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A coal plant in Lamma Island, Hong Kong. Credit: Unsplash/Ben Tatlow

By Maximilian Malawista
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 11 2025 (IPS)

Global investments in energy exceeded USD 3 trillion in 2024, with at least USD 2 trillion being invested in clean energy technology and infrastructure. Infrastructure. Despite that progress, fossil fuel consumption continues to rise with little sign of slowing.

China led in energy transitions investments, accounting for 48 percent, followed by the United States (17 percent), Germany (5 percent), the United Kingdom (4 percent), and France (3 percent). These investments have opened the doors to green technologies like solar panels, electric vehicles, and battery storage, at an affordable rate. However, these advancements have been confined to high-income countries. Emerging markets and least developed countries (LDCs), excluding China, remain dependent on coal and fossil fuels to meet their energy needs.

The crossroads of the Asia-Pacific

The Asia and Pacific region has faced the greatest challenge in its transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy. In 2023, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 47 percent of global energy demand, with China, India, Korea, Japan, and Indonesia making up most of this share.

Consider that China occupies a unique position in that it contributes to energy transition as the largest investor in clean energy, while also being the most coal-reliant nation as a major producer and consumer. In perspective, investment in clean energy per capita globally it is at 131 dollars, while Asia and the Pacific is at 115 dollars. However, when excluding China and other high-income countries, that number drops to just 18 dollars a person.

The gaps in investment come heavily from the ten LDCs in the region. Together, these nations account for 1.4 percent of global energy transition investments from 2020 to 2023. However, at COP29, these countries announced plans aimed at increasing their renewable energy capacity from 20 gigawatts (GW) in 2023 to 58 GW by 2030, a 290 percent jump. Meanwhile in South-east Asia, the energy demand is expected to grow to 25 percent between 2024 and 2035, and it is estimated that by 2050 their energy demand may overtake the European Union.

The coal paradox

In 2023, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) reported that 81 percent of new renewable energy sources were offering cheaper alternatives to fossil fuels. Even with this margin of difference, coal continues to dominate the Asia-Pacific region without slowing down. In 2023, the Asia-Pacific region generated 45 percent of its energy from coal, which was more than any other region, using the most carbon intensive resource available. The region holds 79 percent of the world’s operating coal plants, generating 1.69 terawatts (TW) of the global 2.13 TW of coal powered energy.

To add to the coal fire, 96 percent of all planned coal capacity, or 553 GW out of 578 GW are solely in the Asia-Pacific. Of that percentage, China accounts for 53 percent of the current capacity, and 71 percent of the future capacity. India, Indonesia and Bangladesh make up the rest of the energy demand for coal. Coal is not just energy, it is money.

Three of the world’s top exporters of coal — Indonesia, Australia, and Mongolia — are in the Asia-Pacific. Indonesia is the largest exporter of coal globally, with China and India as its largest clients. Australia follows closely behind, exporting over USD 91 billion worth of coal during 2023 through 2024, and its coal mining industry employing 50,000 workers. In Mongolia, coal briquettes were their top export, amassing USD 8.43 billion in wealth.

Coal for these countries represents a vital economic tool, one which will make the transition ever more difficult.

Existing solutions

To turn around this deficit and make the world greener, we already have this technology. We have battery storage, nuclear power, low-carbon hydrogen, and even limited carbon capture technologies. The challenge is implementing these technologies and scaling them at a level which produces tangible results.

Without these shifts in investment and policy, the Asia-Pacific region risks global progress towards energy security, economic stability, and SDG compliance. Leaving many left behind, and in the stifling warm air.

To align with global net-zero carbon emission targets and SDG7, which calls for access to affordable and sustainable energy for all, the annual investment in energy must increase to between USD 2.2 and 2.4 trillion by 2030. At least 90 percent of this investment needs to be focused on clean energy.

A dangerous future

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Credit: Unsplash/Sarvesh Phansalkar

Despite the urgency of this matter, coal demand among ASEAN economies is projected to rise 5% annually, moving from 491 million metric tons in 2024 to 567 million metric tons by 2027.

This continued reliance on coal as a primary energy will only make energy diversification harder and more expensive. The time to change these outlooks is now, before diversification becomes too difficult. In consequence of these actions, some of the most polluted cities in the world, such as Delhi (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Lahore (Pakistan), and Hotan (China), have reported air pollution levels 10 to 20 times higher than what the World Health Organization (WHO) identifies as safe limits. Simply breathing air in these cities can pose a significant health risk, and yet millions do it.

The International Energy Agency Director Faith Birol warns: “Today’s energy world is moving fast, but there is a major risk of many countries around the world being left behind.”

An eye on the Asia-Pacific region

The Asia-Pacific region hosts two-thirds of the global population and account for 46 percent of the world’s GDP exists in the Asia-Pacific. This means that this region is crucial to achieving progress towards SDGs, and without their help, completion is near to impossible.

“Nowhere is this challenge – and opportunity – more urgent than in Asia and the Pacific,” said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP. She added, “This is our chance to build a more resilient, equitable and sustainable economy for all. We aim to foster solutions that are regionally grounded, technically sound and financially viable. Unless Asia and the Pacific can lead boldly, the global transition will fall short of expectations.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within the UN system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe, and for addressing situations of human rights violations, and making recommendations on them, according to the UN. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year. It meets at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG).

By Lucy McKernan and Hilary Power
NEW YORK / GENEVA, Jul 11 2025 (IPS)

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) has expressed concern at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ announcement that certain activities mandated by the council cannot be delivered due to a lack of funding. The council has sought clarity on why certain activities had been singled out.

Among the activities the commissioner says can’t be delivered is the commission of inquiry on grave abuses in Eastern Congo, an important initiative created—at least on paper—at an emergency session of the HRC in February in response to an appeal by Congolese, regional, and international rights groups.

The establishment of the commission offered a glimmer of hope in the face of grave and ongoing atrocities in the region, and it was hoped it might be an important step toward ending the cycle of abuse and impunity and delivering justice and reparations for victims and survivors.

It is not only the activities highlighted by the commissioner that are impacted by the funding crisis, however. Virtually all the HRC’s work has been affected, with investigations into rights abuses—for example in Sudan, Palestine, and Ukraine—reportedly operating at approximately 30-60 percent of capacity.

In discussions about the proposed cuts, several states—notably those credibly accused of rights abuses—have sought to use the financial crisis as cover to attack the council’s country-focused investigative mandates or undermine the Office of the High Commissioner’s broader work and independence. For example, Eritrea invoked the crisis in its ultimately unsuccessful effort to end council scrutiny of its own dismal rights record.

Amid discussions on the current crisis, there has been little reflection among states on how the UN got into this mess. States failing to pay their membership contributions, or failing to pay on time, has compounded the chronic underfunding of the UN’s human rights pillar over decades.

The United States’ failure to pay virtually anything at the moment, followed by China’s late payments, bear the greatest responsibility for the current financial shortfall given their contributions account for nearly half of the UN’s budget.

But they are not alone: 79 countries reportedly still haven’t paid their fees for 2025 (expected in February). Among those that haven’t yet paid this year are Eritrea, Iran, Cuba, Russia, and others that have used the crisis to take aim at the council’s country mandates or to undermine the work or independence of the high commissioner’s office.

Rather than seeking to meddle in the office’s work or reduce the HRC’s scrutiny of crises, states should work with the UN to ensure funds are available for at least partial delivery of all activities they mandate through the council, particularly in emergencies.

Urgent investigations into situations of mass atrocities are key tools for prevention, protection, and supporting access to justice. They cannot wait until the financial crisis blows over.

Lucy McKernan is United Nations Deputy Director, Advocacy, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Hilary Power is UN Geneva Director, HRW

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Pierre Ericq Pierre, Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations, addresses the Security Council meeting on the question concerning Haiti. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 10 2025 (IPS)

Over the month of June, the security situation in Haiti has taken a considerable turn for the worse, with armed gangs continuing to coordinate brutal attacks, seizing more territory, and obstructing critical humanitarian aid deliveries. In the past week, new waves of hostilities were reported in the nation’s Centre Department, which has elicited concern from humanitarian organizations that gang influence could soon completely overpower state control.

“As gang control expands, the state’s capacity to govern is rapidly shrinking, with social, economic and security implications,” said Ghada Fathi Waly, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “This erosion of state legitimacy has cascading effects,” such as the suspension of legal commerce along critical trade routes and the exacerbation of food insecurity.

Approximately 90 percent of the nation’s capital of Port-Au-Prince is estimated to be under gang control, with widespread cases of abuse and impunity being documented. On July 2, Miroslav Jenča, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Americas at the Department of Political Affairs (DPPA) informed reporters that international commercial flights have been suspended, effectively leaving the capital “paralyzed” and “isolated”.

“Since (January), gangs have only strengthened their foothold, which now affects all communes of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and beyond, pushing the situation closer to the brink,” said Jenča. “Without increased action by the international community, the total collapse of state presence in the capital could become a very real scenario.”

On July 7, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released its latest situation report detailing the escalation of insecurity across several communes in the Centre Department. According to the report, the security situation in the Lower Plateau had been destabilized following an attack on the Lascahobas commune on July 3, which triggered mass displacement to surrounding areas where resources were already stretched.

According to estimates from OCHA, prior to these attacks, Belladere and Hinche housed 27,000 and 10,000 displaced individuals, respectively. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that following the attacks, roughly 16,250 Haitians, or 4,003 households, were forced to flee from Lascahobas, with 57 percent being displaced to Belladere, 14 percent to Hinche, 8 percent to Savanette, and 18 percent to a neighboring municipality in the West Department.

This attack underscores the drastic escalation of hostilities in previously calm areas. Prior to the attacks on Mirebalais and Sauts-d’Eau in March, the Centre Department had largely been isolated from gang related violence. This is also the case for the southern and eastern regions of Haiti, with the latter reporting numerous cases of gangs exploiting critical crossings used for the movement of goods.

In addition to combating gang activity, the Haitian National Police (HNP) have also struggled to control the emergence of self-defense groups. “While some are motivated by the urgent need to protect their communities, many operate outside existing legal frameworks, in some cases engaging in extrajudicial actions and colluding with gangs,” said Waly.

Despite some of these groups serving as critical lines of defense in numerous regions, many of them participate in extrajudicial actions, many of which violate international humanitarian law and exacerbate regional insecurity.

“Although these groups often serve as the last remaining security mechanisms in many areas, they violate fundamental human rights, including the right to life and right to a fair trial, and simultaneously fuel further violence in the form of retaliatory attacks by gangs,” said Jenča. Over the last three months, these groups reportedly killed at least 100 men, and one woman suspected of gang association or collaboration.” Waly adds that these actions push the national demand for guns, military weapons, and ammunition, fueling the persistence of illicit arms markets and violent crimes.

Additionally, humanitarian organizations have expressed concern over the recent use of drone technology by armed groups to conduct surveillance on their territories and track HNP movement. These tactics were first observed during the March 2024 attacks on two of Haiti’s largest prisons in Port-Au-Prince and Croix des Bouquets. The use of drones in densely populated civilian areas raises concerns about a lack of regulations and operational frameworks.

Furthermore, the UN has underscored the persistence of human rights violations, particularly rates of human trafficking. Over the past three months, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) recorded a significant increase in rates of sexual violence, which has been bolstered by a lack of reporting, continued social stigma, and a fear of reprisals. Additionally, BINUH has reported cases of illegal organ removal.

According to a UN spokesperson, the current humanitarian situation in Haiti is particularly alarming due to the Haitian government’s lack of action in addressing the structural gaps that allowed gang violence to prosper.

“While the expansion of territorial control brings gangs additional sources of revenue and bargaining power, these attacks are also backed by individuals trying to destabilize the political transition for their own political goals,” UN experts said on the way that gangs have exploited the disorganized response to the security crisis.

To bring lasting change in Haiti, it is imperative for the international community to scale up responses, particularly to assist the relatively weak national police and the multinational force. Furthermore, it is crucial for Haiti to establish harsher regulations for the importation of weapons.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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About 9.2 million people across the world living with HIV were not receiving treatment in 2024, according to the UNAIDS report. At the launch of the report were Rev. Mbulelo Dyasi, Executive Director of SANARELA. Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director, Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health of South Africa. Juwan Betty Wani, Programme Coordinator, Adolescents Girls and young women Network South Sudan. Helen Rees, Executive Director, Wits RHI. Credit: UNAIDS

By Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levine
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 10 2025 (IPS)

UNAIDS called the funding crisis a ticking time bomb, saying the impact of the US cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) could result in 4 million unnecessary AIDS-related deaths by 2029.

A historic withdrawal of global HIV/AIDS funding threatens to derail decades of hard-won progress in the fight against AIDS, according to UNAIDS’ annual report, entitled Aids, Crisis and the Power to Transform. This funding shortage – caused by sudden and massive cuts from international donors – is already dismantling frontline services, disrupting lifesaving treatments for millions and endangering countless lives in the world’s most vulnerable communities.

“This is not just a funding gap—it’s a ticking time bomb,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.

Despite major strides in 2024, including a decrease in new HIV infections by 40 percent and a decrease in AIDS-related deaths by 56% since 2010, the onset of restricted international assistance, which makes up 80 percent of prevention in low- and middle-income countries, could have disastrous effects. The report, mostly researched at the end of 2024, concluded that the end of AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 was in sight.

However, in early 2025 the United States government announced “shifting foreign assistance strategies,” causing them to withdraw aid from organizations like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which had earlier promised 4.3 billion USD in 2025. PEPFAR is one of the primary HIV testing and treatment services in countries most affected. Such a drastic decision could have ripple effects, including pushing other major donor countries to revoke their aid. The report projected that if international funding permanently disappears, they expect an additional 6 million HIV infections and 4 million AIDS-related deaths by 2029.

At a Press Briefing, Assistant Secretary-General for UNAIDS Angeli Achrekar noted the importance of PEPFAR since its inception in 2003, calling it one of the most successful public health endeavors. She expressed hope that as the US lessens its support, other organizations and countries are able to take up the global promise of ending AIDS without eroding the gains already made.

Achrekar noted “acute shifts” in a weakening of commitment from countries less directly affected by HIV/AIDS since the US has pulled funding.

UNAIDS also reports a rising number of countries criminalizing populations most at risk of HIV – raising stigma and worsening gender-based violence and non-consensual sex, two of the highest HIV risk-enhancing behaviors. The report showed the primary groups who lacked care were child HIV infections and young women, which is likely related to government campaigns  “attacking HIV-related human rights, including for public health, with girls, women and people from key populations.”

These punitive laws include criminalization or prosecution based on general criminal laws of HIV exposure, criminalization of sex work, transgender people and same-sex sexual activity and possession of small amounts of drugs. These laws have been on the rise for the past few years, and in conjunction with limited funding, the results for HIV/AIDS-positive patients could be fatal.

Recently, scientific breakthroughs have been made regarding long-acting medicine to prevent HIV infection. Health workers have seen tremendous success, both with new technologies like annual injections and the potential for more growth in the form of monthly preventative tablets and in old prevention techniques like condom procurement and distribution and access to clean, safe needles for drug users. However, due to various global conflicts and wars, supply chains have been disrupted, often harming countries not in the thick of the altercation but reliant on products like PrEP, an HIV prevention medication.

Although many countries most afflicted with the AIDS crisis have stepped up, promising more national funding for the issue, and many community networks have doubled down on their efforts, the disruption of supply chains and the lack of international frontline health workers cannot be solved overnight. To entirely restructure how healthcare is provided takes time – something those with HIV do not always have.

Areas like sub-Saharan Africa, which in 2024 housed half of the 9.2 million people not receiving HIV treatment, have been particularly affected by the recent changes. The majority of child infections still occur there, and combinations of “debt distress, slow economic growth and underperforming tax systems” provide countries in sub-Saharan Africa with limited fiscal room to increase domestic funding for HIV.

Despite the loss of funding, significant progress has been made to protect essential HIV treatment gains. South Africa currently funds 77% of its AIDS response, and its 2025 budget review includes a 3.3% annual increase for HIV and tuberculosis programs over the next three years. As of December 2024, seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa have achieved the 95-95-95 targets established by UNAIDS: 95% of people living with HIV know their status, 95% of those are on treatment, and 95% of those on treatment are virally suppressed. UNAIDS emphasized the importance of this being scaled up to a global level.

Achrekar observed, referring to countries whose domestic funds towards AIDS have increased, that “prevention is the last thing that is prioritized, but we will never be able to turn off the tap of the new infections without focusing on prevention as well.”

She reiterated the importance of countries most affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis establishing self-sustaining health practices to ensure longevity in both prevention and treatment.

Achrekar praised the global South for their work in taking ownership of treatment while still calling upon the rest of the world to join.

She said, “The HIV response was forged in crisis, and it was built to be resilient. We need, and are calling for, global solidarity once again, to rebuild a nationally owned and led, sustainable and inclusive multi-sectoral HIV response.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Chinese Freight Train. Credit: Unsplash/KUA YUE

By Maximilian Malawista
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 10 2025 (IPS)

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

On June 22nd, the UN Global Compact launched their Central Asia Network to drive SDG progress, connecting more than 140 participant companies to the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. This initiative will offer the tools and resources necessary to drive business practices which are sustainable and in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Kazakhstan will serve as the initiative’s multi-country office connecting Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Previously operating separately in silos, these five nations will now be part of a unified platform integrating a green economic strategy and promoting regional development.

“By launching a Country Network here, we are anchoring responsible investment and sustainability into this dynamic corridor, “ said Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. “We are harnessing the region’s untapped private-sector potential to drive green growth, improve transparency and foster social cohesion.”

This region holds immense capabilities. As sixty percent of people in the region are under age thirty, this offers a powerful human capital to support a new generation of job creation, infrastructure development, and supply chain capabilities.

The Belt and Road Initiative: a new ally

In 2023, The UN Global Compact and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) formalized a partnership in Beijing, designed to align infrastructure development with long-term sustainability.

As part of this initiative, two tools were introduced:

· Global Compact Ten Principles Applied in Infrastructure Sectors under the BRI: A Practical Guide for Private Sector Players.
· Maximizing Impact towards the SDGs: Guidance and Assessment Tool for Companies to Advance Sustainable Infrastructure under the Belt and Road Initiative.

These resources give private sector actors a strategy to not only reach the SGDs, but also further develop infrastructure planning, finance and project implementation, thereby advancing regional connectivity.

The results of this are happening fast. During a summit held in Astana on June 22, President of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua exchanged a cooperation agreement with Arman Kyrykbayev, Assistant to the President of Kazakhstan, which outlined a collaboration facilitating big data-computing centers, and the creation of a China-Kazakhstan Exchange and Cooperation Center. The new hub will support the facilitation of trade, currency settlement, and cross border intellectual property transactions, reflecting BRI’s vital role in molding a more connected and integrated central Asia. The center is only one of four key regional centers that were launched under the umbrella of China-Central Asia collaboration, with the other three dedicated to poverty reduction, education exchange and desertification control.

In that same week, speaking in Astana, President Xi Jinping of China introduced the “China-Central Asia Spirit,” which he characterized it as a show of “mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual benefit and mutual assistance for the joint pursuit of modernization through high-quality development”. During the summit, Xi, and the leaders of five Central Asian countries signed the treaty of permanent good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation, formalizing a shared vision for an expansive future.

The impact of these economic and diplomatic participations has been clear. China-Central Asia trade in 2024 reached 94.8 billion USD, yielding an increase of 5.4 billion dollars from the previous year. In perspective, this volume of trade is the equivalent of Uzbekistan’s entire GDP, a staggering development for a region previously left behind in the world of trade and commerce.

Infrastructure: the rails and ships of now

A port in the Yantian District in Shenzen, China. Credit: Unsplash/Leoon Liang

While policy and values have paved the way, infrastructure is laying the foundation. New railway and freight hubs are rapidly transforming Central Asia from a previously landlocked entity to a vital logistics mega hub.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and the China-Europe Caspian Sea Express are examples of this. These new routes link Central Asia to the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe, expanding its market access exponentially. Chinese cities are opening freight train routes and direct flights to Central Asia, further enhancing supply chains, and making travel ever more efficient.

On June 30, the China-Europe Caspian Sea Express launched, making its multimodal journey to its destination in Baku from Beijing. The journey took approximately fifteen days, cutting travel by more than half. The train was loaded with 104 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), carrying approximately 2,300 tons of export goods, journeying across more than 8,000 kilometers. The corridor will also distribute cargo to Georgia, Türkiye and Serbia, among other regional entities.

The reality of regional cooperation

The transformation of Central Asian supply chains is not theoretical. This is happening in real time, with a new agreement being signed each day. While once fragmented and landlocked, Central Asia is becoming the new bridge between the East and the West: fast tracking expansion globally. Through the coordination of the UN Global Compact, China’s BRI, and regional partnerships, Central Asia has become the new hub for green innovation, sustainable trade, and youth driven economic revitalization.

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The global population is aging at a time when heat exposure is rising due to climate change. Extreme heat can be deadly for older populations given their reduced ability to regulate body temperature. Already there has been an 85 percent increase since 1990 in annual heat-related deaths of adults aged above 65, driven by both […]

Credit: Dark_Eni/iStock by Getty Images

By Todd Schneider, Hany Abdel-Latif, Pedro Maciel and Henry Quach
WASHINGTON DC, Jul 10 2025 (IPS)

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

But this stands in stark contrast to the country’s fortunes twenty years ago when it faced an economic crisis. What’s behind this turnaround?

From times of crisis

In the mid-2000s, Seychelles faced significant macroeconomic challenges stemming from expansionary fiscal policies and a rigid state-led economy. Large fiscal deficits were driven by high public spending on capital projects, subsidies, transfers to state enterprises and high debt service payments, while government revenues were constrained by significant tax concessions to foreign investors in the growing tourism sector.

An expansionary monetary policy within a fixed exchange rate framework and extensive exchange controls led to external imbalances and depletion of foreign reserves.

By 2008, gross public debt exceeded 192 percent of GDP and reserves had dwindled to just 2 weeks of import cover. The global financial crisis exacerbated these vulnerabilities, and the crisis came to a head in mid-2008 when the Seychelles authorities missed payments on the nation’s private foreign debt and Standard & Poor’s downgraded Seychelles to selective default.

Changing course

In response to this crisis, the government launched a comprehensive reform program with support from the IMF and other development partners. Key actions included abolishing all exchange restrictions and floating the rupee, consolidating public finances, reforming state enterprises, and abolishing indirect product subsidies in favor of a targeted social safety net.

Paris Club creditors agreed to a debt stock reduction. These measures quickly yielded positive outcomes: inflation fell, foreign reserves were restored to over 3 months of import cover, and public debt declined to below 70 percent of GDP within five years.

This turnaround rebuilt investor confidence, and the restoration of macroeconomic stability allowed policymakers room to shift from crisis management to macro-structural reforms in support of sustainable growth.

Resilience and commitment tested

The COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a sudden collapse in global tourism, was another tremendous shock. But its years of macroeconomic stability enabled Seychelles to face this new challenge from a position of strength.

Confronted with an economic contraction of nearly 12 percent in 2020, the government implemented timely fiscal and monetary measures to support households and businesses, utilized emergency financing from the IMF, and moved quickly to resume tourism.

As tourism rebounded in 2021 and 2022, economic growth surged to nearly 13 percent in 2022, helping to regain lost ground. Foreign exchange reserves were maintained above 3 months of import cover, and the exchange rate was allowed to move to facilitate adjustment.

Key to managing the effects of the pandemic and the international commodity shock that followed were the fiscal and foreign exchange buffers built up in prior years and a commitment to macro fiscal discipline demonstrated by the government.

Staying on course

Given highly volatile global economic and financial conditions, Seychelles’ hard-won macroeconomic stability will likely be put to the test again. Environmental pressures limit scope to expand tourism, while vulnerability to external shocks argues for continued strong fiscal discipline and external buffers.

To ensure continued economic growth and resilience, vital investments in infrastructure will be necessary, together with deeper development of human capital, more efficient public services, and financial sector deepening and inclusion.

Concerted efforts are also needed to strengthen the social safety net and address critical social ills that hamper productivity and economic development. Some of these areas fall within the reform agenda under the current IMF-supported Extended Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility, but others will require new policy commitments.

Seychelles’ economic record highlights the importance of sound macroeconomic management and institutional strengthening in achieving and sustaining economic prosperity. Its journey offers valuable lessons for other small economies aiming at building resilience in an increasingly uncertain global landscape.

Todd Schneider is IMF mission chief to Seychelles and an advisor in the IMF’s African Department, where Hany Abdel-Latif is an economist, Pedro Maciel is a senior economist, and Henry Quach is a research analyst.

The IMF Executive Board recently completed the fourth review of Seychelles’ economic performance under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), delivers a message to multi-stakeholders on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 9 2025 (IPS)

On July 2, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the “3 by 35” initiative in an effort to boost public health and limit global consumption of harmful substances. By urging international governments to implement taxes on tobacco, sugary drinks, and alcohol, WHO seeks to reduce worldwide cases of noncommunicable disease amid heightened strains on global health systems and a shrinking supply of funding.

Through the initiative, WHO aims to introduce “health taxes” that would raise the prices of tobacco, sugary drinks, and alcohol by 50 percent by 2035. In addition to promoting healthier lifestyle choices, health and humanitarian experts are hopeful that these taxes could boost public revenue that could be used to revitalize critical public sectors, particularly in developing and lower-income countries that are experiencing diminishing funding for development aid.

WHO is optimistic that these taxes could raise $1 trillion dollars in revenue in the next ten years. “Health taxes are one of the most efficient tools we have,” said Dr Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Control, WHO. “They cut the consumption of harmful products and create revenue governments can reinvest in health care, education, and social protection. It’s time to act.”

This comes after the success of similar strategies that have been implemented across various regions. In 2017, Colombia implemented a tax on sugary beverages which resulted in a 22 percent decline in nationwide sugary beverage consumption and generated approximately USD 360 million annually, which was allocated for funding healthcare programs.

On the other hand, Vietnam’s recent push to increase taxes on alcohol and tobacco has yielded mixed results. In June 2025, the Vietnamese Parliament approved a tax increase on alcoholic beverages from 65 percent to 90 percent by 2031. Additionally, parliament is actively considering the implementation of a hybrid tax system on tobacco products, including an Ad Valorem tax of 75 percent as well as an additional fixed tax per pack.

The tax on alcohol in Vietnam poses numerous economic risks as the brewing industry could see substantial losses, leading to job cuts and a significant decline in revenue. Both of these taxes could also raise rates of illicit trade and the alternative consumption of unregulated goods.

Despite the recent initiative eliciting significant pushback from beverage corporations, WHO is adamant that it will yield long-term benefits for public health. WHO attributes this to the results of previous tobacco taxes implemented by 140 countries from 2012 to 2022. In 2020, WHO estimated that approximately 1 billion people around the world experienced health benefits from living in countries with high taxes on tobacco.

According to WHO, consumption of sugary drinks, tobacco, and alcohol accounts for nearly 75 percent of all deaths worldwide, the majority of which are from heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Additionally, it is estimated that the taxes proposed in the initiative could prevent approximately 50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years.

Vietnam’s WHO Representative Dr. Angela Pratt states that taxes like these are instrumental in securing a healthy and prosperous future for younger generations, describing the current marketing tactics of tobacco companies as “manipulative”.

“We have seen this in Vietnam, especially for e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, with flavours like watermelon, raspberry slush and lemon tart that mask the harshness of nicotine, and bright packaging that attracts youth,” Pratt said. “Tobacco tax is like a vaccine against the health harms of tobacco for young people – by stopping them from starting smoking, we are helping to protect them from the risks of tobacco use for life.”

Despite this, many countries around the world continue to provide tax exemptions and commercial incentives to tobacco and beverage industries. To combat this, WHO is bringing together policymakers, stakeholders, and its “powerful group of global partners” to collaborate on policies that could be used on an international level to reduce the consumption of harmful substances. Furthermore, they are working to raise awareness about the benefits of health taxes and empower healthcare systems worldwide.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Dr Susana Pombo addresses the WOAH General Session in May. Credit: WOAH/Maurine Tric

By Susana Pombo
LISBON, Jul 9 2025 (IPS)

Just five years on from the Covid-19 pandemic, another animal-borne disease is mutating and spreading across borders and species.

Avian influenza has already resulted in the loss of more than 630 million birds in the last 20 years. And new figures from the inaugural State of the World’s Animal Health report find that the number of reported outbreaks in mammals, including cattle, sheep and cats, doubled last year compared to 2023.

The risk of human infection with avian flu remains low. But the more species of mammals become infected, the greater the possibility of the virus adapting to mammal-to-mammal – and potentially human – transmission. And recent experience has shown exactly how devastating and disruptive a zoonotic pandemic can be for all aspects of life.

After the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a new pandemic accord at the 78th World Health Assembly, the global community must remember that animal vaccines can be one of our most powerful tools for preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks, alongside other control measures.

At present, many countries are unable to include vaccination within their avian flu control strategies because of its impact on trade, livelihoods and food security. The difficulty of distinguishing a vaccinated bird with immunity from an infected bird means widespread vaccination can result in damaging trade barriers.

But controlling avian flu in poultry stops it from spreading to other animals and people, and vaccination can play a highly effective role alongside other measures when integrated carefully.

For example, the Toulouse Veterinary School modelled that France would experience up to 700 avian flu outbreaks in 2023. But, according to the French Chief Veterinary Officer, a nationwide campaign to vaccinate ducks meant the country only suffered 10 outbreaks.

Key to this was transparency and dialogue, with the French authorities consulting regularly with the scientific community via the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), veterinarians and researchers, local farmers and international trading partners.

For more countries to incorporate animal vaccination into avian flu control strategies and avert the risk of another pandemic, governments and agencies around the world must overcome a number of locally-specific barriers, which often hold back vaccination against other animal diseases.

First, governments must recognise animal health as an intrinsic part of global health and foster international cooperation for disease monitoring, data-sharing, early warning systems and harmonised vaccination approaches.

The more authorities know about how and where the disease is spreading, the greater the chance of containing it. And agreeing an approach to vaccination with trade partners to contain a specific outbreak, or to target wild animals as disease reservoirs, can limit the impact that disease control has on exports.

Secondly, the livestock sector would benefit enormously from the development and use of advanced diagnostic tools to differentiate between vaccinated and infected animals. Known as the DIVA principle, this will enable accurate disease tracking and trade transparency.

The ability to demonstrate that an animal is immune rather than infected would help overcome trade barriers to vaccination, but this requires greater public and private investment and collaboration.

Lastly, more investment is urgently needed for the use of vaccines as well as biosecurity measures, hygiene protocols and other disease prevention measures. Veterinary professionals need ongoing education and field training, in addition to the appropriate infrastructure, to ensure effective vaccine delivery and disease management at the grassroots level.

The return on investment from disease control spans both public and private sectors, supporting improved public health as well as agricultural productivity, trade and food security.

If Covid-19 taught the world anything, it is that global health is an interconnected system that includes animals of all kinds as well as environmental factors.

Tackling animal diseases through vaccination, biosecurity and other measures is as critical for animals as it is for people and pandemic prevention, and just like Covid-19, it needs global collaboration, innovation and investment.

Dr. Susana Pombo is President of the World Organisation for Animal Health’s Council

IPS UN Bureau

 

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By CIVICUS
Jul 9 2025 (IPS)

 
CIVICUS speaks to Cristinel Buzatu, regional legal advisor for Central and Eastern Europe at Greenpeace, about how Romania’s state gas company is weaponising the courts to silence environmental opposition.

Cristinel Buzatu

On 10 June, the state-owned energy giant Romgaz filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve Greenpeace Romania. The legal attack came after the organisation campaigned against the company’s plans to exploit a Black Sea gas field. Politicians say the project is crucial for Romania’s energy independence and its ability to export gas to Moldova, while civil society is clear that fossil fuel extraction must stop to prevent runaway climate change. Romgaz withdrew the case just hours before the first hearing, but the lawsuit exposed how fossil fuel companies are exploiting legal loopholes to silence dissent, marking a dangerous escalation in corporate attacks on climate activists.

What’s the Neptun Deep project and why is Greenpeace challenging it?

The Neptun Deep project is the largest proposed fossil gas drilling project in the European Union (EU), and we’re fighting it on multiple fronts. Operated by Romgaz Black Sea Limited Nassau SRL and OMV Petrom SA in the Romanian Black Sea, this massive drilling operation threatens biodiversity, accelerates climate change and extreme weather and locks Romania and the EU into an outdated and harmful fossil fuel system.

Our legal challenge targets the project’s environmental permit. We asked the Bucharest Tribunal to suspend it, arguing the Constanța Environmental Protection Agency had approved it in breach of environmental law. The agency’s evaluation was superficial at best, relying on outdated data on the project’s climate impacts and greenhouse gas emissions. Crucially, they ignored its impacts on biodiversity and water bodies, failed to consider risks from potential military conflicts and bypassed meaningful public consultation. Key documents such as ecotoxicity tests and archaeological diagnostic reports were kept hidden from public scrutiny.

When the court rejected our application, it hit us with a massive bill of 150,000 lei (approx. US$34,550) in legal costs to each company. They had demanded even more.

How did Romgaz turn legal costs into a weapon?

Romgaz claimed we failed to pay those costs and were therefore insolvent, which is grounds for dissolving an organisation under Romanian law. They alleged we had no assets or bank accounts and were using several legal entities to avoid responsibility. But the truth is we’ve never received a formal payment notice. When we actively requested one, none came.

Yet Romgaz pressed ahead, filing for our dissolution while launching a media smear campaign. We prepared our defence, confident the facts would vindicate us, as Romgaz’s claims were demonstrably false. But we never got our day in court. Just hours before the first hearing, Romgaz abruptly withdrew the case. Even then, it publicly reaffirmed its accusations and vowed to try again. The strategy was clear: inflict maximum reputational damage while denying us any opportunity to defend ourselves.

Is this part of a broader attack on environmental groups?

Absolutely. This case exemplifies a troubling trend targeting civil society in Romania, particularly environmental groups that dare to use the courts. The playbook is simple: companies that win cases demand excessive legal costs. When organisations can’t pay, the companies pursue their dissolution on insolvency grounds.

We’ve seen this weapon deployed repeatedly. Take Militia Spirituala, a local organisation that was dissolved at the request of a real estate developer. The same developer also tried to shut down Salvati Bucurestiul over unpaid legal fees, although the organisation survived by paying up. Now that developer is suing several organisations for damages totalling a million euros.

The chilling effect is undeniable. While we lack exact figures on litigation rates, the reality speaks for itself: only a handful of organisations still dare to challenge corporate projects in court. Most have been scared off by the legal and financial risks. This amounts to a serious restriction on access to justice, and we urgently need to find ways to reverse this trend.

How did civil society fight back against Romgaz?

The response was immediate and powerful. Civil society recognised the Romgaz case for what it was: a textbook SLAPP – a strategic litigation against public participation. Within just 24 hours, over 25,000 people signed a petition condemning the attempt to silence us.

But the attack’s roots went deeper than one company’s aggression: it was a coordinated effort made from the highest levels of government. On 20 March, the Ministry of Energy held up the Energy Transfer lawsuit in the USA against three Greenpeace organisations as a model to emulate, explicitly encouraging national energy firms to launch similar legal assaults on environmental groups that challenge their projects. The message was unmistakable: the state stands with corporations against civil society.

This provoked unprecedented unity. Over 110 civil society organisations from diverse fields signed an open letter demanding the minister’s dismissal. Yet even this solidarity wasn’t enough to stop the attacks. In May, the minister openly welcomed Romgaz’s attempt to dissolve us, repeating baseless claims about our finances and structure – the same lies peddled in court.

Still, something remarkable has happened. Many people who have never supported us before reached out, saying that while they might not always agree with our campaigns, they recognised this legal action as pure intimidation. That support gives us strength to carry on, defend civic space and resist corporate capture of our democracy.

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SEE ALSO
The price of protest: Greenpeace hit with huge penalty CIVICUS Lens 09.Apr.2025
‘Energy Transfer’s lawsuit against Greenpeace is an attempt to drain our resources and silence dissent’ CIVICUS Lens | Interview with Daniel Simons 01.Apr.2025
Europe: ‘Member states must introduce national anti-SLAPP legislation to protect public watchdogs’ CIVICUS Lens | Interview with Francesca Borg Costanzi 21.Mar.2024

 

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Gereltuya Bayanmukh speaks about her motivations to become involved in climate activism. Credit: Leo Galduh/IPS

By Aatreyee Dhar
ULAANBAATAR, Jul 9 2025 (IPS)

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

She was happy to see each of the nomadic people in their traditional gers power up their settlements using solar power.

“I remember seeing my neighbors own a solar panel and a battery to accumulate power. They were turning on lights and watching TV using solar power. Nowadays, they even have fridges,” she says.

She thought the herders made a conscious choice about their lifestyles and understood the need of the hour in the face of the looming climate crisis. That is to say, switch to renewable energy and power a safer future.

“This was the reason I became a climate activist,” she says.

No matter how unwitting her notion about her community achieving self-sufficiency with renewable energy was, the findings about what entailed this system revealed something else.

“I later learned that the solar panels were partially subsidized by the government as a part of the nationwide government to equip 100,000 nomadic households with solar energy,” she says.

What she perceived turned out to be a nationwide renewable energy scheme by the Mongolian government for the nomadic herders.

The scheme, called the National 100,000 Solar Ger [Yurt] Electricity Program, introduced in 2000, provided herders with portable photovoltaic solar home systems that complement their traditional nomadic lifestyle.

At least 30 percent of Mongolia’s population comprises nomadic herders. Before 2000, when the scheme came into effect, herders had limited or no access to modern electricity. By 2005, the government managed to equip over 30,000 herder families through funds from several donor nations.

However, the full-scale electrification effort for herders was beginning to stagnate. The 2006 midterm custom audit performance report by the Standing Committee on Environment, Food and Agriculture of the Parliament carried sobering revelations.

The scheme in its initial phase was poorly managed: there was no control over the distribution process, with some units delivered to local areas landing in the hands of non-residents violating the contract, failure to deliver the targeted number of generators, misappropriation of the program funds, and inability to repay the loans within the contractual period.

However, in the third phase–2006-2012–the program was able to expand its implementation with the support of several international donors, including the World Bank.

“At first, I thought how great that we started out with the renewable energy transition, giving access to renewable energy at a lower price. And it was even in 1999. That was when I was just four years old. I believe we were on our way to building a future like this. Like we visualized here. The future of green nomadism. However, my optimism faded when I read the midterm audit report and discovered that the program had been (just as) poorly managed as the first part. It was only with the assistance of the international partners that the program finished well,” says Gereltuya.

Gereltuya is the co-founder and board director of her NGO, Green Dot Climate, which focuses on empowering youth as climate activists and raising awareness and practical skills for climate action.

One of the mottoes of her NGO is to change the youth’s and Mongolian people’s attitudes and practices around climate change issues as well as solutions.

In the past year, the NGO has been successful in reaching over half a million Mongolians, including nomads, helping them become more environmentally conscious and empowering the youth to be climate activists—makers and doers themselves.

“In the past year, we have reached over half a million Mongolians. Our Green Dot youth community has logged more than 100,000 individual climate actions, saving over 700,000 kg of CO₂, 25 liters of water, and 80,000 kilowatt-hours of energy. Next, we will aim for a million collective actions, a stronger community and a minimum of 50 collaborative climate projects in Mongolia,” Gereltuya said during her delegate speech at the One Young World Summit, a global event that brings in young leaders from around the world to discuss global issues, in 2023.

The state of Mongolia’s nomads in the current energy system

Mongolia as a country heavily relies on coal for energy production, which contributes to 90 percent of its energy production. Coming to just transition, the government aims for a 30 percent renewable energy share by 2030 of its installed capacity, as enshrined in the State Policy on Energy 2015-2030. Mongolia is also committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 22.7 percent by 2030 while the energy sector accounts for 44.78 percent of the total emissions as of 2020 according to Mongolia’s Second Biennial Update Report.

Gereltuya’s NGO, Green Dot Climate, has been mapping Mongolia’s energy systems for the past few years now. As of 2024, Mongolia’s electricity sector relies on CHP [combined heat and power] plants and imports from Russia and China to meet its electricity demands.

Only 7 percent of its total installed energy comes from renewable sources, with the Central Energy System accounting for over 80 percent of the total electricity demand. “We found that about 200,000 households remain unaccounted for in the centralized energy grid calculations. These are likely the same nomadic families or their later generations who likely adopted their first solar systems at least two decades ago,” she explains.

Gereltuya says that her organisation meticulously compared the recent household data cited by the Energy Regulatory Commission of Mongolia to that of the total  number of households as per the Mongolian Statistical Information Service to find the numbers that went missing

Mongolia’s backslide into fossil-fuel economy

Although Mongolia has promised to increase its renewable energy share to 30 percent by 2030, it is still far behind in the race to achieve its target.

In the 2020 Nationally Determined Contribution [NDC] submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC], Mongolia set its mitigation target to “a 22.7% reduction in total national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030,” which can increase to a 27.2 percent reduction if conditional mitigation measures such as the carbon capture and storage and waste-to-energy technology are implemented. Further, if “actions and measures to remove GHG emissions by forest are determined”, the total mitigation target would rise to 44.9 percent by 2030.

“Instead of focusing on decarbonizing its coal-based economy, Mongolia shifted to focus on carbon-sink and sequestration processes to reduce its emissions. This suggests that despite our many promises, policies and past efforts to mainstream renewables, we may still end up with business as usual. A case of bad governance, stagnation and vicious cycles,” she says.

Recommendations for Mongolia’s energy sector

Gereltuya’s NGO has been actively engaged in the survey ‘Earth Month 2025’ that is aimed at collecting specific recommendations from the youth voices in the country for the NDC 3.0 that the government is expected to submit in COP30. She shares a few recommendations that she believes can help improve the country’s energy systems.

On the demand side, households not connected to the grid should update and improve their solar home systems, especially now that the solutions are much cheaper and more efficient.

According to the 2024 World Bank ‘Mongolia Country Climate and Development Report,’ the average residential tariff for electricity in Mongolia was estimated to be 40 percent below cost recovery, and subsidies were worth 3.5 percent of GDP in 2022. The lack of cost recovery created hurdles in efforts to enhance energy efficiency and investment in renewable energy. In the context, those connected to the grid should pay more for their energy use to reflect the real cost of energy production and support renewable energy feed-in tariffs. There should be responsible voting of citizens demanding better policies and implementations and not trading in policies for short-term gains.

On the supply side, there is a need to stop new fossil fuel projects immediately: there are at least six such projects, including one international project under Mongolia’s current Energy Revival Policy, underway.

Secondly, Mongolia’s electricity infrastructure needs significant improvement. As the UNDP recently highlighted, Mongolia’s infrastructure is aging, inefficient and heavily subsidized.

Thirdly, fully utilize installed energy capacity, which is at only 30 percent, largely owing to the infrastructure inefficiency.

Fourth is to increase the overall renewable energy capacity five times to meet demand, which means 15 times the energy made in full demand. And phase out coal-based power, replacing it with fully renewable energy.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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UN staff and medical workers evacuating patients from a hospital in northern Gaza in late May 2025. Credit: WHO

By Norman Solomon
SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Jul 9 2025 (IPS)

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

That pact and its horrific consequences for Palestinian people either continue to shock Americans or gradually normalize indifference toward ongoing atrocities on a massive scale.

Recent news reporting that President Trump has pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza is an echo of a familiar refrain about peace-seeking efforts from the Biden and Trump administrations. The spin remained in sync with the killing – not only with American bombs and bullets but also with Israel’s refusal to allow more than a pittance of food and other essentials into Gaza.

Last year began with a United Nations statement that “Gazans now make up 80 per cent of all people facing famine or catastrophic hunger worldwide, marking an unparalleled humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s continued bombardment and siege.” The UN quoted experts who said: “Currently every single person in Gaza is hungry, a quarter of the population are starving and struggling to find food and drinkable water, and famine is imminent.”

In late February 2024, President Biden talked to journalists about prospects for a “ceasefire” (which did not take place) while holding a vanilla ice cream cone. “My national security adviser tells me that we’re close, we’re close, we’re not done yet,” Biden said, before sauntering off. He spoke during a photo op at an ice cream parlor in Manhattan, while the UN was sounding an alarm that “very little humanitarian aid has entered besieged Gaza this month.”

During the 16 months since then, variants of facile verbiage from top U.S. government officials have repeated endlessly, while normalizing genocide with a steep race to the ethical bottom, so that – in Orwellian terms, much like “war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength” – genocide is not genocide.

Refusal to acknowledge the complicity and impunity is most of all maintained by avoidance and silence. The process makes a terrible truth inadmissible rather than admittable.

All the doublethink and newspeak must detour around the reality that the U.S.-supported Israeli siege of Gaza is genocide, which the international Genocide Convention defines as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” – with such actions as “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Israel’s actions in Gaza clearly meet that definition, as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have unequivocally concluded with exhaustive reports. But under the cloaks of the Israeli and American flags, the official stories insist that the unconscionable should be invisible.

Liberal Zionist groups in the United States are part of the process. Here’s what I wrote in an article for The Nation early this year after examining public statements by the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” group J Street:

“Routinely, while calling for the release of the Israeli hostages, the organization also expressed concern about the deaths and suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. But none of J Street’s 132 news releases between October 7 and the start of the [temporary] ceasefire in late January 2025 called for an end to shipments of the U.S. bombs and weapons that were killing those civilians while enforcing Israel’s policy of using starvation as a weapon of war – a glaring omission for a group that declares itself to be ‘pro-peace.’

It was as if J Street thought that vague humanistic pleas could paper over these gaping cracks in its stance.

“However, J Street felt comfortable taking a firm line on the question of whether Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. Here, it aligned itself completely with the position of the U.S. and Israeli governments. In mid-January 2024, when oral arguments ended at the International Court of Justice in the case brought by South Africa that charged the Israeli government with violating the Genocide Convention in Gaza, a news release declared that ‘J Street rejects the allegation of genocide against the State of Israel.’

Four months later, on May 24, J Street responded quickly when the ICJ ordered Israel to ‘immediately halt its military offensive’ in Rafah. ‘J Street continues to reject the allegation of genocide in this case,’ a news release said.”

Likewise, with rare exceptions, U.S. news media and members of Congress dodge the reality of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the events in Gaza and the evasions in the United States have been enormously instructive, shattering illusions along the way. Many Americans, especially young people, know much more about their country and its government than they did just two years ago.

What has come to light includes mass murder of certain other human beings as de facto policy and functional ideology.

Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The paperback edition of his latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, includes an afterword about the Gaza war.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Credit: CIEL

By Carla García Zendejas
WASHINGTON DC, Jul 8 2025 (IPS)

The World Bank’s private sector arm has raised the bar — and others may follow. On April 15, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) became the first development finance institution to adopt a formal remedy policy, publishing its Remedial Action Framework (RAF) to address environmental and social harm caused by IFC-supported investment projects.

The move sets a precedent and ramps up pressure on other development banks — including the Inter-American Development Bank — which are expected to release their own remedy frameworks.

Development institutions such as IFC finance projects meant to improve lives worldwide. Yet too often, these projects have caused environmental harm, displaced communities, and led to reprisals. This new framework is a milestone — both a leap forward for IFC and a sign of hope for communities harmed by development projects.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), on April 15, 2025, adopted a Remedial Action Framework (RAF), an explicit policy on remedy, formalizing a commitment to address environmental and social harms caused by IFC-supported investment projects.

The IFC/Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) RAF is a cornerstone at a time when the World Bank Group is reviewing accountability systems on both its public and private sides. This framework sets a precedent, signaling a profound institution-wide commitment to avoid harm. It acknowledges that remedy is not only possible but essential and that it must be part of a broader cultural shift across the entire institution.

Credit: CIEL

The remedy framework is the result of years of advocacy by stakeholders both outside and inside the institution, and strenuous efforts from civil society organizations and project-affected people worldwide. Their contributions — grounded in firsthand experience of harm and technical recommendations — have centered remedy on the rights and the needs of those harmed.

Carla Garcia Zendejas of CIEL moderates a panel after a screening of the film “The Fisherman and the Banker” April 2024 in Washington, D.C. The film, produced by Sheena Sumaria over ten years, follows the fishing community of Gujarat, India as they sue the IFC, the lending arm of the World Bank, for funding a power plant which has harmed the ecology of the community.

Credit: CIEL

Cases like Alto Maipo, Titan Cement, and Tata Tea revealed how inadequate existing complaint systems were in responding to and remedying environmental and social harm to communities. The momentum needed was created with the Tata Mundra case and the landmark Jam v. IFC litigation by Indian fisherfolk, when IFC again dismissed findings reported by its own accountability mechanism.

With the RAF, IFC now acknowledges a core tenet of international law: institutions should avoid infringing on human rights and should address adverse human rights impacts when they have contributed to harm.

The framework introduces a structured approach to address environmental and social harms based on three pillars: Prevention and Preparedness, Access to Remedy, and Contribution to Remedial Action. While it still distinguishes between the roles of IFC/MIGA and their clients, it no longer denies responsibility.

Prevention remains key. IFC has reiterated the value of its existing sustainability policies to identify and manage environmental and social risks early — something civil society has long demanded, avoiding harm rather than managing its aftermath.

Still, given the numerous and disturbing failed past projects under existing policies, real change will depend on applying an environmental and social lens across all operations. A human rights-based approach must guide this shift.

The RAF also acknowledges the central role of grievance mechanisms. Effective, reliable, and independent grievance mechanisms and systems are essential for project-affected people to raise complaints and seek remedy when things go wrong. Considering IFC’s history with its own accountability mechanism —the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman— this is a significant step.

IFC/MIGA has restated its commitment to using its influence to push its clients to take remedial action and will also provide support for enabling activities, such as fact-finding, technical assistance, and community development activities. But the effectiveness of these contributions will depend on how meaningfully they engage with communities seeking remedy.

Importantly, the RAF applies to all IFC-supported investment projects and to all investment projects covered by MIGA political risk insurance guarantees, an encouraging decision.

Under IFC’s Sustainability Framework, clients have long been responsible for managing environmental and social risks. Now, they are also expected to fund and implement remedy. This is not as straightforward as it would seem: Development finance institutions’ operations are at the center of an often nebulous division of roles.

If IFC fails to properly supervise and monitor its clients, performs weak due diligence, or neglects to notice a low-capacity client, the risk of harm increases — and so does the institution’s responsibility. One of the thorniest issues during the creation of the framework was the cost of providing remedy.

Remarkably, private sector clients did not oppose remedy in principle — they questioned how to deliver it and how costs would be shared. They accepted responsibility for harms caused by construction or operations but they needed clarity on implementation.

Notably, the RAF instructs IFC to use its own financial resources — whether from project funds, donor trust funds, internal budgets, or operational risk capital — to support remedy. That is a major shift, one that could influence other development finance institutions and open a door to systemic change. Already, discussions on remedy are well underway at institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank.

The RAF was approved on an interim basis, with a three-year piloting phase. The challenge ahead is turning policy into practice. Harm is harm — regardless of how it is funded or who caused it. As environmental and climate crises grow globally, and financial institutions multiply funds in search of solutions, we can point to the first remedial action framework as a standard to follow and as a way forward.

Now there is a way to address harms and provide remedy, the commitment to do so has been set, and many are ready to make this happen, as challenging as it will undoubtedly be. Remedy must be more than a principle. It must be a reality.

Carla García Zendejas is People, Land, and Resources Program Director at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

IPS UN Bureau

 

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder who coordinates a Task Force responsible for the ongoing restructuring plans.

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 8 2025 (IPS)

A coalition of UN staff unions, led by the 60,000-strong Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA), has written to UN member states criticizing the UN80 reform process as “incoherent and lacking strategy”.

The union, one of the largest single coalitions in the world body, is asking the 193 member states to take over the UN reform process which is currently in the hands of a Task Force.

https://www.ccisua.org/about-us/

Among several issues raised by the (CCISUA), UN80 is dismissed as “chaotic and rushed.” In a critical analysis, the staff union points out that the proposed restructuring:

• Doesn’t address the roots of the problem
• Forces managers to cut positions without an analysis of how the UN can be more relevant
• May need to be fixed by the next Secretary-General
• Will impact frontline services (either through UN 80 or prevailing funding shortages)
• Will result in a loss of capacity especially at the national level
• Shows a poor understanding of how the UN system is currently structured
• Is led by a task force that is arbitrarily composed, which in turn biases the outcomes
• Will be costly to implement
• Is being carried out without consultation.

The letter calls on UN member states to take greater control of the process.

Separately, the Secretariat staff unions wrote to the President of the General Assembly requesting to address member states on UN80.

“Closer to Geneva, a good example of issues with the coherence of UN80 is OHCHR downsizing offices in the field while expanding offices in Vienna under the justification of getting closer to those we serve”.

As a reminder, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed his special adviser, Guy Ryder, to lead UN 80. “We will be following up with further actions to contain the damage being caused by Mr. Ryder’s initiative,” the letter said.

Guy Candusso, a former First Vice-President of the UN Staff Union in New York, told IPS the reform process is usually in the hands of those who want to protect their own interests

“The UN, since Under-Secretary-General Joseph Connor left, has become top heavy with a proliferation of D2s and above. Reforms put forward are already driven by politics.”

Putting it in the hands of member states, he cautioned, is not going to help since it comes down to money. “If the funds are not forthcoming then I can’t see a good outlook for staff,” he said.

Meanwhile, Laura Johnson, Executive Secretary and Ian Richards, President of the UN Staff Union in Geneva, have provided an update on the latest developments regarding the UN 80 initiative.

The Staff-Management Committee (SMC), the global body for consultations between management and staff unions, met at the headquarters of the UN Mission in Kosovo last week.

First, despite its repeated assertions to the General Assembly and staff, management at the SMC did not present detailed UN80 proposals (including the 20 per cent budget cuts, which apply to regular budget (RB) and peacekeeping posts) to the unions and would not consult on UN80.

The only exception to this was a circular and incomplete discussion on potential mitigating measures to assist staff affected by cuts or relocations, once a final decision is made by the General Assembly on the 2026 budget at the end of this year. We asked management to correct its miscommunications on union consultation, but it has so far refused.

Given this, staff unions have had to engage informally with member states directly (see further down). On the mitigating measures, these remain subject to final approval, but are broadly the following:

• In July/August, agreed termination packages will be offered to staff who will be over 55 by the end of the year.
• No staff need to relocate before 30 June 2026 and there may be remote onboarding and up to 3 months of telecommuting from the original duty stations if possible.
• If the approved 2026 budget has more staff than posts for a particular entity, this entity would need to activate the downsizing policy and set up Staff-Management Groups to carry out a comparative review to determine an order of retention of staff. This would take place January to February 2026. There will also be measures to ensure that RB fixed-term contracts expiring before then are renewed.
• Staff who are separated may have the option of being put on special leave without pay (SLWOP) for a period to be determined.
• There will also be flagging in Inspira to prioritise selection of staff in retention group 1 of the comparative review if new positions later become available. Subject to agreement by the Secretary-General, this flagging period will be extended beyond what is set out in the downsizing policy as an exceptional measure.
• If posts are moved, including to a common administrative platform, staff would normally move with their post. If staff don’t want to move, other suitable staff may be able to volunteer.

“The lack of finality on these measures and the lack of consideration of proposals presented by unions has been frustrating and will create more anxiety, as we made clear to management”, the letter said.

In addition to the cuts to RB and peacekeeping posts (20%), the initial phase of UN80 will establish common administrative platforms (CAPs), first in Geneva and New York and then in other locations.

Unions repeatedly asked for clarification on the CAPs as it is likely that administrative posts across the UN Secretariat will be reduced and appointments terminated, necessitating the activation of the downsizing policy.

In particular, “we asked for further explanation on how the order of retention for administrative posts across duty stations, entities and funding streams will be managed, but were unable to get clarity.”

It is clear that the General Assembly’s decision on the 2026 budget will be key. Therefore, staff unions have been informally engaging with member states.

The letter sent by CISUA highlighted the serious consequences of the UN 80 initiative on delivery, its lack of vision and the feeling that task force members were using the process to their own ends.

It also questioned how UN 80 will resolve the liquidity situation that triggered the initiative.

Many of these concerns were mentioned by member states during an informal briefing to the General Assembly last week. One member state has also circulated a draft resolution for member states to have greater oversight of the process.

Additionally, said the letter, Guy Ryder has retreated from his previous position of UN 80%. He said that the budget proposals with 20 per cent cuts were for entity heads to reflect on how they could cut costs. The Secretary-General will not necessarily make all these cuts and the final budget will reflect his priorities.

When asked what those priorities were, Ryder said he wasn’t able to reply.

“Our engagement with member states has not been without consequences. Management said at SMC that the unions had breached the staff rules and scolded unions for fulfilling their advocacy role. As an example, UNHCR management has tried to intimidate its staff representative. We called out this action and clearly set out how the staff rules, standards of conduct and General Assembly resolution 67/255 in fact explicitly allow for this important engagement”.

“We will continue to keep you updated and fight to roll back this harmful and pointless reform. The Secretary-General should be saving the UN. We believe Guy Ryder is doing the opposite”.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Refugees gather to give their input on the Shirika plan during a stakeholders’ meeting in Nakuru City, west of Nairobi, earlier in February 2025. Credit: By Jackson Okata/IPS

By Jackson Okata
NAIROBI, Jul 7 2025 (IPS)

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

The 42-year-old father of four says he escaped DR Congo to save his children after the death of their mother in a 2017 dawn attack by rebel fighters on their village.

“The rebels were forcibly recruiting men to fight for their army. Those resisting were killed and their property torched. I managed to escape; unfortunately, my wife lost her life,” Baremba told IPS.

A skilled carpenter, Baremba and his four children found their way into the Kakuma refugee camp, 497 miles northwest of Kenya’s Capital, Nairobi.

“Despite all the challenges, Kakuma gave me a second life and renewed hope.”

A Growing Challenge

Kenya hosts approximately 836,907 refugees and asylum seekers, with 51 percent of this population residing in Dadaab Refugee Camp, 36 percent in Kakuma Refugee Camp, and 13 percent in urban areas. The numbers comprise 73 percent refugees and 27 percent asylum-seekers.

Over the years, the ever-rising number of people seeking refuge in Kenya, especially from the Great Lakes region, has continued to exert pressure on the East African nation amid reduced global donor and humanitarian aid and support.

Kenya’s Department of Refugee Services has 220,000 pending refugee and asylum seeker applications.

Initially, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) was in charge of refugee seekers’ management, but the Kenyan government took over in 2021 following the passage of the Refugee Act.

To solve the refugee crisis, the Kenyan government launched a plan to transform all refugees and asylum seekers into the Kenyan community by transitioning the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps into integrated settlements.

The five-year transition plan, dubbed the Shirika Plan, aims to transform the refugee camps into integrated settlements for both refugees and host communities to make refugees economically self-reliant.

Shirika is a Swahili word for “coming together” or “partnering.”

The plan will allow refugees to access education, health, government identity cards, business permits, and banking services.

Additionally, refugees will be issued government tax numbers to enable them to open bank accounts and register and operate businesses.

At the same time, the plan will allow refugees to travel and live in any part of Kenya without a special movement permit.

The plan will see refugee students receive government education scholarships to enable them to pursue college and university education.

To enhance access to health services for refugees, the plan allows them to be listed on the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), a government-managed public health fund.

Self-Reliance

For people like Baremba, being allowed to live like other Kenyans will grant refugees the much-needed economic independence.

“Integration will allow me to put my carpentry skills to work, and the Kenyan community will form part of my market,” Baremba said.

He added, “With a source of income, I will no longer rely on support from UNHCR.”

Mary Ajok, a South Sudanese refugee, hopes that the implementation of the Shirika plan will provide a permanent solution to crowded shelters, limited food rations and lack of proper healthcare services plaguing refugees in the camps.

“Raising children in a refugee camp can be challenging. Integration provides a peaceful and friendly environment for children,” Ajok told IPS.

Ajok hopes to establish a catering business to serve both refugees and the host community of Kakuma.

“Majority of refugees have various skills that can be put to use and contribute to the growth of Kenya’s economy,” she said.

Funding

During the official launch of the Shirika Plan at State House, Nairobi, President William Ruto said, “The plan will upgrade refugee management, shifting from humanitarian dependency to a more inclusive and progressive development model centered on human rights.”

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Marc Dillard, who also doubles as the chair of the Refugee Donor Group, describes the Shirika plan as a milestone for advancing socio-economic conditions and human rights for refugees in Kenya.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) will work with the Kenyan government to implement the Shirika Plan.

The plan’s implementation budget is estimated to be USD 943 million. Kenya’s Minister for National Administration, Kipchumba Murkomen, has been meeting refugee donor groups appealing for funding to implement the plan.

The World Bank, UNHCR, International Finance Corporation and the Kenya Commercial Bank Group have pledged to fund the plan’s implementation.

Global and Regional Goals

The Shirika Plan contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) and the AU Agenda 2063 and aligns with global commitments such as the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) of 2018, the 1969 OAU convention, the 1951 UN convention, and the 1967 UN convention

Inclusivity and non-discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, or any other grounds are key guiding principles for the plan.

For refugees not keen on being integrated, the plan provides pathways for voluntary repatriation to stable home countries and third-country resettlement for deserving, vulnerable refugees.

Opposing Voices

The refugee integration plan is, however, facing resistance from a section of political leaders from Northern Kenya, citing inadequate consultations.

Farah Maalim and Daniel Epuyo, Members of Parliament representing Dadaab and Turkana West constituencies, have accused the government of Kenya and UNHCR of hurriedly rolling out the plan.

The two legislators are instead pushing for the repatriation of refugees back to their home countries.

“We cannot talk of integrating refugees when locals have pressing needs that are yet to be met,” Epuyo said.

Maalim said, “The Hosting Communities of Refugees are not ready for integration. Most refugees would opt for voluntary repatriation with generous assistance to enable them to reintegrate back in Somalia.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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By Inés M. Pousadela
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Jul 7 2025 (IPS)

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

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, confronts enormous challenges in delivering meaningful change. While it has taken significant steps – releasing political prisoners, initiating constitutional reforms, signing international human rights treaties and pursuing accountability for past violations – persistent abuses, political exclusion and economic instability continue to cast long shadows over the transition. The coming months will prove decisive in determining whether Bangladesh can truly break from its authoritarian past.

From electoral fraud to revolution

The roots of Bangladesh’s current upheaval trace back to the deeply flawed general election of 7 January 2024. The vote, which saw Hasina’s Awami League (AL) secure a fourth consecutive term, was widely dismissed as a foregone conclusion. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted the election in protest at the government’s refusal to reinstate a neutral caretaker system.

The government unleashed an intense crackdown ahead of the vote. It imprisoned thousands of opposition activists and weaponised the criminal justice system to silence dissent, leading to deaths in police custody and enforced disappearances. This repression extended to civil society, with human rights activists and journalists facing harassment, arbitrary detention and violence. The government sponsored fake opposition candidates to create an illusion of competition, resulting in plummeting voter turnout and a crisis of legitimacy.

When opposition rallies occurred, they were met with overwhelming force. On 28 October 2023, police responded to a major opposition protest in Dhaka with rubber bullets, teargas and stun grenades, resulting in at least 16 deaths, with thousands injured and detained.

The situation deteriorated further after the election. In June 2024, the reinstatement of a controversial quota system for public sector jobs triggered mass student-led protests that would ultimately topple Hasina’s government. These protests rapidly evolved into a broader revolt against entrenched corruption, economic inequality and political impunity.

The government’s response was systematically brutal. According to a United Nations fact-finding report, between July and August security forces killed as many as 1,400 people, including many children, often shooting protesters at point-blank range. They denied the injured medical care and intimidated hospital staff. The scale of violence eventually led the military to refuse further involvement, forcing Hasina to resign and flee Bangladesh.

Reform efforts amid political discord

The interim government identified three core priorities: institutional reforms, trials of perpetrators of political violence and elections. Its initial months brought significant progress. The government released detained protesters and human rights defenders, signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and established a commission of inquiry into enforced disappearances.

This commission documented around 1,700 complaints and found evidence of systematic use of enforced disappearances to target political opponents and activists, with direct complicity by Hasina and senior officials. In October, the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal issued arrest warrants for Hasina and 44 others for massacres during the 2024 protests, although the tribunal has a troubled history and retains the death penalty, contrary to international norms.

The Constitution Reform Commission has proposed expanding fundamental rights, with a bicameral parliament and term limits for top offices. However, the process has been undermined by the exclusion of major political players – most notably the AL – and minority groups.

Political tensions escalated as the interim government faced mounting pressure to set a general election date. Opposition parties accused it of deliberate stalling. The army chief publicly demanded elections by the end of 2025, while student groups sought postponement until reforms and justice were secured. After initial uncertainty, the government announced the election would occur in April 2026.

The most dramatic escalation came in May, when the interim government banned all AL activities under the Anti-Terrorism Act following renewed protests. The Election Commission subsequently suspended the AL’s registration, effectively barring it from future elections and fundamentally altering Bangladesh’s political landscape.

Economic challenges compound these political difficulties. Bangladesh remains fragile after devastating floods in 2024, while the banking sector faces stress from surging non-performing loans. Inflation continues outpacing wage growth and economic austerity measures agreed with the International Monetary Fund have sparked fresh protests.

Authoritarian patterns persist

Despite promises of change, old patterns of repression prove stubborn. Human rights groups document ongoing security forces abuses, including arbitrary arrests of opposition supporters and journalists, denial of due process and continued lack of accountability for past crimes. In the first two months of 2025 alone, over 1,000 police cases were filed against tens of thousands of people, mainly AL members or perceived supporters. A February crackdown on Hasina’s supporters led to over 1,300 arrests.

Press freedom remains severely threatened. In November, the interim government revoked the accreditation of 167 journalists. Around 140 journalists viewed as aligned with the previous regime have faced charges, with 25 accused of crimes against humanity, forcing many into hiding. Attacks on media outlets continue, including vandalism of newspaper offices.

The draft Cyber Protection Ordinance, intended to replace the repressive Cyber Security Act, has drawn criticism for retaining vague provisions criminalising defamation and ‘hurting religious sentiments’ while granting authorities sweeping powers for warrantless searches. Rights groups warn this law could stifle dissent in the run-up to elections.

Uncertain path forward

Bangladesh’s journey demonstrates that democratic transitions are inherently difficult, nonlinear and deeply contested processes. Democracy isn’t a guaranteed outcome, but the chances improve when political leaders are genuinely committed to reform and inclusive dialogue, and political players, civil society and the public practise sustained vigilance.

While the interim government has achieved steps unthinkable under the previous regime, the persistence of arbitrary arrests, attacks on journalists and the exclusion of key political players suggests authoritarianism’s shadow still looms large.

The upcoming general election will provide a crucial test of whether Bangladesh can finally turn the page on authoritarianism. The answer lies in whether Bangladeshis across government, civil society and beyond are able to build something genuinely new. The stakes are high in a country where many have already sacrificed much for the promise of democratic freedom.

Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, 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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Credit: UNOCHA/Giles Clarke

By Praise Nutakor
NEW YORK, Jul 7 2025 (IPS)

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

“Now I understand it’s to keep him safe,” N’beta said, watching Seco become one of 250,000 children protected in 2024 with a simple but life-saving dose.

Malaria remains a deadly threat across Africa, especially for children under five. But with support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and its partners are reaching the most vulnerable, particularly in hard-to-reach communities.

In Chad, 9.4 million mosquito nets were distributed using a fully digitalized system in 2023, protecting 3.5 million households. In Burundi, 1.3 million people were protected through indoor spraying in 2024. In Guinea-Bissau, malaria prevalence dropped by more than half in just three years from 2020-2023.

But malaria is only one of the threats.
In South Sudan, tuberculosis (TB) continues to claim lives, often undetected.

“Not everyone can read and interpret an X-ray report,” said Dr. Ofere Ohide, a Radiologist at Torit State Hospital. “But with new AI-assisted X-ray machines, even clinics without power or specialists can now detect TB early,” he says of the digital x-ray machines provided through the Global Fund support.

These innovations, combined with decentralized care and improved case notification, helped 92% of people with TB receive treatment in 2023, contributing to a 75% drop in TB-related deaths in South Sudan since 2015. Similarly, close to 20,000 people got cured of TB out of about 23,000 TB cases registered in 2023 representing 85% treatment success rate.

And then there’s HIV – a virus that once devastated entire generations.
In Zimbabwe, where AIDS once slashed life expectancy to 45 years, progress has been hard-won. One young woman, Princess, 17, a survivor of sexual abuse, found strength through a Global Fund-supported comprehensive sexuality education programme delivered by UNDP and partners.

“I reclaimed my voice and will use it to ensure justice for survivors of abuse,” she said, now dreaming of becoming a lawyer.

In Angola, 22-year-old Ana Alexandre became a peer educator after joining sessions on sexual and reproductive health. “I am no longer ashamed to talk about sexuality,” she shared. “My little sister can come to me and ask things… I answer normally and clearly.”

Since 2003, UNDP and the Global Fund have worked hand-in-hand with governments, civil society, and communities to end HIV, TB, and malaria, even in the most fragile settings. In Africa, countries supported by UNDP and the Global Fund include Angola, Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Guinea-Bissau, Zimbabwe, São Tomé and Príncipe, Mozambique, and South Sudan.

In 2023 alone:
1.5 million people received HIV treatment
44,000 people were treated for TB
13.1 million mosquito nets were distributed to prevent malaria

To all the partners of the Global Fund including the governments of Germany, France, Portugal, Japan, the UK, Canada, the EU, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands – thank you. Your support is not just saving lives. It is restoring dignity, hope, and the promise of a healthier, more prosperous, and secure future.

But the work is not done.
To protect every child like Seco, to empower every girl like Princess, and to reach every community still at risk, we must keep going. Continued investment, including in the Global Fund’s Eighth Replenishment, is essential to ensure health for all and end HIV, TB and malaria by 2030.

Praise Nutakor is Partnerships and Communications Specialist, UN Development Programme (UNDP)

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Pedro Sánchez, Ursula Von der Leyen, António Guterres, from left to right, at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development. Credit: Dati Bendo/European Union

By Michael Galant
NEW YORK, Jul 4 2025 (IPS)

UN Member States adopted the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ at the Fourth Financing for Development Forum (FfD4) which concluded July 3– the culmination of months of contentious negotiations that pitted wealthy nations against the developing world in competing visions for reform of the global economic architecture.

The wide-ranging outcome document will be met with both fanfare — from the host countries and UN officials keen to portray the process as a success — and criticism — from civil society groups lamenting the watering down of material commitments into so many toothless words. But buried in its 38 pages is a single paragraph that quietly plants the seed for a more transformative agenda:

We will establish a platform for borrower countries with support from existing institutions, and a UN entity serving as its secretariat. The platform may be used to discuss technical issues, share information and experiences in addressing debt challenges, increase access to technical assistance and capacity building in debt management, coordinate approaches, and strengthen borrower countries’ voices in the global debt architecture.

Uniting borrowing countries has long been a dream of those concerned with the imbalance of power in the global financial system. Creditors are organized into collectives like the Paris Club, they argue; so too should debtors work together to build collective negotiating power, underwritten by the threat of a coordinated default.

With two thirds of low-income and a quarter of middle-income countries in or near debt distress, a common negotiating front could not only obtain better terms of restructuring during times of crisis, but also bolster demands for lasting reforms of a failing system that keeps countries trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and underdevelopment.

This is easier said than done.

Developing countries, and the economic elites that typically govern them, are dependent on international finance, and reluctant to do anything that might spook financial markets. Simultaneously overcoming these fears in multiple countries, each with their own contexts and interests, is a tall order.

The FFD document thus conspicuously avoids the language of a “debtors’ club” or any threat of collective negotiation or default, leading instead with more neutral modes of cooperation like information-sharing and capacity-building. But even tentative steps toward cooperation can have a meaningful impact. Indeed, they have before.

In June 1984, eleven Latin American countries met in Cartagena, Colombia to coordinate their responses to the debt crisis that had by then roiled the region for two years. The resulting Cartagena Consensus was clear that it was not a “debtors’ club,” but a forum for collaboration. The group would meet five times in the years that would follow, developing common positions on the source of the crisis and the terms of its resolution.

The Cartagena Consensus is often held up as a cautionary tale for debtors considering coordination. The Group never became a fully realized “debtors’ club” capable of collective negotiation, and petered out before the crisis was resolved as creditors peeled away desperate debtors with sweetheart deals.

But even the tacit threat that a club could be in formation bore fruit. Principles developed collectively shaped early deals, the concessions from which bolstered the positions of subsequent negotiators, and less confrontational governments benefitted from gains won by the more radical.

As scholar Diana Tussie wrote at the time: “a significant improvement in the cost of the negotiated credit was achieved, spreads were reduced, rescheduling fees were drastically reduced, the cost of the loan was reduced, and the amortization period increased significantly.”

Rhetorically, the Consensus helped recast the crisis as a political one, rooted in global financial inequities and exogenous factors like rising interest rates in advanced economies, rather than a purely technocratic or moralistic question of responsible spending.

Today’s multilateral commitment to form a borrowers’ platform has advantages that Cartagena did not. While the developing world is facing a generalized debt crisis, it is not in the acute situation that beset the Cartagena Consensus, and so has an opportunity to gradually build its infrastructure under less desperate conditions.

The borrowers’ platform is to operate with UN support and a wider range of global participants. And the emergence of major new bilateral creditors, though not without its own challenges, may strengthen debtors’ negotiating hands.

Of course, the global debt challenge cannot be reduced to a zero-sum restructuring negotiation. Substantive reforms are needed to address the many faults in the debt system, from ongoing legislative efforts to combat creditor holdouts in Albany, to the establishment of a permanent multilateral sovereign debt workout mechanism — a top priority of debt relief advocates.

Yet these efforts have repeatedly been blocked by the intransigence of creditors. Movement toward reform will only be strengthened by the coordination of the countries that stand to benefit most.

A promise to establish a borrowers’ platform is far from a fully realized debtors’ club, and farther still from a panacea to the Global South’s ongoing debt crisis. But in a document short on transformative ambition, it is a concrete step toward the rebalancing of unequal power relations — and a sign that debtor countries will not submit themselves to creditor inaction forever.

Michael Galant is Senior Research and Outreach Associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (cepr.net) in Washington, DC.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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By Andrew Firmin
LONDON, Jul 4 2025 (IPS)

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

An infamous anniversary is approaching. 30 June will mark five years since the passing of Hong Kong’s draconian national security law. Imposed on the supposedly autonomous territory by the Chinese government, the law made it a crime to call for democracy, leading to numerous jail sentences.

Last year, the Hong Kong authorities gave themselves still more powers to suppress dissent by passing another law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. Already, police have used the new law to arrest over 300 people, including for such trivial offences as wearing T-shirts with protest slogans.

Democracy movement ruthlessly suppressed

The heady days of Hong Kong’s vibrant youth-led democracy movement, which erupted into large-scale protests in 2019, are a distant memory. It’s been so long now that some of those jailed have been freed from prison at the end of their sentences. But the authorities are determined to keep persecuting the most high-profile activists.

Wong’s case exemplifies the authorities’ determination to silence prominent voices. The young activist is the movement’s most famous faces. He’s been repeatedly jailed for protest-related offences going back to 2017, and has now spent over four years in prison either serving sentences or awaiting further trials. He’s now charged with conspiring to collude with foreign forces, for allegedly working with exiled democracy activists to urge international sanctions on China, a crime under the national security law.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Lai’s trial continues. The former media owner used his Apple Daily newspaper to support the democracy movement, until the authorities forced it to close in 2021. Like Wong, Lai has already received several sentences, but his current drawn-out trial is on the more serious charges of colluding with foreign forces and conspiring to publish seditious materials.

Lai, who also holds British citizenship, has been held in solitary confinement since December 2020. He’s 77 years old and in poor health, and his family are concerned that in such conditions he might not withstand the fierce heat of another summer. The authorities clearly intend for him to die in jail.

Tradition of dissent crushed

The Hong Kong of today is unrecognisable from the country once promised. When the UK handed the territory over to China in 1997, it was under a treaty in which the Chinese state committed to maintaining its separate political system for 50 years. This included guarantees to uphold civic freedoms. But China has unilaterally torn up that agreement and is determined to make Hong Kong indistinguishable from the totalitarian mainland.

On top of criminalising thousands of protesters, the authorities have thoroughly suppressed a once vibrant media. Hong Kong now stands at 140 out of 180 countries on Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index; in 2018, before the current intensive crackdown began, it was in 70th place. Recently, journalists have been subjected to a systematic campaign of anonymous harassment and intimidation. Authorities have started to target journalists and media companies for supposedly random tax audits.

In these conditions, many civil society groups, political parties and media houses have had no choice but to shut down, while international media have been forced to relocate. In April, it was the turn of Hong Kong’s oldest and biggest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, to close. Long a moderate voice that was careful not to speak out against China, it had nonetheless recently received warnings from Chinese state officials.

The timing reveals the authorities’ desire for absolute control. The next election for the Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s parliament, is due in December, and in democracies, parties gear up rather than close down ahead of elections. But most Legislative Council seats aren’t directly elected and only pro-China candidates are allowed to stand. With this latest party closure, the authorities are evidently intent on denying even the prospect of token opposition.

In the face of the crackdown, some democracy activists have managed to escape into exile, but there’s no safety there, since China is the world’s number one transnational repressor. In 2023 and 2024, the authorities placed a bounty on the heads of 19 exiled activists, offering rewards for their capture.

Hong Kong authorities have stripped exiles of passports, while police have targeted their families for questioning. May saw a further escalation, when police arrested the father and brother of US-based exile Anna Kwok, one of the 19 with a price on their heads.

Ever-growing control

The Chinese state’s reach now extends to the most trivial aspects of daily life. Pro-China informants report people who fall foul of laws, and there’s seemingly no act of rebellion too small to escape official notice. In June, Hong Kong police warned people not to download a mobile phone game developed in Taiwan on the grounds it was secessionist. Teachers – who must deliver a pro-China curriculum – have been instructed not to attend 4 July events organised by the US consulate, and to discourage students attending. Education minister Christine Choi Yuk-lin recently warned of the dangers of book fairs and other acts of ‘soft resistance’ in schools.

The Chinese state now holds all the cards in Hong Kong. But Hong Kong’s story isn’t just about a small territory’s loss of freedom: it’s a warning to the world about what happens when authoritarianism advances unchecked. As Wong faces the prospect of life imprisonment for the crime of calling for democracy and Lai withers in solitary confinement, the international community must review its commitment to democracy. The very least Hong Kong’s underground and exiled activists deserve is international solidarity and support to ensure their safety against attacks. As their struggle continues, the world shouldn’t look away.

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 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that the minimum economic cost of biological invasions globally from 1970 to 2017 is USD 1.2 trillion. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPS

By Richard Bugan
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Jul 4 2025 (IPS)

Concerns about the impacts of invasive species is not new; it dates to the 19th century. The term was popularized in Charles Elton’s 1958 book “The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants”. However, the concept gained significant attention in the 1990s and early 2000s as academic interest surged. This led to an increase in publications by invasion biologists.

Today, the impact of invasive species has increased significantly, with regions with fragile ecosystems being more vulnerable than others. Globally, the scale of the problem is staggering. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that the minimum economic cost of biological invasions globally from 1970 to 2017 is USD 1.2 trillion. This figure accounts for expenses related to the prevention, reduction, or mitigation of damages caused by these species.

In Africa, a continent expected to be severely affected by climate change, the challenges posed by invasive species are expected to worsen. Among the most pressing is the spread of invasive plants, which not only endanger native biodiversity but also impact the economy, water security, food security and livelihoods.

One such example can be found in South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region, which is known for its remarkable plant diversity, where 70% of plant species are unique to this area.

In catchment areas of the Western Cape Water Supply System, critical for the water supply to Cape Town, invasive trees are responsible for the loss of up to 55 million cubic meters of water per year—equivalent to about two months’ water supply for the city. If not managed, this loss could increase to 100 million cubic meters per year by 2045.

It is evident that the Earth is approaching a tipping point in terms of biodiversity loss, and there is no time to waste. Many scientists, including myself, are deeply concerned about the impact of these water-consuming invasive trees.

Richard Bugan

As the Science, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in South Africa, I lead a team dedicated to using sound science to monitor and evaluate the progress of the Greater Cape Town Water Fund, which was launched in 2018 by TNC and its partners as South Africa’s first Water Fund.

Our work includes tracking the hectares cleared in pursuit of our 2026 target of 59,300 hectares cleared, along with assessing the associated water benefits and biodiversity impacts (for both freshwater ecosystems and the recovery of native fynbos).

As of February 2025, the Water Fund has cleared 33,000 hectares (56% of the target) and completed follow-up clearing efforts across 31,000 hectares to prevent regrowth of invasive species and maintain the cleared areas. This effort has reclaimed approximately 34 million cubic meters of water per year to the benefit of both people and the environment.

TNC is committed to accurately quantifying the impact of invasive trees on water resources in South Africa. This is achieved through the application of hydrological models and infield monitoring activities. During October 2019 – February 2020, six catchments around Theewaterskloof Dam, were instrumented with streamflow and rainfall monitoring equipment. The results of this hydrological monitoring represent a unique opportunity to provide measured evidence of the water benefits achieved through the clearing of invasive trees.

But we are learning that our monitoring activities can hit a snag due to potential equipment failures, storms, and wildfires, which pose risks to their success. To address these challenges, we upgraded the paired catchment monitoring stations in December 2024 through the support of Microsoft. A new telemetry system was installed, linking each piece of equipment via radio frequency and the mobile network. This enhancement significantly reduced the risk of data loss, improved accuracy, and supported the long-term resilience of the monitoring.

After almost six years of monitoring, we are frequently asked whether clearing invasive trees is increasing streamflow. Preliminary results suggest that reference (fynbos dominated) catchments exhibit, on average, a 34% increase in annual streamflow volumes compared to invaded catchments. This represents a significant amount of water, benefiting both people and nature in this beautiful region. We are excited about these incontrovertible findings as they provide concrete evidence of the benefits derived from the removal of invasive trees.

Restoring biodiversity to its original state may take a long time. However, I am just as excited about this moment. The fact that we can contribute every day to a matter of international importance is a gradual step to success.

The author is the Science, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager (TNC South Africa)