act as a backbone of international cooperation.

As Justina Kaluinaite, Policy and advocacy expert at the Lithuanian NGDO Platform, stresses: “The UN will survive another 80 years only if it learns to listen. True reform is not about doing more with less, but about doing better with those who have been left out.”

Third, put reforms through three simple tests.

When leaders meet in New York, we challenge them to have every reform proposal answering three questions:

1. The Inequality Question: Does this reform measurably narrow gaps — by income, gender, geography, or status — in who is protected and who benefits?

2. The Localisation Question: Does it move money, decisions, and accountability closer to communities, with transparent targets and timelines?

3. The Rights Question: Does it strengthen — not dilute — protection, gender equality, and human rights?

As Christelle Kalhoulé, sums it up: “The measure of UN80 should not be how much paper it saves, but how many lives it protects. History and the legacy we leave to future generations will not ask whether the UN balanced its budget in 2025; it will ask whether it stood with people.”

If leaders embrace this moment, the UN can emerge sharper, stronger, and more inclusive, with a justice-driven renewal of multilateralism, reclaiming its place as the backbone of global cooperation. If not, UN80 may go down in history as the moment when multilateralism chose retreat over renewal.

If UN80 is going to matter, it must prevent crises before they explode, deliver for both people and planet, give underrepresented countries and communities a real voice, keep civil society free and strong, and fix financing so money reaches those on the frontlines. The real test isn’t how tidy the org chart looks, it’s whether lives are saved, trust is rebuilt, and the UN proves it can still rise to the moment and be fit to serve this 21st century world.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Excerpt:

Sarah Strack is Forus Director and Christelle Kalhoulé is Forus Chair and civil society leader in Burkina Faso

Annalena Baerbock (centre), President of the eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly, addresses the fourth UN High-Level Meeting on the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (NCDs) titled “Equity and integration: transforming lives and livelihoods through leadership and action on noncommunicable diseases and the promotion of mental health and well-being. Credit: UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 26 2025 (IPS)

World leaders convened in New York to deliberate over the efforts needed to address non-communicable diseases.

On September 25, the United Nations (UN) convened a high-level meeting on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and the promotion of mental health and well-being during the 80th session of the General Assembly (UNGA80).

Organized in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the conference brought together numerous heads of state and government, many of whom acknowledged that progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030, will most likely not be achieved. Most participants also stressed the urgency of stronger global cooperation and financing to advance health promotion and disease prevention, while addressing the economic, social, and environmental factors driving premature NCD mortality.

According to figures from WHO, NCDs are the leading cause of premature deaths worldwide, claiming more than 43 million lives last year, with 18 million of these deaths occurring prematurely. Amina Mohammed, the Deputy-Secretary General of the UN, informed the panel that approximately one person under the age of 70 succumbs to an NCD every two seconds. Additionally, about 1 billion people globally live with mental health conditions and 2.8 billion more can’t afford a healthy diet. Roughly three-quarters of all NCD deaths are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries, with conflict and crisis-afflicted areas being the most vulnerable in the world.

“Every premature death from NCDs is lost potential,” said Lok Bahadur Thapa, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). “Every untreated mental health condition is a missed opportunity for inclusion and dignity. If we place solidarity, equity, and investment at the core of our response we can reverse current trends and ensure that NCDs and mental health conditions are no longer barriers to sustainable development, but drivers of shared progress for humanity.”

In recent years, progress in tackling NCDs and mental health challenges has slowed considerably, leading to the deepening of inequities around the world. In response, the UN announced three new targets: 150 million fewer global tobacco users, 150 million more people with access to mental health care, and 150 million more individuals with hypertension under control.

“To achieve these targets we must strengthen primary healthcare as the foundation of universal health coverage,” said Mohammed. “We must work across sectors and partners to address the social, economic, and environmental determinants and the market forces that shape how people live. We must elevate psychosocial care in crisis settings. We must place people living with NCDs at the center of our efforts. We must be accountable for our commitments.”

Several speakers highlighted systemic weaknesses in national health systems, particularly the misallocation of funding for response efforts. Many emphasized that a key priority for future NCD-response efforts should be greater investment in disease awareness and prevention rather than treatment. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever remarked that prevention places a far lighter burden on national budgets than treatment and delivers high returns on investment by reducing productivity losses and alleviating pressure on healthcare systems.

“We must remember that health does not start in clinics and hospitals. It starts in homes, schools, streets and workplaces,” said Director-General of WHO Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “In the food people eat, the products they consume, the water they drink, the air they breathe, and the conditions in which they work.”

Additionally, mental health services remain particularly underfunded, with global expenditure averaging just USD 2 per capita, falling to below 25 cents per capita in some developing countries. Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka informed the panel that mental health challenges affect nearly every Fijian family, with trauma, stress, and substance abuse particularly concentrated among youth, significantly hindering social development.

“Mental illness is one of the most persistent NCDs yet too often it remains invisible,” said Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua. “Its burden on health productivity and dignity is greater than any other chronic illness but stigma silences voices and delays urgent care. We are focused on transforming mental health from a whispered concern to national priority moving from outdated institutions and practices to modernized education and collaborative partnership…Our government alone cannot solve this issue so we are using an all of society approach as we engage families, community associations, churches and regional neighbors.”

Prime Minister of the Bahamas Philip Davis underscored the vulnerability of healthcare systems in low-lying coastal communities, noting that a single hurricane can wipe out years of economic growth in parts of the Bahamas, severely undermining the capacity of health systems to respond when they are needed most. Moreover, limited funding and support for gender-specific research often leave women and girls—who are disproportionately affected by NCDs and mental health challenges in developing countries—overlooked in response efforts.

Several speakers also underscored the importance of promoting healthy lifestyle habits as a key strategy for controlling NCDs and improving mental health. For example, President of Suriname Jennifer Geerlings-Simons urged for stricter limits on screen time and social media usage, warning of their damaging effects on mental health and social development, particularly for young girls.

Glenn Micallef, the European Commission’s Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture, and Sports, emphasized the role of arts and culture in preventing and managing NCDs, noting their links to social cohesion, reduced loneliness, and improved mental wellbeing among young people. He also highlighted the potential of emerging tools such as artificial intelligence and digital assistive technologies to expand access to the arts.

Furthermore, another key aspect of the high-level meeting was to promote physical activity as a course of action against NCDs and mental health challenges. According to the President of the International Olympic Committee and double Olympic swimming champion Kirsty Coventry, eighty percent of adolescents and one-third of adults are not doing enough physical activity, which risks 500 million new cases of preventable diseases by 2030.

Physical activity is recognized as one of the most effective, low-cost, and high-impact forms of disease prevention and mental health management, saving millions of lives each year. “At a young age I was diagnosed with asthma and my parents did not want to put me on the number of drugs that was recommended,” recalled Coventry. “We went to another doctor who suggested swimming, and it worked. It taught me how to control my breathing, how to grow my lung capacity, and I never had to go on the level of dosage that was recommended when I was 2 years old.”

“This multiplier effect is being recognized,” added Coventry. “Development banks worldwide have pledged ten billion dollars by 2030 for sport and sustainable development projects. Their commitment reflects a growing recognition that investing in sport can generate ripple effects for health, education, inclusion, youth empowerment and so much more.”

During the meeting, member states deliberated over a political declaration on NCDs and mental health. The text calls encourages stakeholders to fast-track efforts to accelerate progress on NCDs and mental health and identified clear goals to achieve by 2030, including reducing the premature NCD mortality rate by one-third, 150 million fewer people using tobacco and 150 million more people with hypertension. This declaration is also among the first to clearly include mental health in its language.

Although there was strong consensus for the declaration from member states and regional alliances, it ultimately failed to receive a formal endorsement by the end of the meeting, with some member states voicing their objection, including a veto from the United States. The declaration will now be put to vote at the General Assembly.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Charles Mwesigwa led a degrading network exploiting vulnerable women in glamorous parts of Dubai.

All boxing activities in Ghana are suspended following the death of super-middleweight Ernest Akushey 11 days after a bout in Accra.

All boxing activities in Ghana are suspended following the death of super-middleweight Ernest Akushey 11 days after a bout in Accra.

KS et KD / Conseil e.a.
Mission Eulex Kosovo : le Tribunal rejette le recours en indemnité dirigé contre des institutions et un organe de l’Union européenne

Zunaira, a UNICEF Youth Advocate, speaks at an event in UNICEF House at the sideline of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. Credit: Tadej Znidarcic/UNICEF

By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 26 2025 (IPS)

The UN General Assembly High-Level Week (22-30 September) has been an opportunity for the world to convene on the most pressing issues of the day, from multilateralism, global financing, gender equality, non-communicable diseases, and AI governance.

Climate change is also a key issue this year as countries present their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of COP30 in November. At this year’s Climate Summit, held on September 24, over 114 countries spoke at the General Assembly to present their NDCs before the UN Secretary-General and leaders from Brazil, the hosts of COP30.

While these climate action plans are an indication of their commitment to climate change, countries must go further demonstrate their commitment through action.

For some young people, like 15 year-old Zunaira, there is a disconnect between the statements made by leaders and the actions they actually take. Even in climate forums like COP29, “there [were] only policies made… only declarations made, but there [was] no real action.”

“In every country it’s like this, you know; they only speak empty words, and empty promises are made with us as young people and children,” she told IPS.

UNICEF‘s Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) measures the climate risk to children, focusing on both their exposure to climate and environmental hazards and their underlying vulnerability. The index evaluates 56 variables across 163 countries to determine which nations place children at the highest risk from climate impacts. It estimates that about 1 billion children currently reside in these high-risk countries. 

Zunaira believes that world governments and leaders need to include children’s voices and perspectives when planning effective climate policies. She observed that perhaps only three percent of the member states that attended COP29 actually included and listened to children’s voices in their policy discussions.

This is not a new demand either, as she remarked that other youth climate advocates have called for increased child engagement in previous conferences, but this was hardly reflected in negotiations.

Zunaira is in New York to participate in UNGA through UNICEF’s Youth Advocates Mobilization Lab, an initiative which recognizes the achievements of UNICEF’s youth advocates, providing child advocates the opportunity to network and share ideas and experiences.

UNICEF’S climate advocate, 15-year-old Zunaira, is with others during high-level discussions at UNGA80 in New York. Credit: UNICEF/Instagram

The 15 year-old climate advocate from the Balochistan province of Pakistan shared her research into the impacts of flooding on girls’ education, based on her experiences in 2022.

The 2022 Pakistan floods, which affected over 33 million people and killed 647 children, devastated communities that were not built to adapt to the extreme changes brought on by climate change. The link between extreme weather and climate change is apparent to Zunaira and other young people like her, even if some members in the community don’t recognize it right away and write it off as just a natural phenomenon.

Through a policy research programme hosted by UNICEF Pakistan, Zunaira investigated the impact of the floods on girls’ education when she was only 12 years old. She visited Sakran, one of the flood-prone areas in the state, where she interviewed people at a nearby village in the Hub district of Balochistan. Here she spoke to 15 secondary school-aged girls. She described how the devastation of the floods literally washed away the huts that used to be their schools.

According to UNICEF, her findings “highlighted that floods had exacerbated educational inequalities” and “[forced] girls into temporary shelters and disrupting their education.”

“The study also highlighted some promising interventions and called for better disaster preparedness in schools and flood-resistant infrastructure to safeguard girls’ education. The research underscored the urgent need for integrated strategies that combine climate resilience with gender equity.”

Zunaira remarked that with the devastation brought on by the floods, for many children there was no school to return to. She and many other students lost out on schooling because of the disruptions. In some cases, the next closest school would be up to 25 miles away from where some students lived, so there is seemingly little justification for sending them back to school.

There is also the need to invest in building up climate-resilient infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather conditions like flooding. Local communities need both the investments and resources to fulfill this, otherwise there may be little reason to build up a new school again only to see it get washed away again.The need for climate adaptation is something the international community must support, as seen with the Fund for for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD).

Zunaira’s message to world leaders is that they must encourage and include children and youth in climate discussions. They also should not reduce the lived experiences to statistics and should be conscientious of the lives forever changed or lost because of a climate disaster.

“You should think of this… it is not just a statistic. It’s something that life has lost, and thousands of homes and thousands of people, you know, have been displaced and lost their lives. So this is something that the world leaders must know: that they are not only statistics; they are real lives.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Excerpt:

UNICEF’S climate advocate, 15-year-old Zunaira, believes that children’s voices and concerns should be integrated into country’s NDCs. Children she says are not a statistic, they are ‘real people’ and need to be front and center of climate planning.

Le Premier ministre belge a rejeté la proposition visant à utiliser les avoirs de la Banque centrale de Russie immobilisés dans l’UE afin de financer le « prêt de réparation » récemment annoncé par la Commission pour aider l’Ukraine.

The post Le Premier ministre belge opposé à l’utilisation des avoirs russes gelés pour aider Kiev appeared first on Euractiv FR.

One resident said the cemetery in the capital had been left littered with discarded bottles and cans.

Dans le cadre du réajustement des emplois de temps, 111 aspirants aux métiers d'enseignant (AME) ont été redéployés dans plusieurs collèges du département de l'Atlantique. La liste a été signée par le directeur Départemental des Enseignements Secondaire, Technique et de la Formation Professionnelle de l'Atlantique.

Cotonou accueille les 27 et 28 septembre une conférence de haut niveau suivie d'une table ronde de mobilisation autour des enjeux nutritionnels en Afrique.

Le Bénin s'apprête à devenir le centre d'un dialogue international crucial. Les 27 et 28 septembre, la capitale économique accueille une conférence internationale sur la nutrition, suivie d'une table ronde de mobilisation des ressources, réunissant experts, décideurs politiques, organisations internationales et société civile.

Placé sous le leadership du Président de la République du Bénin, l'événement se veut ambitieux et tourné vers l'action. Le thème central : « Investir dans la nutrition : un choix stratégique pour la santé et le développement durable des générations », souligne la volonté d'agir dès maintenant pour prévenir les effets durables de la malnutrition.

Organisé dans les espaces du Sofitel Hôtel de Cotonou et sur la Place de l'Amazone, le sommet réunira des représentants de haut niveau des Nations Unies ; des ministres et décideurs politiques africains ; des chercheurs et universitaires de renom ; des acteurs du développement, du secteur privé et de la société civile.

Panels, échanges, et bonnes pratiques

Le point d'orgue de la conférence : une intervention exceptionnelle de la Professeure Esther Duflo, prix Nobel d'économie 2019, qui reviendra sur les coûts économiques et sociaux de la malnutrition, et sur la nécessité d'investir intelligemment dans la nutrition.

Au programme du Sommet, un panel sur le fardeau intergénérationnel de la malnutrition ; une session dédiée aux progrès du Bénin ;et des études de cas venues d'ailleurs, comme l'exemple du Vietnam, reconnu pour ses succès en matière de lutte contre la malnutrition infantile.

Some 260 suspects were arrested in the operation across 14 African countries, says Interpol.

Devant la Cour de répression des infractions économiques et du terrorisme (CRIET), un militaire et un policier ont comparu mardi 23 septembre 2025. Ils sont poursuivis pour « désertion » dans deux différents dossiers après leur placement en détention préventive par le parquet spécial.

Ils s'absentent quelques jours à leur poste pour des raisons de maladie et se retrouvent en détention préventive pour des faits de désertion. C'est l'histoire de deux hommes en uniforme qui ont été déposés en prison le 25 août 2025 par le parquet spécial de la CRIET. Il s'agit d'un militaire et d'un sous brigadier de police. Ces deux mis en cause comparaissent dans deux dossiers bien distincts.

Une absence de 15 jours pour un militaire

C'est d'abord le militaire aux initiales Z.J.J. qui est le premier à passer à la barre dans le cadre du premier dossier. Il est soldat de deuxième classe et ne reconnaît pas les faits de désertion. Le militaire en fonction au 5ème bataillon inter-arme de Dassa s'est absenté à son poste pendant une période de 15 jours. Selon sa déposition, il était en formation à Parakou et après cette formation il serait tombé malade, rapporte l'envoyé spécial de Libre Express.

Le militaire affirme qu'il a informé par la suite son commandant d'unité qui lui aurait même demandé d'envoyer la photo de l'hôpital dans lequel il se trouvait. Ce qu'il aurait fait. Le militaire confie à la Cour qu'il a même manqué de moyens financiers pour se soigner et qu'il a même sollicité un de ses commandants qu'il lui a envoyé 6000 FCFA pour les soins. Il déclare qu'il a été surpris qu'à son retour il a été accusé de désertion et poursuivi pour désertion. La Cour a décidé de convoquer les supérieurs hiérarchiques de ce soldat et a renvoyé le dossier au mardi 9 décembre 2025.

Un policier poursuivi

Dans le deuxième dossier, c'est un sous brigadier de la police républicaine aux initiales Y.T.I. qui est poursuivi pour désertion. Le flic était domicilié à Nikki avant son arrestation. Devant le juge, il ne reconnaît pas les faits mis à sa charge par le parquet spécial de la CRIET.

Selon sa déposition, il s'est absenté de son poste pour quelques jours pour des raisons de santé. Il a déclaré qu'il n'a jamais déserté la police républicaine. Pour prouver ses dires, il a présenté son carnet de santé à la Cour. L'homme en uniforme affirme qu'il a informé son supérieur hiérarchique de son absence pour des raisons de santé. Son dossier a été renvoyé au mardi 9 décembre 2025 pour convoquer son supérieur hiérarchique, rapporte l'envoyé spécial de Libre Express.

Cliquez ici pour lire la suite

A view of the podium and the United Nations emblem in the General Assembly Hall. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

By Andrew Firmin
LONDON, Sep 26 2025 (IPS)

As the high-level opening week of the UN General Assembly unfolds, with heads of states delivering often self-serving speeches from the UN’s podium, the organisation is undergoing one of its worst set of crises since its founding 80 years ago. This year’s General Assembly – ostensibly focused on development, human rights and peace – comes as wars are raging across multiple continents, climate targets are dangerously being missed and the institution designed to address these global challenges is being hollowed out by funding cuts and political withdrawals.

A UN Commission has just determined that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, while the Israeli state recently escalated its campaign of violence by bombing Qatar. Meanwhile, Russia’s war on Ukraine threatens to spill over with its recent launch of drones against Poland and incursion into Estonia’s airspace. Conflicts continue in Myanmar, Sudan and many other countries, despite the UN’s foundational hopes of ensuring peace, security and respect for human rights.

The Trump administration has abandoned multilateralism in favour of transactional bilateral dealmaking while spearheading a donor funding withdrawal that is hitting both the UN and civil society hard. The US government has also repudiated the Sustainable Development Goals, the ambitious and progressive targets all states agreed in 2015, but which are now badly off track.

Today’s multiple and growing crises demand an effective and powerful UN – but at the same time they make this less likely to happen.

Cutbacks loom large

As state leaders meet, one of the items on the agenda is the UN80 initiative. Launched in March, this is presented as a reform process to mark the UN’s 80th anniversary. But reflecting the impacts of the funding crisis, it’s first and foremost a cost-cutting drive. The slashing of donor aid – not only by the USA, but also by other established donor states such as France, Germany and the UK, often in favour of military spending – is having a global impact. The UN is being hit both by states failing to pay their mandatory assessed contributions, or delaying them for long spells, and by underfunding of initiatives that rely on additional voluntary support.

When it comes to mandatory contributions, the most powerful states are those that owe the most, with the USA in the lead with a circa US$1.5 billion debt, followed by China on close to US$600 million. Meanwhile voluntary funding shortfalls are particularly hitting human rights work, always the most underfunded part of the UN’s work. In June, UN human rights chief Volker Türk announced that 18 activities mandated by Human Rights Council resolutions wouldn’t be implemented because of resource constraints. In a world riven by sickening conflicts, human rights investigations on Palestine, Sudan and Ukraine aren’t able to operate at anywhere near full capacity.

Funding shortfalls, intensified by the Trump administration pulling out of key UN bodies and agreements, have forced the UN to plan for a 20 per cent budget cut in 2026. That may involve shedding some 7,000 jobs from its 35,000-person workforce, merging some agencies, shutting offices and relocating functions to cheaper locations.

The UN is undoubtedly an unwieldy and over-bureaucratic set of institutions, and it would be surprising if there weren’t some efficiency savings to be made. If staff are relocated from expensive global north hubs to cheaper global south locations, it could help UN bodies and staff better understand global south realities and improve access for civil society groups that struggle to travel to the key locations of Geneva and New York, particularly given the Trump administration’s new travel restrictions – although that wouldn’t be the rationale behind relocation.

But the proposed cuts mean the UN is effectively planning to do less than it has done before, at a time when the problems are bigger than they’ve been in decades. Given this, decisions about UN priorities mustn’t be left to its officials or states alone. Civil society must be enabled to have a say.

Civil society already has far too little access to UN processes. At the high-level week, even civil society organisations normally accredited for UN access are locked out of events. Reform processes such as last year’s Summit of the Future have also fallen far short of the access needed. Civil society’s proposals to improve the situation – starting with the creation of a civil society envoy, a low-cost innovation to help coordinate civil society participation across the UN – haven’t been taken up.

Now even civil society’s limited access could be further curtailed. Already the Human Rights Council is shortening sessions, reducing the opportunities available for civil society. The proposed cuts would impact disproportionately on the UN’s human rights work. In the name of efficiency, the UN could end up becoming less effective, if it grows even more state-centric and less prepared to uphold international human rights law. States that systematically violate human rights can only benefit from the ensuing lower levels of scrutiny.

Civil society is an essential voice in any conversation about what kind of UN the world needs and how to make it fit for purpose. It urgently must be included if the UN is to have any hope of fulfilling its founding promise to serve ‘we the peoples’.

Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org

 

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The panelists of the high-level side event, African-led Innovation: Shaping Sustainable Futures With or Without Aid, for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Credit: Oritro Karim.

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 26 2025 (IPS)

On September 24, African-led organizations convened a high-level side event during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) The event – African-led Innovation: Shaping Sustainable Futures With or Without Aid – was organized in partnership with eHealth Africa, Population Services International (PSI), Population Council, and Reach Digital Health. The dialogue amplified voices from African-led organizations and highlighted the importance of homegrown innovations for sustainability—regardless of the availability of foreign aid—amid shrinking donor funding and widening global inequalities.

2025 has been a particularly turbulent year for global development, with cuts to United States foreign aid stifling global development for numerous nations and hindering governments’ abilities to support basic services—such as healthcare, education, protection, and nutritional support. Despite these setbacks, Africa has demonstrated remarkable self-reliance, as governments, stakeholders, and private sectors have come together to drive innovations that prioritize sustainability and inclusion.

“We as Africans have always innovated, as part of who we are and the inequities that we have overcome,” said Chernor A. Bah, Minister of Information and Civic Education for Sierra Leone, a global advocate for youth empowerment and the moderator of the panel, in his opening remarks. “Today, there is a unique opportunity to establish self-reliance. We are the youngest continent on Earth and are full of incredible potential. We can build a society that is economically strong and socially just.”

During the dialogue, the panelists agreed that Africa possesses all the necessary tools to build a sustainable and equitable future, even in the absence of foreign aid. However they emphasized that this vision can only be realized if systems for innovation are designed to be as inclusive as possible, beginning with a community-centered approach.

Debbie Rogers, CEO of Reach Public Health, noted that the primary goal of public health systems should be scalability—designed around the “lowest common denominator” or built to address issues that affect the vast majority of people.

Michael Holscher, President of PSI also emphasized the importance of incorporating the perspectives and insights of those most directly affected by changes in public health systems. “Innovation works best when it’s designed close to the populations, people, and communities it’s meant to serve, co-designed with insights and community engagement in what those solutions are and solutions that will work long term,” said Holscher.

Additionally, the panelists stressed that the voices of marginalized or vulnerable communities must be at the forefront of discussions surrounding sustainable development. Specifically, these approaches must amplify the voices of women and girls, who have historically been overlooked, despite serving as the backbone of African economies. According to the World Economic Forum, women and girls make up roughly 58 percent of the continent’s self-employed population and 13 percent of its gross domestic product. However, they are disproportionately impacted by gender-based violence, with one in four experiencing a violent encounter before the age of 18.

“It’s very important to recognize that we must be mindful not to replicate the same inequities that we are trying to dismantle with this new innovation,” said Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru, the founder of Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), a non-profit organization that works to eradicate and advocate against sexual and gender-based violence of women and girls across Africa. “We must look at innovation through the lens of inclusion, it has to be embedded in the design of these innovations. It is also important to recognize accessibility, in terms of tailoring innovation to suit marginalized people. We need to recognize differences, we need to look at innovation through the ecosystem of all different players, he or she is going to determine whether that program is sustainable.”

Additionally, the panelists agreed that directing financial resources to the appropriate stakeholders and maintaining effective, consistent communication between communities, governments, and the private sector are critical steps in fostering sustainable development and driving progress in Africa.

“Breakthroughs happen when there’s good collaboration, across public and private sectors, civil societies, and those who have expertise in technology, delivery, and policy,” said Holscher. “PSI is committed to the idea that African-led innovation will create an unstoppable momentum towards resilient health systems and sovereignties.”

Fara Ndiaye, Deputy Executive Director of Speak Up Africa—a Senegal-based advocacy and communications organization dedicated to empowering African leaders, driving policy change, and promoting sustainable development—stressed that accountability must remain central. She highlighted the importance of financing the right stakeholders, amplifying the right voices, providing scientists with platforms to share their findings, and rallying stakeholders around a shared agenda.

“Accountability in this new era cannot be a one way street where governments report upward and communities audit,” Ndiaye said. “What we are really trying to push for is making sure there is structured engagement between governments and private sector companies…We have the opportunity to redistribute the cards, decide who gets to control the resources and who gets to control what success looks like.”

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Peace is in our hands. Credit: www.nuclearabolitionday.org

By Jackie Cabasso and Alyn Ware
OAKLAND, California / BASEL, Switzerland, Sep 26 2025 (IPS)

In 2013, frustrated at the lack of progress on nuclear disarmament, the United Nations General Assembly declared September 26 as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. This international day provides an opportunity to enhance public awareness and education about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons and the necessity for their total elimination.

Annually on September 26, the UN also holds a high-level meeting of world leaders to discuss “urgent and effective measures” to achieve global nuclear disarmament.

At this year’s high-level meeting, world leaders meeting at the UN to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons are being called upon to stand down nuclear forces, end the costly nuclear arms race and commit to achieving the global elimination of nuclear weapons no later than 2045, the 100th anniversary of the United Nations.

https://www.nuclearabolitionday.org/joint-letter

The call is being issued in a Joint Appeal for September 26 by over 500 civil society organizations representing peace, disarmament, human rights, environment, business, religious, youth, development and academic communities from around the world. It has been endorsed by an additional 800 individuals, including parliamentarians, local officials, religious leaders, Nobel Laureates, former diplomats, academics, scientists, medical professionals, youth leaders, and other members of civil society.

The designation of this date is not arbitrary. One of many times humanity has come perilously close to nuclear war was September 26, 1983, at the height of the Cold War. A nuclear war was narrowly averted when Colonel Stanislav Petrov, Duty Officer at a Russian nuclear early warning facility, broke protocol by not affirming to senior command an apparent incoming ballistic missile attack from the United States (later confirmed as a false alarm).

Two years later, the countries at the brink jointly declared that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” This commitment has been reaffirmed in intervening years, including in a statement by the P-5 states in 2022 and in the Pact for the Future adopted by consensus at last year’s UN Summit of the Future.

However, today the risk of nuclear war by accident, miscalculation, crisis escalation, or malicious intent, is higher than ever, with the Doomsday Clock ticking closer to midnight than in 1983. The use of nuclear weapons by any of the nine nuclear-armed States or their nuclear allies would have catastrophic human, economic, and environmental consequences.

The use of just a small fraction of the 12,500 nuclear weapons in the world’s stockpiles could end life as we know it. In addition, the $100 billion spent annually on nuclear weapons is sorely needed to support peacemaking, environmental protection, and other urgent needs of humanity and the planet, as expressed through the Sustainable Development Goals.

The world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, in 1996 affirmed that the threat and use of nuclear weapons is generally illegal and that there is a universal obligation for states to negotiate in good faith to achieve comprehensive nuclear disarmament.

States currently relying on nuclear weapons for their security have an obligation to replace these policies with approaches based on international law and common security, as outlined in the UN Charter.

Dr. Deepshikha Kumari Vijh, Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, who will present the Joint Appeal to the September 26 High-Level Meeting, points out, “The 1996 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion held that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion, negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control. Nuclear Weapon States are urged to meet this obligation.”

Nuclear armed and allied States can’t avoid the nuclear disarmament obligation on the excuse that they need nuclear weapons for security. In order to fulfill this obligation, they are required to meet their security needs in other ways, including in accordance with the UN Charter which prohibits the threat or use of force.

The Pact for the Future includes commitments to prevent nuclear war and achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons. UN Member States should use the opportunity of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and UN High Level Plenary Meeting on September 26 to announce concrete plans to achieve these goals.

The signers of the Joint Appeal call on leaders, legislators, and officials at all levels of governance (local/municipal, states, countries, and regional bodies) to:

Affirm that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible;

Advance tangible measures by nuclear-armed and allied States to implement this obligation, including standing down nuclear forces and adopting policies never to initiate a nuclear war;

Pledge to achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons no later than the UN’s centennial anniversary in 2045, and immediately undertake actions, including through multilateral negotiations, to implement this pledge;

Cut nuclear weapons budgets, and end public and private investments in the nuclear weapons industry; and

Redirect these funds to strengthen the United Nations, advance peacekeeping and conflict resolution, accelerate steps to protect the climate, and meet human and economic needs as required under Article 26 of the UN Charter.

There are a number of pathways to reaching the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. But the nuclear-armed States and their allies must commit to ending reliance on the ever-more-dangerous doctrine of nuclear deterrence – the threatened use of nuclear weapons – as the basis for their national security.

They could do this by negotiating a comprehensive and inclusive nuclear-weapons-convention similar to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Or they could start with a framework agreement on nuclear disarmament and fill in the details of the implementation mechanisms later.

Or they could negotiate protocols that would enable them to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Under any of these pathways, the elimination of nuclear weapons no later than 2045 is imperative and it is feasible.

No time is better than 2025 – the 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the establishment of the United Nations – to undertake these actions to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world to protect current and future generations.

Read the Joint Appeal for September 26 and see the list of endorsing organizations and individuals at www.nuclearabolitionday.org.

Jackie Cabasso is Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation (USA) and Alyn Ware is Director of the Basel Peace Office (Switzerland), on behalf of the September 26 Working Group

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Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of Just Rights for Children. Credit: Just Rights for Children

By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 26 2025 (IPS)

Global leaders came together at the sidelines of this year’s UN General Assembly to commit to ending child marriage, calling on all world leaders to make concerted efforts to ensure accountability and enforce the laws that prohibit it.

Just Rights for Children is committed to the eradication of child-related abuses, including child trafficking, online abuse and child marriage. This NGO, first founded in India by lawyer and activist Bhuwan Ribhu, has worked to prevent nearly 400,000 child marriages in India over the last three years and rescued over 75,000 children from trafficking.

After successful, ongoing campaigns in India and Nepal, Just Rights for Children launched their global campaign to bring about a ‘Child Marriage-Free World by 2030’ on the sidelines of UNGA on September 25. This campaign is set to create the largest global civil society network to end child marriage.

“Child marriage, abuse, and violence are not just injustices: they are crimes,” said Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of Just Rights for Children. “The end of child marriage is not only possible but eminent. By coming together as a global community, we can help ensure that child marriage and abuse are fully prosecuted and prevented, not only by legal systems but by society as a whole.”

When asked about the significance of hosting this event during UNGA, Ribhu told IPS: “This is where all the world leaders are uniting, and they discussing issues that are plaguing the world today. It becomes all the more important that the world leaders sit up and take notice. That there is a pervasive crime, the crime of child rape in the name of marriage.”

“We believe that the world leaders need to unite and come together to support the enforcement of laws in their countries. They need to unite, to support the children and the youth that are coming out and demanding the end of child rape and child marriage by taking pledges.”

Nearly one in five young women aged 20-49 are married before turning 18 years old. Data from UNICEF shows that in 2023, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 45 percent and 20 percent respectively of the number of girls married before age 18. In India, the prevalence of child marriage was at 24 percent in 2021. Since then, this rate has dropped to less than 10 percent through the joint efforts of legal enforcement through the courts and government and through the advocacy work of civil society groups.

H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone (middle) accepts a Champion for Children award from Just Rights for Children. Credit; Just Rights for Children

Child marriage is also associated with other negative outcomes such as the increased risk of domestic abuse, early pregnancy and maternal mortality. Lack of access to education is also at risk with girls being forced to drop out once they’ve entered a union. There is the need, therefore, to not just help these girls return to school, but also educate them on their rights and the laws meant to protect them.

Ribhu and Just Rights for Children emphasize the rule of law as the path toward ending child marriage. Other legal and human rights experts agree that at least three key steps are required: the prevention of the crime, the protection of the victims, and the prosecution of the perpetrators in order to deter future crimes. Reparations for the victims are also critical for justice and for trauma recovery.

Ribhu explained to IPS that they target the adults that aid and abet child marriages. In addition to the “groom” and family members, they also believe other members of the community should be held accountable. This includes community leaders and councils, priests that officiate the union, and even the wedding vendors that knowingly cater at weddings where the bride is underage.

“At the end of the day, we have to see that enforcement of law creates that culture of accountability, that culture of responsibility, that culture of respect, culture of consciousness, where people believe that they cannot get away with it, and so that entire impunity collapses. So child marriage is one such crime where it is happening in the open because nobody is actually stopping it,” he said.

“Today, I ask you to turn your influence towards ensuring that the law works, not just as an institution, as an ideal, but as a living and concrete instrument for the protection of children,” said Kerry Kennedy, President of RFK Human Rights. “Impunity is the oxygen in which these crimes survive. Prosecution is the antidote.”

Even though child marriage is considered morally unconscionable and is illegal across regional, national and international law, it continues to persist due to failures in the legal systems. There are other loopholes in the system that are exploited. Najat Maalla M’jid, UN Special Representative to the Secretary General on Violence Against Children, explained that some laws set the age of consent to lower than 18 years, or make it permissible through parental permission, or those marriages are not legally registered, therefore making it harder to track.

As Kennedy later told IPS, there has been “no history of accountability”. When law enforcement play their part to hold all parties accountable, this must also include police departments that fail to investigate the cases and therefore. “Nobody wants to go to jail. Everybody’s fearful of it. This is what works.”

Ribhu noted that the prevention of crime could only happen when there is respect for the rule of law. It is supposed to be this certainty of punishment that deters bad actors, and then lead to growing awareness on the evils of child marriage and prevent future cases. Deterrence must work in tandem with awareness.

The speakers at the event all emphasized that tackling child marriage and protecting the girls made vulnerable by it required cooperation across multiple groups, from legal experts to government leaders to survivors to members of the private sector such as philanthropists.

Other countries have recently taken steps to pass laws prohibiting child marriage. The Kenyan government passed the Kenya Children Act 2022 which criminalized abuses against children, including child marriage.

“Child marriage is a grave violation of girls’ human rights that threatens the future of millions of girls worldwide. Our youthful demographic in Kenya, highlights the need of sustained a national and county investments, especially in programs targeting children, youth and women,” said Carren Ageng’o, Principal Secretary, Children Services, Ministry for Gender, Culture and Children Services, Government of Kenya. In a country where nearly 51 percent of population are between the ages of 0-17, legal and social protections for the youth population are critical for its development.

Last year Sierra Leone passed the Child Marriage Prohibition Bill 2024 through efforts led by First Lady Dr. Fatima Maada Bio.

Maada said that this law “was a bold and historic step” for the country but made it clear that the “law is just the beginning.”

“Real change happens in families, in schools, in villages, and in places of worship. Real change happens when communities stand up and say, ‘not our daughter, not anymore,’” said Maada. “I do not dream of a Sierra Leone free of child marriage; I dream of a world free of child marriage. That dream is within reach if only we act now.”

Remarking on the UN General Assembly meetings hosted in UN headquarters, she went on to add: “If governments have courage, if international partners stand with us, if communities take ownership, if the leaders [behind those guarded doors] in this city of New York today…decided that the time to protect children is now.”

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• Lawyer-Turned-Activist Bhuwan Ribhu Honored for Leading a Campaign to End Child Marriage
• New Child Marriages, Cohabitation With a Child Law in Sierra Leone Lauded

Excerpt:

On the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) under the theme ‘Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights,’ Just Rights for Children launched its campaign for a ‘Child Marriage-Free World by 2030.’

India, Qatari royals, China and ecologists have their own, very different, views on Assumption Island's future.

India, Qatari royals, China and ecologists have their own, very different, views on Assumption Island's future.