European Union

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct 13 2026 (IPS)

The protracted demise of dollar-gold convertibility and associated fixed exchange rates did not end dollar hegemony. With crucial and timely help from political allies, confidence in the dollar system has persisted, albeit much diminished.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Contingency planning?
On August 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon announced that the US would no longer convert dollars into gold, as promised under the 1944 Bretton Woods (BW) agreement.

But the BW payments arrangements and the US promise of dollar convertibility to gold were not sustainable. As Robert Triffin noted in 1960, the system was ‘failing by design’ from the outset, which US authorities denied and refused to address.

Vietnam War spending, rising inflation, and a run on US gold reserves forced this decision after allied Western central banks quietly gave up defending the gold-dollar peg in 1968.

Decades later, then-US Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs Paul Volcker revealed he had initiated a Treasury working group in 1969.

As the US balance of payments was already proving unsustainable, suspending gold-dollar convertibility was no longer considered an option to be avoided at all costs.

Portraying the gold peg’s failure as due to arithmetic, not politics, Volcker argued that suspending it involved implementing contingency planning that the group had long considered.

Two days before, Nixon summoned 15 advisors to a secret retreat at Camp David to draft his announcement. He also imposed a 90-day wage-price ‘freeze’ and a 10% tariff on imports.

Thus, Nixon presented the suspension of dollar convertibility to gold as part of a larger economic policy reform package, rather than as the long-overdue default on earlier US pledges.

With his 1972 re-election campaign approaching, Nixon and his Treasury Secretary, John Connally, claimed to be ‘freeing’ US economic policy by ending dollar-gold convertibility and associated fixed exchange rate obligations.

Clearly, Nixon’s mid-August 1971 announcement was not an improvised response to an emergency or even the sudden break he implied, although the Volcker group preferred a more ‘controlled demolition’.

US dollar, others’ problem
When allied finance ministers were negotiating a replacement arrangement in Rome in November 1971, Connally bluntly told them that the dollar was America’s currency but their problem, belatedly confessing to BW’s true nature.

Nonetheless, their December 1971 Smithsonian Agreement still sought to patch things up rather than explicitly abandon the 1944 arrangement and the later efforts to defend it.

The dollar was devalued against gold for the first time since 1934, with its price rising from $35 to $38 an ounce. Trading bands around other currencies were widened to give central banks more flexibility.

Nixon pronounced the 1971 Smithsonian Agreement the most significant monetary arrangement in world history before the dollar was devalued again 14 months later, in February 1973.

National authorities politically aligned with the US had defended it, but eventually stopped paying to maintain the charade. Thus, a year and a half after August 1971, BW was finally buried.

Within weeks, the major currencies abandoned fixed exchange rates altogether, allowing them to float against one another. Although the transition to floating rates was not smooth, it has survived, with modifications, ever since.

But the ‘settlement gap’ time lag under floating exchange rates is so problematic that international banking regulators have long sought to reform the way cross-border currency trades are cleared.

Charade over?
Although BW is now long gone, the dollar system has proven durable. The end of gold convertibility was not fatal to the dollar’s role at the centre of world finance.

Instead, the end of the BW dollar-gold convertibility obligation removed one constraint on it. After the final break with gold in 1973, the dollar was only backed by US government promises.

Gold’s formal demonetisation was confirmed with the 1976 Jamaica Accords when IMF member governments quietly amended its charter to strip the precious metal of any official role.

Freed from its earlier BW obligation to redeem dollars with gold, the US has financed its trade, current account, and fiscal deficits, as well as foreign and domestic government spending, with ever more dollar debt.

The world has increasingly financed the growth of US debt as the dollar remains the main currency in which most international trade, especially in commodities, is priced and settled.

The IMF had policed fixed exchange rates and gold-dollar convertibility for over two decades after the war. It has since changed roles to oversee floating exchange rates, selectively serve as ‘lender of last resort’ and manage sovereign debt crises.

International oil transactions were mainly settled in ‘petrodollars’, due to an arrangement with Saudi and other Gulf producers to use oil sales revenue to buy US Treasury securities.

The status quo is now based on others’ willingness to hold dollars. But growing concerns about US willingness to honour its commitments have caused governments to consider alternatives. But dollar hegemony has weathered such recent storms so far.

IPS UN Bureau

 

 

 

 

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By Frans Viljoen
PRETORIA, South Africa, Oct 12 2026 (IPS)

The awarding of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to distinguished South African jurist and international judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay is about more than just the recognition of an exceptional individual in the global fight for justice.

Navi Pillay-Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

It’s clear that the prize also speaks to a bigger context. It comes at a time of pressure on and the questioning of the international legal order.

Pillay’s recognition affirms the conviction that international law, however imperfectly applied, remains indispensable to a peaceful world.

Making history

It is a proud moment for South Africa. She becomes the fifth South African to receive this honour, following resistance leader Chief Albert Luthuli in 1960, religious leader and activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1984, and former presidents Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk in 1993.

She is the first South African woman to receive the peace award. Her prize is a further break with its historical tendency to mostly honour “highly educated white men from Europe and the US”.

Similar to her South African predecessors, the struggle against apartheid and white minority rule features as a crucial element of her contribution. However, there is an important difference. While Mandela became a global symbol of reconciliation, Pillay took the lessons of South Africa’s struggle into the international arena. There she became leader and institution builder in her own right.

She had the daunting task of being one of the very first international judges responsible for forging into being international institutions intended to ensure that those responsible for the gravest human rights violations are held accountable.

She was on the first bench of judges of both the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, established by the United Nations (UN) following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2003 to 2008.

Her personality and drive endowed these fledgling institutions with gravitas and legitimacy. Through her pioneering contributions, she has come to personify the global quest for accountability.

The Navi Pillay I know

As a scholar of international human rights law, I first met Pillay when she was president of the Rwanda tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania. She struck me then, and over time continued to impress me, as someone remarkably approachable. Humble, unassuming and generous with her time, she is also often described as courageous, principled, and unwavering.

I smiled when, in her characteristically down-to-earth reply to the Nobel committee praising her courage, she insisted she was merely applying her independent legal mind to the stark principles of justice.

When I first met her, I was with a group of human rights students from the University of Pretoria visiting Tanzania to observe proceedings. Judge Pillay’s demanding schedule prevented her from spending much time with us during the day. Yet she offered to meet us at her hotel that evening. To our surprise, she arrived driving herself, without a chauffeur or an entourage. She spent many hours answering questions and discussing the work of the tribunal.

Similar encounters continued over subsequent years. To me, these moments revealed her understanding of human rights institutions not as remote structures, but as belonging to people. This included young Africans who she hoped would one day help shape their future.

From apartheid to global justice

Pillay’s story is held together by a central belief, whether in response to apartheid in South Africa, genocide in Rwanda or the occupation of Palestinian territory: that law can restrain abusive power, protect victims and hold the powerful to account. She simply applied it on a bigger stage each time.

Born in 1941 in Durban, to a family of Indian Tamil origin, Pillay experienced racial and gender discrimination first-hand. Despite this, she built a legal career. In 1967 she became the first woman of colour to establish a legal practice in her province.

Like many lawyers opposed to apartheid, she sought to use the very legal system that sustained injustice to challenge its abuses. She represented political activists, exposed torture and challenged the treatment of political prisoners.

She was also involved in the Women’s National Coalition, which helped shape the equality provisions of South Africa’s democratic constitution. These prohibit discrimination on grounds including race, sex and sexual orientation. After apartheid ended, Mandela in 1995 appointed her as a High Court judge.

Rape as a crime against humanity

Later that year she took up office in Tanzania, where one of her most enduring global contributions came in the Rwanda tribunal’s landmark 1998 judgement.

During the trial of Jean-Paul Akayesu, accused of the slaughter of thousands, Pillay and another judge questioned witnesses about sexual violence. They helped bring these experiences into the open and contributed to the amendment of the indictment to include rape.

The result was a judgment that recognised rape as a crime against humanity. It established that rape and sexual violence could also constitute acts of genocide.

The decision constituted the first conviction for genocide by an international criminal tribunal and the first conviction of an individual for rape as a crime against humanity by such a tribunal. This opened the way for greater accountability for crimes committed disproportionately against women and girls.

As Pillay put it:

From time immemorial, rape has been regarded as spoils of war. Now it will be considered a war crime.

Human rights within the UN

From 2008 to 2014, Pillay served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the first woman from the global south to hold this position.

It required a different form of leadership. Rather than deciding cases as a judge, she had to engage governments, confront violations and persuade states to honour their international obligations. During her tenure, she managed to steer the UN’s human rights work through turbulent times, including the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the Arab Spring, and civil war in Syria. Her voice was a steadfast pillar of clarity: human rights could not be sacrificed to economic expediency, national sovereignty or political convenience.

Her tenure coincided with significant advances within the UN. She was a consistent advocate for the rights of equality based on sexual orientation and gender identity, anti-discrimination laws, and proper recording of hate crimes.

In 2001, her home city, Durban, hosted the UN’s World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. The Durban Declaration set an international agenda against racism and xenophobia. It also acknowledged slavery as a crime against humanity.

Although she had no official role in the 2001 conference, as UN high commissioner she was closely involved in the subsequent review process. She defended the declaration against misrepresentation. She emphasised its condemnation of antisemitism, remembrance of the Holocaust and recognition of Israel’s right to security.

Despite boycotts by several western states, including the US, she helped steer the 2009 Durban Review Conference towards a consensus reaffirming the declaration, supported by 182 states. Her role exemplified her determination to overcome division and backlash without compromising fundamental human rights principles.

Pillay’s term was also characterised by a distinctive contribution to women’s rights by championing the recognition of preventable maternal deaths as a human rights issue, rather than merely a public health concern. Under her leadership, the UN Human Rights Office developed groundbreaking guidance in 2012 requiring governments to address discrimination, maternal healthcare and accountability for avoidable deaths.

Palestine and genocide

More recently, she took up her last official UN duty as chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. The commission’s investigations and findings, including on the war in Gaza, have generated considerable controversy and strong criticism, particularly from Israel and the US.

Her dedication to this task illustrates an essential feature of her work: the application of legal principles becomes most difficult, and most necessary, when politically powerful actors reject scrutiny.

A time when hope is needed

The timing of this award is therefore particularly telling. It comes as, only days earlier, US president Donald Trump had called the ICC “evil” and urged all its members to resign. Responding to the prize, the US imposed sanctions on the ICC.

By honouring a former ICC judge, the Nobel committee chose to defend the very institutions that are now “under attack”, with their judges “sanctioned”.

The award also comes amid Israel’s growing international isolation. Pillay and her team concluded in 2025 that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

The commission’s findings do not constitute a binding judicial determination. But they do represent a significant contribution to documenting alleged atrocities and advancing the pursuit of accountability, despite intense political opposition.

Even as Pillay recently celebrated her 85th birthday, she may soon have another word on genocide. Since 2019, she has been sitting as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice in the case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar concerning alleged genocide against the Rohingya. Following a public hearing in January 2026, a judgment in this case is expected later this year, or in early 2027.

Her Nobel Prize does not suggest that international justice has triumphed. But it reminds us that the structures built to advance it remain worth defending. Recognising Pillay is an affirmation of what has been achieved, but also about what must not be lost.

Frans Viljoen – Professor of International Human Rights Law, SARChI Chair in International Constitutional Law, University of Pretoria

This story was originally published by The Conversation.

IPS UN Bureau

 

 

 

 

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Photos of the Rasuwa flood missing line the walls of the Teaching Hospital, Tribhuvan University. Credit: Brandon Kohrt

By Diwash Gahatraj
KATHMANDU, Oct 12 2026 (IPS)

Nearly three decades ago, in the final stretch of Nepal’s civil war, Dr Brandon Kohrt sat with parents whose sons had been conscripted as child soldiers and never returned.

Nobody could tell them what had happened, whether their sons were alive somewhere, whether they were dead, or even where to begin looking. That absence of an answer, Kohrt says, never really left those families. It is the same absence now facing thousands of households across Nepal, after catastrophic floods swept away entire communities.

On August 26, floods and landslides tore down the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river valleys in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, killing well over a thousand people and leaving thousands more missing, one of the deadliest natural disasters in the country’s recent history.

Kohrt has spent nearly 25 years in Nepal, long enough to watch the country move through this same unresolved grief again and again, first during that war, then after a devastating earthquake, and now, once more, before a wall of missing-persons photographs at Kathmandu’s Teaching Hospital.

Only a small fraction of the recovered bodies have been identified so far. These missing men and women are not just numbers — they add up to a history that stretches back decades in Nepal to that same conflict and the earthquakes that followed it, when entire families waited years for people who never returned. Tracking these disappearances and the psychological toll they leave on families and Nepali society at large has occupied Kohrt ever since.

Kohrt is a professor of psychiatry, global health, and anthropology at George Washington University and has served since 2006 as a technical advisor to the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal.

Much of his work centres on ambiguous loss, the specific, suspended grief that comes when someone is gone but there’s no body, no confirmation, and nothing to mourn against. The term was coined in the 1970s by Pauline Boss, an American family therapist who began studying it through the wives of US soldiers missing in action in Vietnam, women who couldn’t say for certain whether they were married or widowed.

Boss found the condition wasn’t confined to one culture or one kind of disaster. Researchers have since studied it among families of the disappeared during Argentina’s military dictatorship, families of migrants lost crossing borders in Europe and Africa, and among the families with whom Kohrt sat decades ago. He has worked directly with Boss for over a decade and has applied her framework in Nepal for years before this disaster ever struck.

In the weeks since the floods struck, that gap between the dead and the missing has filled with people. Nepali families search alongside Indian, American, Ukrainian, and Malaysian families thousands of miles away, all waiting on the same uncertain word.

IPS spoke with him about what that grief looks like this time, what’s changed for him after his years of returning to the same wound, and what he’s learned, watching people find ways to keep living without an answer.

Dr Brandon Kohrt, professor of psychiatry, global health, and anthropology at George Washington University and technical advisor to the Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation, Nepal.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

IPS: For readers encountering the term for the first time, what is ambiguous loss?

Kohrt: It’s an important psychological concept, and I want to say at the outset, it is not a mental illness. It’s something anyone can go through. It’s when you still have the psychological sense of someone’s presence in your life, typically a loved one, but there is no physical evidence of either their life or their death. There’s no phone call, no video, nothing to prove they’re still living. But there’s also no body, no proof that they’re deceased.

Nearly every culture has rituals around a body that help us mourn and accept a loss. When there’s no body, we’re stuck in emotional limbo, caught between hope and despair. Some people jump right away to accept their loved one is gone, even without confirmation. Others maintain hope beyond even expectations of reality. We’re all on a different spectrum, and it’s very personal, very individualised. Ambiguous loss is also a real risk factor for what we call complicated grief, a longer, more psychologically difficult kind of mourning, with a higher risk of depression and anxiety.

With 6,145 people still missing in Nepal and only a fraction of recovered remains identified, that state of unresolved uncertainty isn’t abstract. It’s the present condition of thousands of families right now. IPS asked Kohrt how Nepal has faced this same experience before.

IPS: You’ve now worked in Nepal through the Maoist conflict, the 2015 earthquake, and this flood. What connects them?

Kohrt: I first came to Nepal in 1996, right at the start of the civil war. Toward the end of it, I worked with an organisation here, TPO Nepal, on the mental health needs of former child soldiers. Some of those parents never found out what happened to their children. Ambiguous loss was part of the psychosocial reality here even then, decades before this flood, and those families often carried an added burden – communities sometimes treated them with suspicion or blame simply for having a missing relative linked to the conflict, something families searching after this flood aren’t facing in the same way, since so many communities have been affected together.

After the 2015 earthquake, most bodies were recovered, and families were able to do funeral rites, but there are still villages, not far from where this disaster has struck now, where landslides buried people who were never found. This isn’t Nepal’s first experience with this exact kind of unresolved loss in some of these same communities.

A house damaged by the Rasuwa flood. Credit: Brandon Kohrt

IPS: In Nepal specifically, are there rituals that help families cope when there’s no body?

Kohrt: There’s a ritual called Kush Kriya, using grass to essentially perform a substitute funeral when there’s no body. It’s very helpful, but people need to be ready for it. Some may feel like they haven’t exhausted every possible avenue to find their loved one, and they’ll refuse to do it. There’s also a different ritual, Bakal Garne, more like a promise or a wish, maybe to a temple, maybe releasing fish into a river. That one doesn’t require accepting death. You can do a Bakal Garne hoping for your loved one’s safe return or simply hoping to find their body so you can do the cremation you need to do.

Even without an old ritual to lean on, Kohrt says, people still need something to actively do.

IPS: You mentioned people in Nepal are giving DNA samples right now, sometimes more than one, in different countries. What does that process do for a family psychologically?

Brandon Kohrt: Providing a DNA sample has a symbolic meaning that goes beyond its forensic purpose. You’re taking a piece of yourself and giving it in hopes of finding your loved one. Even if the result never confirms anything, the act itself becomes almost another form of ritual. People need to feel active and engaged, rather than passive and helpless.

That instinct, to act rather than wait, is something Kohrt has watched play out across every disaster he’s worked through in Nepal.

IPS: Does arriving at a disaster site feel different to you now than it did 25 years ago, or does something in you brace the same way each time?

Brandon Kohrt: With the earthquake, you could walk through neighbourhoods and see and touch the destruction right in front of you. But with the flood, when I arrived in Nuwakot, I could see some destroyed buildings and others submerged in mud. What you can’t see are all the buildings, bridges, vehicles, and people that were taken by the flood and washed away. This is much more a disaster of absence than a typical disaster of ruins. This will be something much more common with climate change-related disasters, where places gradually and abruptly disappear.

Professionally, the biggest difference is going from being hands-on in the response to being more of a supportive observer. Foreign expertise really isn’t needed anymore; there’s such a strong local Nepali mental health emergency response community now, from psychiatrists to community psychosocial workers.

One colleague, who I first hired at TPO Nepal twenty years ago, is now leading donor coordination and setting out a vision for what’s needed over the next three years. If foreign aid and development is successful, you should get to a point where disaster response is led locally, like we’re seeing in Nepal now.

IPS: You described the photo wall at Teaching Hospital. What does it do to you personally, standing there again?

Kohrt: It was really difficult standing in front of the wall of photos. What is so hard is thinking that behind each photo there are so many family members and friends wondering what happened to this person. Some are holding out hope; some are trying to accept the loss and move toward grief. Each face represents someone who was a sister, a mother, a daughter, a friend, a neighbour, or a coworker to all these other people. For every face we see, there are scores of people suffering.

A house damaged by the Rasuwa flood. Credit: Brandon Kohrt

IPS: Do you find yourself getting better at holding this kind of grief over the years, or does it stay just as hard each time?

Brandon Kohrt: I would say I am better at connecting with grief, acknowledging and sharing in others’ grief. A year after the earthquakes, I was in Nepal when one of my brothers died in the United States. I didn’t make it home in time to see his body before he went to the hospital morgue and was cremated.

I remember how hard it was grieving without having seen his body. That pales in comparison to the ambiguous loss thousands of families in Nepal are experiencing as the search for bodies continues. But it’s something that comes up for me when I talk to grieving families and hear their stories. It cracks open a window to allow the flow of empathy.

IPS: After all these years, what have you learned about how people manage to keep living when there is no answer forthcoming?

Brandon Kohrt: It’s how people move on. People have an incredible ability to carry a lot inside of them – pain, loss, unfulfilled hope, and grief – and keep moving forward in life. A lot of what people went through with the flood will be something they carry with them psychologically, but day-to-day survival requires focusing on taking care of children, caring for elderly relatives, and finding a new place to live. This shouldn’t be confused with recovery or resilience. It’s just getting by, which so many people do after a disaster. What good psychosocial and mental health support does is be available for those moments when some of that pain and grief can surface so that when people are ready, they have that support waiting for them.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

 

 

 

Religious leaders, representatives of international organizations and Kazakh officials gather for the 24th Secretariat meeting of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions at the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana on October 7, 2026. The gathering reflected Kazakhstan’s longstanding efforts to turn interfaith dialogue into practical international cooperation. Credit: The press service of the congress.

By Katsuhiro Asagiri
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, Oct 12 2026 (IPS)

In a world increasingly divided by war, political distrust and competing ideologies, Kazakhstan has spent more than two decades pursuing an unusual diplomatic undertaking: keeping representatives of different religions in conversation.

Erlan Karin, Vice President of Kazakhstan and Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, addresses the 24th Secretariat meeting at the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana on October 7, 2026. He emphasized the role of spiritual diplomacy in building trust and complementing conventional diplomatic efforts. Credit: Congress Press Service

At a meeting in Astana this week, Vice President Erlan Karin made clear that maintaining those conversations was no longer enough.

“Spiritual diplomacy can play a special role,” he told participants. “It doesn’t replace political talks. But it complements them and keeps channels of communication open where diplomatic dialogue is difficult.”

The remarks came at the 24th meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held on Oct. 7 at the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation.

The official participant list named 38 representatives of religious communities, international organizations and Kazakh government institutions, reflecting the forum’s religious and geographical diversity.

Founded in 2003 at the initiative of Kazakhstan’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Congress initially brought 17 delegations from 13 countries to Astana.

It has since developed into an international forum that convenes major gatherings every three years while maintaining contact through its Secretariat.

Pope Francis participated in the seventh Congress in 2022, alongside the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayeb. The eighth Congress, held in September 2025, brought together religious and international representatives around the Astana Peace Declaration.

For Kazakhstan, situated between Russia and China and pursuing relations across competing centers of power, the Congress has become one expression of its wider diplomatic approach: providing a meeting place for governments, religions and civilizations that do not always share political interests.

Kazakhstan’s Legacy of Interfaith Dialogue. This illustration traces the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions from its founding in 2003 under President Nursultan Nazarbayev to the historic 2022 gathering attended by Pope Francis and Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb, and the adoption of the Astana Peace Declaration in 2025 under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Together, these milestones reflect Kazakhstan’s enduring efforts to promote interfaith dialogue, mutual understanding and global peace. Credit: AI-generated illustration/INPS Japan

But its participants are increasingly asking how such encounters can influence events outside the conference hall.

Father Laurent Basanese of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. He emphasized the Vatican’s longstanding commitment to the initiative and the importance of translating interfaith declarations into sustained cooperation.

A Forum That Outlasts Its Meetings

Father Laurent Basanese, representing the Holy See’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, reminded delegates that the Vatican had supported the initiative since its founding.

He recalled Pope Francis’ participation in 2022 and emphasized the continuing work required after declarations are adopted.

The credibility of such statements, he said, ultimately depends on the willingness of their signatories to keep working together.

That concern was echoed by Mohamed Abdelsalam, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Elders, who warned that principles left unimplemented risk becoming little more than words on paper.

“A declaration that is not implemented loses its functionality,” he said, according to the meeting transcript.

The appeal for continuity also came from the United Nations.

Nihal Saad, director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, thanked Kazakhstan for its sustained efforts to promote cooperation across cultural and religious boundaries.

Mohamed Abdelsalam, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders. He emphasized the need to translate interfaith declarations into concrete action for peace and human fraternity. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri/INPS Japan

She pointed to the role of religious leaders in addressing climate change and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence, arguing that governments and technical experts could benefit from the influence of faith communities within society.

The challenge with AI, she said, was ensuring that ethics were “built into the design of AI systems rather than as an afterthought.”

Her remarks placed the Congress within a wider international debate over how technological progress can remain accountable to human values.

Turning Principles Into Projects

Kazakhstan’s latest effort to give the forum a practical role produced two documents adopted at the meeting.

One addresses the contribution of religions to combating climate change. The other establishes 11 ethical principles for using artificial intelligence in religious contexts.

Both emerged from proposals advanced by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the 2025 Congress.

Gulsana Kozhabay, who heads the International Center for Interfaith and Interreligious Dialogue, explained that the climate document had been developed with contributions from 26 religious representatives, diplomats and experts.

Nihal Saad, director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. Credit: The Astana Times

It draws on amanat, a concept rooted in Kazakh cultural heritage that emphasizes responsibility for preserving what one generation receives and passes to the next.

The AI code, refined through an interreligious commission of 24 participants, addresses human dignity, freedom of conscience, religious information and the dangers of algorithmic manipulation.

Contributors included representatives of religious traditions extending far beyond Central Asia, among them Japanese Shinto representatives and Chinese Taoist leaders.

The meeting also considered a different kind of cooperation.

Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Kazakhstan’s first deputy foreign minister, presented a joint initiative with the Holy See: a charter protecting the rights and dignity of children with incurable diseases.

Kazakhstan and the Holy See had agreed on the charter’s text during a separate colloquium in Astana on Oct. 2–3. The Secretariat subsequently supported efforts to advance it internationally.

“When medical science reaches its limits, our human responsibility does not end,” Ashikbayev said in his prepared remarks.

The charter emphasizes palliative care, relief of suffering, parental participation and support for children and their families.

Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He presented a joint Kazakhstan–Holy See initiative to protect the rights and dignity of children with incurable diseases. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri/INPS Japan

Its development, involving medical and bioethical expertise, illustrates how an interreligious relationship can extend into humanitarian cooperation.

The Next Test for Spiritual Diplomacy

None of these initiatives removes the political difficulties surrounding international cooperation.

The two ethical documents are advisory and create no legal obligations. Their influence will depend on whether religious institutions, governments and technology companies act on their recommendations.

These efforts also reflect the security challenges facing Central Asia.

As developments in Afghanistan continue to affect regional stability, Kazakhstan has worked with the United Nations to combat terrorism and prevent violent extremism.

Against this backdrop, Kazakhstan’s ability to sustain an international platform for dialogue among religious leaders of different traditions for more than two decades has become a distinctive feature of its diplomacy, linking regional security concerns with a commitment to religious diversity and mutual understanding.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Karin called for work on a proposed Global Movement for Peace, intended to strengthen cooperation among religious leaders and give spiritual diplomacy a more practical international role.

The pyramid-shaped Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana, Kazakhstan, hosted the 24th Secretariat meeting of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions on October 7, 2026. The landmark symbolizes Kazakhstan’s longstanding commitment to promoting interfaith dialogue, mutual understanding and global peace. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri/INPS Japan

A draft concept and phased plan are to be prepared for consideration in 2027, ahead of the ninth Congress in 2028.

It remains a proposal, not an established peacebuilding mechanism.

But the assignment reflects an important shift in Kazakhstan’s approach: from demonstrating that religious leaders can meet despite their differences to asking what they are prepared to accomplish together.

After 23 years, the country has demonstrated an ability to keep the conversation going.

The next test is whether that conversation can help change the world beyond Astana.

This article is brought to you by INPS Japan in collaboration with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.

IPS UN Bureau

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

Religious leaders and international officials meeting in Astana say a forum built to bridge differences must show that dialogue can produce meaningful action.

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Das Wichtigste in Kürze

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• Probieren Sie die köstliche lokale Küche Spaniens, inklusive Tapas und Paella.

Besuchen Sie historische Städte: Paris, Rom, Prag

Besuchen Sie drei der berühmtesten historischen Städte Europas: Paris, Rom und Prag. Erkunden Sie die ikonischen Sehenswürdigkeiten wie den Eiffelturm, das Kolosseum und die Prager Burg. Diese Städte sind perfekt über das Schienennetz Europa zu erreichen und garantieren Ihnen ein unvergessliches Erlebnis.

Mehr dazu: Die Blaue Banane: Europäische Megaregion

Genießen Sie die Mittelmeerstrände in Italien

Europa Rundreise: Ihr TraumurlaubGenießen Sie die wunderschönen Mittelmeerstrände Italiens. Von den sonnigen Küsten Siziliens bis hin zu den malerischen Buchten der Amalfiküste bietet Italien eine Vielzahl an traumhaften Stränden. Tauchen Sie ein in das kristallklare Wasser des Tyrrhenischen Meeres und entspannen Sie sich auf dem weichen, goldenen Sand unter der warmen mediterranen Sonne. Ob Sie nun nach einem ruhigen Rückzugsort oder nach lebendigen Strandpartys suchen, die italienische Küste hat für jeden etwas zu bieten.

Probieren Sie auch die köstlichen lokalen Spezialitäten in den vielen Strandrestaurants. Frischer Fisch, hausgemachte Pasta und erlesene Weine machen Ihren Aufenthalt unvergesslich. Unser Tipp: Vergessen Sie nicht, die berühmte italienische Gelato zu kosten – ein Genuss, den man sich keinesfalls entgehen lassen sollte!

Die Welt ist ein Buch. Wer nie reist, sieht nur eine Seite davon. – Augustinus von Hippo

Entdecken Sie das Nachtleben in Berlin

Berlin ist bekannt für sein aufregendes Nachtleben, das täglich viele Besucher anzieht. Die Stadt bietet eine Vielzahl von Clubs und Bars, in denen Sie bis in die frühen Morgenstunden feiern können. Ob Techno, Hip-Hop oder Jazz – hier finden Musikliebhaber alles, was ihr Herz begehrt. Erleben Sie die pulsierende Atmosphäre von Berlin und entdecken Sie neue Lieblingsorte.

Bewundern Sie die Alpen in der Schweiz

Erleben Sie die majestätische Schönheit der Schweizer Alpen. Diese beeindruckende Bergkette bietet nicht nur atemberaubende Ausblicke, sondern auch zahlreiche Outdoor-Aktivitäten wie Wandern, Skifahren und Klettern. Mit dem gut ausgebauten Schienennetz Europas können Sie bequem in die Schweiz reisen und von dort aus Ihre Erkundungstour starten. Versäumen Sie nicht, die traditionellen Schweizer Dörfer zu besuchen und die lokale Küche zu genießen – ein echtes Highlight!

Zusätzlicher Lesestoff: Blaue Europäische Krankenversicherungskarte: Ihr Schutz

.table-responsiv {width: 100%;padding: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;overflow-y: hidden;border: 1px solid #DDD;overflow-x: auto;min-height: 0.01%;} Reiseziel Aktivität Besonderheiten Paris, Rom, Prag Historische Stätten besichtigen Eiffelturm, Kolosseum, Prager Burg Italienische Mittelmeerstrände Am Strand entspannen Kristallklares Wasser, goldener Sand Berlin Nachtleben erleben Clubs, Bars, Musikvielfalt Schweizer Alpen Outdoor-Aktivitäten Wandern, Skifahren, Klettern Probieren Sie lokale Küche in Spanien Probieren Sie lokale Küche in Spanien – Europa Rundreise: Ihr Traumurlaub

Wenn Sie Spanien besuchen, sollten Sie unbedingt die vielfältige lokale Gastronomie entdecken. Probieren Sie Tapas, die köstlichen kleinen Häppchen, die traditionell in Bars und Kneipen serviert werden. Genießen Sie auch eine authentische Paella, ein Reisgericht, das vor allem an der Mittelmeerküste sehr beliebt ist.

Vertiefende Einblicke: Blizzard Europa: Wetterwarnung

Entspannen Sie in den Thermalbädern Ungarns

Ungarn ist weithin bekannt für seine reichhaltigen Thermalquellen. Es gibt zahlreiche historische und moderne Thermen, in denen Sie sich entspannen können. Budapest, die Hauptstadt Ungarns, bietet mit der größten Anzahl an Heilbädern und -quellen ein besonderes Erlebnis. Ein Besuch im berühmten Széchenyi-Thermalbad oder im Gellért-Bad wird Ihnen tiefe Entspannung bringen und gleichzeitig Ihre Gesundheit fördern.

Erleben Sie die Sehenswürdigkeiten Londons

Besuchen Sie das historische London und lassen Sie sich von den weltberühmten Sehenswürdigkeiten verzaubern. Beginnen Sie Ihre Reise mit einem Besuch im Tower of London, wo Sie die königlichen Juwelen bewundern können. Spazieren Sie entlang der Thames und genießen Sie den Anblick des beeindruckenden Big Ben sowie des Houses of Parliament. Probieren Sie unbedingt einen traditionellen britischen Afternoon Tea – es ist ein Erlebnis, das Sie nicht verpassen sollten! Für Kunstliebhaber empfiehlt sich ein Abstecher in die Tate Modern oder die National Gallery, um einige der besten Kunstwerke Europas zu sehen. Nutzen Sie das gut ausgebaute Schienennetz Europa, um bequem nach London zu reisen und diese einzigartige Stadt zu erkunden.

Machen Sie eine Bootsfahrt in Venedig

Ein unvergessliches Erlebnis während Ihrer Europa-Rundreise ist eine Bootsfahrt in Venedig. Diese einzigartige Stadt, die auf hunderten kleiner Inseln erbaut ist, bietet Ihnen die Möglichkeit, die bezaubernden Kanäle und beeindruckenden Bauwerke aus einer ganz neuen Perspektive zu entdecken. Während Ihrer Fahrt durch die engen Wasserwege sind Sie von historischen Gebäuden umgeben und können die venezianische Architektur bewundern. Eine besonders bemerkenswerte Erfahrung ist es, wenn Sie mit einer Gondel oder einem der berühmten Vaporetti fahren. Nicht nur die historischen Sehenswürdigkeiten, sondern auch das entspannte Ambiente lassen diese Erfahrung unvergesslich werden.

FAQ: Antworten auf häufig gestellte Fragen Wie lange dauert die Europa Rundreise? Die Dauer der Europa Rundreise kann je nach individuellem Reiseplan variieren, ist aber in der Regel zwischen zwei und vier Wochen angesetzt. Welche Reisezeit ist die beste für eine Europa Rundreise? Die beste Reisezeit für eine Europa Rundreise ist im Frühling (April bis Juni) oder im Herbst (September bis Oktober), wenn das Wetter mild ist und die Haupttouristensaison vorbei ist. Benötige ich ein Visum für die Europa Rundreise? Ob Sie ein Visum benötigen, hängt von Ihrer Staatsangehörigkeit ab. EU-Bürger benötigen in der Regel kein Visum, während Reisende aus anderen Ländern möglicherweise ein Schengen-Visum beantragen müssen. Was ist in der Rundreise inklusive? Die Reise beinhaltet in der Regel Unterkunft, Zugfahrkarten für die verschiedenen Destinationen und manchmal auch geführte Touren und Frühstück. Es ist jedoch wichtig, sich die genauen Details beim Reiseanbieter anzusehen. Wie viel Gepäck kann ich auf der Rundreise mitnehmen? Die Gepäckmenge kann je nach den Richtlinien der Zugunternehmen variieren. In der Regel können Sie 1-2 große Gepäckstücke und ein Handgepäckstück mitnehmen. Ist die Reise kinderfreundlich? Ja, die Europa Rundreise kann kinderfreundlich gestaltet werden. Viele der Ziele bieten kinderfreundliche Aktivitäten und Attraktionen. Es ist ratsam, sich bei der Planung der Reise nach kinderfreundlichen Unterkünften und Programmen zu erkundigen. Gibt es eine maximale Teilnehmerzahl pro Gruppe? Ja, normalerweise gibt es eine maximale Teilnehmerzahl pro Gruppe, die je nach Anbieter unterschiedlich sein kann. Dies dient dazu, ein angenehmes Reiseerlebnis und ausreichend Aufmerksamkeit vom Reiseführer für alle Teilnehmer zu gewährleisten. Kann ich meine Reise individuell anpassen? Viele Reiseanbieter bieten die Möglichkeit, die Europa Rundreise nach individuellen Wünschen anzupassen. Sie können zusätzliche Tage an bestimmten Orten hinzufügen oder spezifische Aktivitäten buchen. Welche Zahlungsmethoden werden akzeptiert? In der Regel werden verschiedene Zahlungsmethoden akzeptiert, darunter Kreditkarten, Banküberweisungen und manchmal auch PayPal. Es ist wichtig, sich bei dem jeweiligen Anbieter zu erkundigen. Gibt es Stornierungsbedingungen? Ja, die meisten Reiseanbieter haben spezifische Stornierungsbedingungen. Diese können je nach Zeitpunkt der Stornierung variieren. Es ist ratsam, sich die Stornierungsbedingungen vor der Buchung genau anzusehen.

Der Beitrag Europa Rundreise: Ihr Traumurlaub erschien zuerst auf Neurope.eu - News aus Europa.

Le président américain Donald Trump a déclaré, dimanche 11 octobre 2026, que la Russie et l'Ukraine avaient convenu de mettre fin aux frappes contre leurs infrastructures énergétiques respectives. Le président ukrainien, Volodymyr Zelensky, a assuré ne pas être au courant de ce « cessez-le-feu énergétique » mais être prêt à l'accepter si Moscou fait de même.

Statement by leading MEPs on the long-term budget and own resources, in response to the negotiating box presented on Saturday by the Irish Presidency.
Committee on Budgets

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Statement by leading MEPs on the long-term budget and own resources, in response to the negotiating box presented on Saturday by the Irish Presidency.
Committee on Budgets

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Das Schienennetz Europas spielt eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Förderung der Mobilität auf dem Kontinent. Mit einem sorgfältig ausgebauten Netz von Hochgeschwindigkeits- und Regionalzugstrecken ermöglicht es den Menschen, effizient und komfortabel zu reisen. Ein besonders bemerkenswertes Beispiel für die hervorragende Vernetzung europäischer Städte ist das Konzept der „Blauen Banane Europa“, das Metropolen von London bis Mailand miteinander verbindet.

Der technologische Fortschritt hat ebenfalls erhebliche Verbesserungen erbracht. Von digitalen Fahrplänen bis hin zu nahtlosen Buchungssystemen – moderne Technologien machen das Reisen mit der Bahn einfacher und bequemer denn je. Integrierte Lösungen im intermodalen Verkehr tragen dazu bei, dass auch die Kombination von Bus und Bahn problemlos funktioniert.

Das Wichtigste in Kürze

• Die „Blaue Banane Europa“ vernetzt zentrale Metropolen durch effiziente Hochgeschwindigkeitszüge.
• Technologische Innovationen wie digitale Fahrpläne und Buchungssysteme verbessern das Reiseerlebnis.
• Nahtlose Integration von Bus- und Bahnverkehr fördert die intermodale Mobilität.
• Moderne Wagen und Serviceangebote steigern den Komfort der Passagiere.
• Grenzüberschreitende Zugverbindungen stärken den europäischen Personen- und Güterverkehr.

Ausbau Strecken: Hochgeschwindigkeit und Regionalverkehr

Der Ausbau des Schienennetzes in Europa konzentriert sich sowohl auf Hochgeschwindigkeitsstrecken als auch auf den Regionalverkehr. Dies ermöglicht es, große Städte schneller zu verbinden und gleichzeitig die Mobilität in ländlichen Gebieten zu verbessern.

Dank der Hochgeschwindigkeitstechnologie können Züge Geschwindigkeiten von bis zu 350 km/h erreichen. Dies verkürzt nicht nur die Reisezeit erheblich, sondern macht das Reisen per Zug auch attraktiver im Vergleich zu anderen Verkehrsmitteln. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt dabei berühmten Routen wie der durch die Blaue Banane Europas, welche wichtige wirtschaftliche Zentren verbindet.

Ebenso wichtig ist der Ausbau und die Modernisierung des Regionalverkehrs. Zahlreiche Projekte zielen darauf ab, bessere Verbindungen zwischen kleineren Städten und Gemeinden zu schaffen. Hier kommen häufig moderne Regionalzüge zum Einsatz, die für ihren Komfort und Ihre Zuverlässigkeit bekannt sind.

Empfehlung: Blaue Europäische Krankenversicherungskarte: Ihr Schutz

Vernetzung: Bahnverbindungen zwischen Großstädten Das Schienennetz Europas: Mobilität im Überblick

Das Schienennetz Europas bietet dichte Verbindungen zwischen den wichtigsten Metropolen. Städte wie Paris, Berlin und Madrid sind durch ein ausgeklügeltes Bahnsystem miteinander verknüpft. Besonders im Bereich der Hochgeschwindigkeitszüge gibt es zunehmend neue und verbesserte Strecken, die schnelle und komfortable Reisen ermöglichen. Die sogenannte Blaue Banane Europa, eine urbane Korridorregion, profitiert besonders von diesen schnellen Zugverbindungen. Diese Entwicklungen erleichtern nicht nur den Personenverkehr, sondern tragen auch dazu bei, Geschäftsreisen effizienter zu gestalten.

Kurzstreckenflüge sollten Geschichte sein, wenn wir eine gut ausgebaute Bahn haben. – Greta Thunberg

Technologische Innovationen: Digitale Fahrpläne und Buchungssysteme

Technologische Innovationen haben das Schienennetz Europas revolutioniert. Eine bedeutende Entwicklung betrifft digitale Fahrpläne, die es Reisenden ermöglichen, Echtzeitinformationen über Abfahrts- und Ankunftszeiten zu erhalten. Dies reduziert Unsicherheiten und erleichtert die Reiseplanung erheblich.

Zudem bieten Buchungssysteme heutzutage eine intuitive Benutzeroberfläche, wodurch der Ticketkauf komfortabler und schneller geworden ist. Mit nur wenigen Klicks können Sie Verbindungen vergleichen, Tickets kaufen und Ihre gesamte Reiseplanung digital verwalten.

Intermodaler Verkehr: Integration von Bus und Bahn

Die Integration von Bus und Bahn spielt eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Mobilität in der Blauen Banane Europas. Durch die enge Verzahnung dieser Verkehrsformen können Fahrgäste nahtlos zwischen verschiedenen Transportmitteln wechseln. Dies wird durch gut abgestimmte Fahrpläne, gemeinsame Ticketsysteme und bequem gestaltete Umstiegspunkte ermöglicht.

Zusätzliche Ressourcen: Blizzard Europa: Wetterwarnung

.table-responsiv {width: 100%;padding: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;overflow-y: hidden;border: 1px solid #DDD;overflow-x: auto;min-height: 0.01%;} Streckenart Beispiele Vorteile Hochgeschwindigkeitsstrecken Paris – Frankfurt, Barcelona – Madrid Kurze Reisezeiten, hohe Geschwindigkeit Regionalverkehr München – Augsburg, Lyon – Dijon Verbesserte Mobilität in ländlichen Gebieten Intermodale Verbindungen Bus-Bahnhöfe, Stadtbahnen Nahtloser Transport, einfache Umstiege Passagierkomfort: Moderne Wagen und Serviceangebote Passagierkomfort: Moderne Wagen und Serviceangebote – Das Schienennetz Europas: Mobilität im Überblick

Der Komfort der Passagiere hat im Schienenverkehr Europas einen hohen Stellenwert. Moderne Wagen sind mit bequemen Sitzen, großzügigem Gepäckraum und oft auch kostenlosem WLAN ausgestattet. Fahrgäste können zudem von umfangreichen Serviceangeboten profitieren, darunter Bordrestaurants, Snack- und Getränkeautomaten sowie Sitzplatzreservierungen. Der Schlüssel zu einem angenehmen Reiseerlebnis liegt in der Kombination von hochwertigem Interieur und erstklassigem Service.

Auch interessant: Europa Passage Rutsche: Spaß für alle

Grenzüberschreitende Zugverbindungen und Infrastruktur

Grenzüberschreitende Zugverbindungen spielen eine entscheidende Rolle im europäischen Schienennetz und ermöglichen es, nahtlos von einem Land in das andere zu reisen. Dies fördert nicht nur den Tourismus, sondern unterstützt auch Geschäfts- und Handelsaktivitäten. Die Initiative der sogenannten Blaue Banane Europa, die von Großbritannien über Deutschland bis hin nach Italien reicht, ist ein bekanntes Beispiel für solch integrierte Verbindungen.

Moderne Infrastruktur wie der Eurotunnel oder grenzüberschreitende Schnellzugstrecken erleichtern es den Reisenden, lange Strecken in kurzer Zeit zurückzulegen. Effiziente Zollabfertigung und einheitliche Sicherheitsstandards tragen zusätzlich dazu bei, dass Reisen zwischen verschiedenen Ländern reibungslos verläuft.

Finanzierung durch öffentliche und private Investitionen

Die Finanzierung des Schienennetzes in Europa ist durch eine Mischung aus öffentlichen und privaten Investitionen gesichert. Öffentlich finanzierte Projekte werden oft über staatliche Zuschüsse und EU-Förderprogramme realisiert. Zusätzlich tragen private Investoren zur Erweiterung und Modernisierung der Infrastruktur bei, insbesondere bei Hochgeschwindigkeitsstrecken und innovativen Technologien.

Logistik und Güterverkehr auf der Schiene

Der europäische Schienenverkehr spielt eine wesentliche Rolle in der Logistik und im Gütertransport. Besonders die Region der als „Blaue Banane Europa“ bekannten Korridore, die wirtschaftlich stark vernetzte Gebiete verbinden, profitiert von einem gut ausgebauten Schienennetz. Durch den Einsatz von modernen Technologien und fortschrittlichen Planungssoftware haben Eisenbahnunternehmen Ihre Transportkapazitäten gesteigert und bieten zuverlässigere Dienstleistungen an.

Ein wichtiger Vorteil des Schienenverkehrs ist seine Fähigkeit, große Mengen an Fracht auf langen Strecken schnell und effizient zu befördern. Außerdem tragen kontinuierliche Investitionen in moderne Güterzugtechnologien und automatisierte Systeme dazu bei, dass die Bahn für viele Unternehmen ein bevorzugtes Transportmittel bleibt. Letztlich ermöglicht dies eine bessere Verteilung der Güter über das gesamte Kontinent hinweg, was insbesondere für zentrale Wirtschaftsregionen wie die „Blaue Banane Europa“ von großer Bedeutung ist.

FAQ: Antworten auf häufig gestellte Fragen Welche Länder gehören zur Blauen Banane Europa? Die Blaue Banane Europa umfasst unter anderem folgende Länder: Großbritannien, Niederlande, Belgien, Luxemburg, Deutschland, Schweiz, und Italien. Wie werden Hochgeschwindigkeitszüge in Europa gewartet? Hochgeschwindigkeitszüge in Europa werden in speziellen Wartungszentren überprüft und gewartet. Diese Zentren sind mit modernster Technologie ausgestattet und verfügen über hochqualifizierte Techniker, die regelmäßige Inspektionen und verschiedene Wartungsarbeiten durchführen, um die Sicherheit und Effizienz der Züge zu gewährleisten. Gibt es spezielle Programme für den Ausbau des ländlichen Schienenverkehrs? Ja, es gibt spezielle EU- und nationale Förderprogramme, die darauf abzielen, den Schienenverkehr in ländlichen Gebieten zu verbessern. Diese Programme finanzieren den Ausbau und die Modernisierung von Regionalstrecken sowie die Einführung moderner Regionalzüge, um die Konnektivität und Mobilität in weniger erschlossenen Regionen zu fördern. Wie trägt der europäische Schienenverkehr zum Umweltschutz bei? Der europäische Schienenverkehr trägt zum Umweltschutz bei, indem er eine umweltfreundliche Alternative zu Individualverkehr und Flugreisen bietet. Züge verursachen im Vergleich zu Autos und Flugzeugen wesentlich geringere CO2-Emissionen. Zudem setzen viele europäische Bahngesellschaften auf erneuerbare Energien und energieeffiziente Technologien. Wie barrierefrei ist der Schienenverkehr in Europa? Die Barrierefreiheit des europäischen Schienenverkehrs hat in den letzten Jahren erheblich zugenommen. Viele Bahnunternehmen haben in den Ausbau barrierefreier Zugänge, spezielle Sitzbereiche und sanitäre Einrichtungen investiert. Moderne Bahnhöfe bieten Aufzüge, Rampen und Hilfsdienste für Personen mit eingeschränkter Mobilität, sodass diese bequem und sicher reisen können. Gibt es Pläne für neue grenzüberschreitende Strecken in Europa? Ja, es gibt mehrere geplante Projekte für neue grenzüberschreitende Strecken in Europa. Einige dieser Projekte umfassen Verbindungen zwischen Deutschland und Frankreich, zwischen Spanien und Portugal sowie zwischen Italien und Österreich. Diese neuen Strecken sollen die Transitzeiten weiter verkürzen und die Mobilität innerhalb Europas verbessern. Wie sicher sind die europäischen Hochgeschwindigkeitszüge? Europäische Hochgeschwindigkeitszüge gehören zu den sichersten Verkehrsmitteln der Welt. Sie unterliegen strengen Sicherheitsstandards und regelmäßigen Kontrollen. Darüber hinaus sind Sie mit modernster Technik ausgestattet, wie z.B. automatischen Brems- und Überwachungssystemen, um die Sicherheit der Passagiere zu jeder Zeit zu gewährleisten. Können Reisende Ihre Fahrräder in europäischen Zügen mitnehmen? Ja, viele europäische Züge erlauben die Mitnahme von Fahrrädern. Es gibt spezielle Abteile oder Stellplätze in den Zügen, die für Fahrräder vorgesehen sind. Es ist jedoch ratsam, im Voraus zu prüfen, ob eine Reservierung notwendig ist und ob zusätzliche Gebühren anfallen.

Der Beitrag Das Schienennetz Europas: Mobilität im Überblick erschien zuerst auf Neurope.eu - News aus Europa.

A mother and her child stand in the wreckage of their destroyed home in Toamasina, Madagascar, following a devastating cyclone. Credit: UNICEF/Tsiory Ny Aina Andriantsoarana

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 9 2026 (IPS)

New figures from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) project that the impending 2026-2027 El Niño cycle could be one of the strongest on record. Marked by unusually wet and dry conditions, this cycle is forecast to trigger a host of extreme weather events, threatening the health, security, education, and development of over 347 million children worldwide.

“For children, El Niño is far more than a weather pattern. It can mean increased displacement, malnutrition, water shortages, and disease outbreaks. Children are also at risk of schools closing, while families could experience added financial hardship,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, emphasizing that anticipatory action is critical in protecting communities from climate shocks in the coming months.

Nearly half of the world’s children—roughly 1.1 billion—are already exposed to at least three overlapping climate hazards, including droughts, extreme heat, and floods. The impending El Niño cycle could affect children and communities across nearly 100 countries and territories between October and December 2026.

Rohini Sampoornam Swaminathan, UNICEF Statistics and Monitoring Manager, tells IPS that children are uniquely vulnerable because of their early developmental stage and dependence on essential services and caregivers. This significantly limits their ability to withstand climate shocks, especially as basic services begin to disappear when extreme weather hits.

“Communities may not have fully recovered from one shock before another one strikes, causing the impacts to compound over time,” she said.

The Asia-Pacific region is projected to face the heaviest toll, with roughly 190 million children estimated to be at risk. Substantial populations are also critically vulnerable across East and Southern Africa, with 41 million children vulnerable to climate shocks, alongside another 41 million in Latin America and the Caribbean. Approximately 22 million children are similarly vulnerable in Europe and Central Asia, followed by 20 million in the Middle East and North Africa, and 20 million in West and Central Africa.

El Niño’s regional impacts are expected to vary significantly and could compound pre-existing humanitarian crises. Swaminathan underscored that climate shocks that are manageable in some areas can become pronounced humanitarian crises in others.

Tropical nations—such as Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Philippines—are forecast to face unusually dry conditions, driving weaker agricultural outputs and severe water scarcity. This, in turn, could elevate rates of acute malnutrition and adverse health outcomes among children.

Conversely, communities in the Greater Horn of Africa could face alarmingly high levels of rainfall, particularly in Somalia, where there is a greater risk of riverine and flash flooding. Children in this region are especially vulnerable to outbreaks of water-borne diseases.

Between 2016 and 2023, weather-related disasters displaced more than 20,000 children daily. Swaminathan stressed to IPS that regions facing wetter climates could experience exacerbated displacement as floods push more communities far from their homes and into crowded, temporary shelters, which amplifies protection risks.

In protracted conflict or crisis zones such as Chad and Afghanistan, El Niño poses a direct threat to survival for children. Already bearing the burdens of extreme hunger, displacement, and an overwhelming lack of access to essential services such as protection, these children have no safety net when climate shocks ravage their communities, as they are already on the brink of collapse.

Beyond physical hazards, UNICEF’s findings highlight that disruptions to schooling are among the most alarming consequences of the impending cycle. Severe droughts and floods threaten widespread school closures, declining attendance, and rising dropout rates. In 2025 alone, extreme weather patterns interrupted education for an estimated 171 million students globally.

Swaminathan warned that climate-induced disruptions to schooling carry profound risks for children’s safety, exposing them to heightened risks of violence, exploitation, and child marriage. Girls bear the brunt of these impacts, often taking on family caregiving roles that can lead to compromised health and nutrition, as well as limited access to essential services. “When girls leave school, they are often less likely than boys to return,” she noted.

UNICEF estimates show that every US $1 invested in disaster risk reduction and prevention efforts can yield up to $15 in saved recovery costs. Yet less than 1 percent of humanitarian funding is allocated for anticipatory action, even with months of warning and massive projected losses.

The agency continues to call on governments, donors, and partners to invest in lifesaving anticipatory intervention before peak impacts hit vulnerable communities. UNICEF highlights building climate resilience, securing essential services, and guaranteeing humanitarian access as key priorities in its response.

Swaminathan underscored that children with disabilities, who already face persistent barriers in education, healthcare, and nutrition, must be considered in disaster preparedness. She emphasized that inclusive planning is essential in addressing structural inequalities and ensuring every region is adequately prepared.

“Despite efforts to plan for disasters, most resources are mobilized only after the damage occurs, and the focus is often on the immediate response phase of a crisis,” said Swaminathan. “With forecasts providing months of warning, UNICEF is urging governments, donors, and partners to act before needs escalate by investing early and before impacts peak. Building resilience is not only about infrastructure and early warning systems, but also about strengthening the services and institutions children rely on and addressing the inequalities that make some communities far more vulnerable to climate shocks than others.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

 

 

 

Each morning on her way to Kariakoo, Clementina Nyangwine looks out of her commuter bus as it crawls through Jangwani and watches giant foundation piles rising above the muddy Msimbazi valley. Workers in safety helmets and high-visibility vests move among towering reinforcement cages. Cranes swing over the site while excavators, concrete mixers and trucks rumble […]

Committee and political group meetings

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

While coal continues to dominate India’s power supply, the country is also building clean energy at one of the fastest rates in the world.

In einer Prozessanlage kommt fast alles, was durch Rohre, Behälter, Pumpen und Filter fließt, mit Edelstahl in Berührung. Ob die Anlage jahrelang ohne ungeplanten Stillstand läuft, wie schnell sie sich reinigen lässt und wie viel Energie und Reinigungsmittel dabei verbraucht werden, hängt stark davon ab, welche Sorte verbaut wurde und wie ihre Oberfläche beschaffen ist. Hinter dem Sammelbegriff Edelstahl stehen dabei Legierungen, die sich im Gehalt an Chrom, Nickel und Molybdän und damit in Preis und Korrosionsbeständigkeit unterscheiden. Eine Sorte, die in kaltem Leitungswasser problemlos hält, kann in einer heißen, salzhaltigen Lösung örtlich korrodieren.

Hinter den Werkstoffnummern stecken sehr unterschiedliche Legierungen

Die Norm EN 10088 listet nichtrostende Stähle mit Kurznamen und Werkstoffnummern. In der Prozesstechnik begegnen Planern vor allem vier Sorten:

• 1.4301 (X5CrNi18-10) mit rund 18 Prozent Chrom und ohne Molybdän, solide bei Wasser mit wenig Chlorid und für Konstruktionsteile
• 1.4404 (X2CrNiMo17-12-2, entspricht 316L) mit 2 bis 2,5 Prozent Molybdän und niedrigem Kohlenstoffgehalt, weit verbreitet für produktberührte Teile
• 1.4571 (X6CrNiMoTi17-12-2) mit gleichem Molybdängehalt und Titan als Stabilisator, für elektropolierte Hygieneoberflächen eher zweite Wahl
• 1.4462 (X2CrNiMoN22-5-3), ein Duplexstahl mit rund 22 Prozent Chrom, 3 Prozent Molybdän und Stickstoff, fester und in chloridhaltigen Medien deutlich beständiger

Molybdän und der höhere Nickelanteil machen 1.4404 teurer als 1.4301. Wie groß der Abstand ausfällt, hängt vom Legierungszuschlag ab, den die Stahlhersteller monatlich neu festlegen.

Am Filtergehäuse zeigt sich, was der Werkstoff aushalten muss

Filtergehäuse sitzen im vollen Medienstrom, sehen dieselbe Temperatur und dieselbe Reinigungschemie wie die Rohrleitung und werden zum Patronenwechsel regelmäßig geöffnet. Dichtflächen, Verschlüsse und Spalte werden dadurch zusätzlich beansprucht, und genau dort korrodiert ein Gehäuse aus dem falschen Werkstoff meist zuerst.

JMF Filters fertigt seine Edelstahl-Filtergehäuse aus 316L und gibt für die Standardausführung eine Druckklasse bis 21 bar und eine Höchsttemperatur von 135 °C an, für höhere Werte gibt es angepasste Versionen. Die Gehäuse lassen sich direkt in die Rohrleitung einbauen oder mit einer Halterung montieren und nehmen unterschiedliche Filterpatronen auf. Als Einsatzfelder nennt der Hersteller unter anderem Wasseraufbereitung, chemische Verarbeitung, Lebensmittelherstellung und industrielle Kühlsysteme. Für die Auswahl zählen neben solchen Kennwerten der Dichtungswerkstoff und die Frage, wie viel Chlorid das Medium enthält.

Chloride und Temperatur setzen jeder Sorte Grenzen

Nichtrostende Stähle verdanken ihre Beständigkeit einer dünnen Passivschicht aus Chromoxid. Chloride können sie örtlich durchbrechen, dann entsteht Lochkorrosion, in engen Spalten unter Dichtungen auch Spaltkorrosion. Als Vergleichsmaß dient die Wirksumme, international PREN genannt, die aus den Gehalten an Chrom, Molybdän und Stickstoff berechnet wird. Sie liegt bei 1.4301 etwa zwischen 18 und 20, bei 1.4404 und 1.4571 knapp unter 25 und bei Duplex 1.4462 bei etwa 35.

Die Orientierungshilfe zur Werkstoffauswahl der Informationsstelle Edelstahl Rostfrei weist allerdings darauf hin, dass die Wirksumme eine empirische Regel ist, die für den atmosphärischen Bereich bei nicht erhöhter Temperatur gilt. In warmen, chloridhaltigen Prozessmedien reicht der Zahlenvergleich deshalb nicht aus. Austenitische Sorten wie 1.4404 können dort zusätzlich Spannungsrisskorrosion erleiden, gegen die Duplexstahl deutlich widerstandsfähiger ist.

Glatte Oberflächen verkürzen Reinigungszyklen

In Lebensmittel-, Getränke- und Pharmaanlagen bestimmt die Oberfläche, wie leicht sich Rückstände und Biofilme entfernen lassen. Für produktberührte Flächen gilt häufig ein Mittenrauwert Ra von höchstens 0,8 Mikrometern als Richtwert, wie ihn auch die Hygienic-Design-Leitlinien der EHEDG nennen. Elektropolieren trägt eine dünne Schicht ab, ebnet die Spitzen der Mikrorauheit ein und reichert Chrom in der Passivschicht an. Schweißnähte verdienen besondere Aufmerksamkeit, weil Anlauffarben die Beständigkeit schwächen und durch Beizen entfernt werden müssen.

CIP und SIP belasten Werkstoff und Dichtungen bei jedem Zyklus

Bei der Reinigung im eingebauten Zustand (Cleaning in Place, CIP) laufen heiße Lauge und Säure im Wechsel durch Leitungen, Behälter und Gehäuse. Edelstahl verträgt diese Medien gut, solange keine chlorhaltigen Reiniger oder hohe Chloridgehalte im Spülwasser hinzukommen. Bei der Sterilisation im eingebauten Zustand (SIP) wirkt Sattdampf, häufig bei 121 °C. Das Prinzip ähnelt der Dampfsterilisation, auf die auch Autoklaven in professionellen Umgebungen setzen.

Temperaturbereich und Reinigungsplan gehören deshalb für alle Teile im Kreislauf in die Spezifikation. Elastomerdichtungen altern unter Dampf und Lauge oft schneller als der Stahl, ihr Werkstoff und das Wechselintervall sollten von Anfang an mitgeplant werden.

Die Druckgeräterichtlinie gilt auch für Filtergehäuse

Gehäuse, die unter Druck betrieben werden, fallen unter die Druckgeräterichtlinie 2014/68/EU, sobald der maximal zulässige Druck PS über 0,5 bar liegt. Eingestuft werden sie wie Behälter nach Druck, Volumen und Fluidgruppe, wobei für entzündliche oder giftige Medien höhere Kategorien früher greifen als für Wasser. Ab Kategorie I ist eine Konformitätsbewertung mit CE-Kennzeichnung vorgeschrieben, ab Kategorie II unter Beteiligung einer benannten Stelle. Kleinere Gehäuse für ungefährliche Flüssigkeiten liegen häufig unterhalb dieser Grenzen. Sie müssen dann nach guter Ingenieurpraxis gebaut sein und dürfen kein CE-Zeichen nach dieser Richtlinie tragen.

Bei der Beschaffung sollten deshalb der maximal zulässige Druck, die zulässigen Temperaturen, das Volumen und eine Prüfbescheinigung für den Werkstoff vorliegen, in der Regel ein Abnahmeprüfzeugnis 3.1 nach EN 10204.

Lebenszykluskosten zeigen, was ein günstiger Werkstoff tatsächlich kostet

Über die Wirtschaftlichkeit einer Sorte entscheidet die gesamte Nutzungsdauer. Zu den Lebenszykluskosten zählen Reinigungszeit, Chemikalien, Energie für heiße CIP-Medien und Dampf, Ersatzteile, Ausfallzeiten und schließlich der Austausch ganzer Bauteile. Ein verschmutzter oder zu klein ausgelegter Filter erhöht außerdem den Druckverlust, den die Pumpe mit mehr Leistung ausgleicht. Damit wirkt die Filterauslegung bis in die Antriebstechnik hinein, die für die Energieeffizienz einer Anlage grundlegend ist.

Planungsfehler, die im Betrieb Geld kosten

• Sorte nach dem Medium gewählt, ohne Chloridgehalt und Temperatur in Betrieb und Reinigung zu prüfen
• Dichtungen vergessen, obwohl sie oft vor dem Stahl versagen
• Edelstahl direkt mit verzinktem oder unlegiertem Stahl verbunden, was Kontaktkorrosion am unedleren Metall begünstigt
• Werkzeuge aus der Bearbeitung von unlegiertem Stahl verwendet, sodass Fremdrost entsteht
• Schweißnähte weder gebeizt noch passiviert
• keine Werkstoffbescheinigung angefordert, sodass sich die Sorte später nicht nachweisen lässt

Die passende Sorte senkt über Jahre Reinigungsaufwand und Energiebedarf

Medium, Temperatur und Reinigungsplan gehören bei der Werkstoffwahl zusammen auf den Tisch. 1.4404 deckt viele produktberührte Anwendungen ab, Duplex 1.4462 ist die Reserve für warme, chloridhaltige Medien, und 1.4301 bleibt für unkritische Bereiche eine wirtschaftliche Lösung. Glatte, sauber nachbehandelte Oberflächen verkürzen Reinigungszyklen, die Druckgeräterichtlinie regelt die Nachweise, und erst die Rechnung über die gesamte Lebensdauer zeigt, ob sich ein höher legierter Werkstoff lohnt.

Der Beitrag Edelstahl in der Prozesstechnik: Warum die Werkstoffwahl über Effizienz entscheidet erschien zuerst auf Neurope.eu - News aus Europa.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Children in Gaza wait in the hope of receiving food. Credit: UN News

By UN Women
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 9 2026 (IPS)

Since October 2023, 50,000 women and girls in Gaza have been killed or seriously injured.

• UN Women estimates that nearly 50,000 women and girls in Gaza have been killed or severely injured since the onset of war in October 2023 [1], amounting to one in 21 Gazan women and girls losing their life or living with lifelong disabilities [2].


• More than 38,000 women and girls have been killed and 11,700 severely injured, the result of Israeli airstrikes and land military operations.

• While most of the casualties recorded took place during the first two years of the war, women and girls continue to be targeted despite a ceasefire agreement entering into effect in October 2025. Two hundred seventy-seven women and girls are among those who have been killed in Gaza over the past year.

Nearly every woman and girl in Gaza is displaced.

• More than 150 evacuation and movement orders have been issued across Gaza by the Israeli Defense Forces since October 2023, forcing nearly one million women and girls from their homes – nearly every woman and girl in Gaza.

• The majority of women and girls in Gaza live in tents or in the ruins, with no privacy. In conditions that are incompatible with survival and dignity, women and girls are caring for children, the sick, the injured, and for the elderly, cooking and cleaning without the basic means to carry out these responsibilities.

• Women are being forced to deliver babies in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, putting their lives at risk. At the same time, the number of miscarriages reached almost 4,000 in the first six months of 2026, triple the number recorded during the last six months of 2025.

The number of widows and those assuming the role of head of household in Gaza has doubled since October 2023.

• Nearly one in four households in Gaza – an estimated 86,290 households – is now reportedly headed by a woman, compared to the pre-October 2023 rate of one in nine.

• For women-headed households, the impact extends beyond the grief of losing a husband, father or other loved one. Many are now carrying sole responsibility for providing for, protecting, and holding their families together in increasingly devastating conditions.

Despite the ceasefire, women and girls in Gaza continue to face severely limited access to food, shelter, safe water, and hygiene supplies, alongside ongoing hostilities and insecurity.

• Intense and widespread bombing has leveled homes, businesses, hospitals, schools, and shops, making it extremely hard for women and girls to access essential services and basic goods.

• Restrictions on humanitarian access and bombardment continue to cause immense suffering. Between July and December 2026, an estimated 702,000 women and girls are projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3+, crisis or worse), with devastating effects on their health, including the risk of malnutrition [3].

The steepest recorded decline in aid is threatening a lifeline to women and girls in Gaza: women’s organizations.

• UN Women surveyed women’s organizations working on the frontlines of the response in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Thirteen of the 14 organizations surveyed reported that the level of need among women and girls has increased since 2025. All organizations surveyed had seen an increase in gender-based violence, poverty, and mental health distress since 2025. Thirteen of the 14 organizations had seen an increase in child marriage.

• At the same time, 13 of the 14 organizations surveyed by UN Women reported that they do not have the capacity to meet the growing needs of women and girls. To cope with the lack of funding, nearly two thirds of the organizations told UN Women they had been forced to put women and girls on waiting lists or turn them away.

UN Women is on the ground in Gaza. We work with women-led and women’s rights organizations to provide lifesaving and critical support to women and girls, including protection services and gender-based violence case management, legal aid, mental health and psychosocial support, and emergency cash and livelihoods assistance.

From fitting women and girls with prosthetics and offering counselling to survivors, to ensuring that the humanitarian response is shaped by the experiences and perspectives of women and girls, our support is helping them to stay afloat. But women and girls in Gaza need peace.

UN Women calls for the ceasefire in Gaza to be fully implemented. We call for international law to be upheld, accountability for violations, and the protection of women and girls and all civilians. Humanitarian assistance must reach those in need – at scale and without obstruction. Women and girls must be placed at the centre of response and recovery efforts.

[1] The proportion was calculated by combining women and girls killed or injured (38,000 and 11,700, respectively).

[2] The proportion was calculated by dividing the combined figure of 49,700 women and girls killed or injured (38,000 and 11,700, respectively) by PCBS’s estimated female population of Gaza at the end of 2025 (approximately 1.06 million). This gives 4.69 per cent, equivalent to approximately one in 21 women and girls. The calculation assumes no overlap between the reported deaths and injuries. Population source: PCBS, 8 March 2026.

[3] UN Women estimate based on the IPC Gaza Strip Special Brief, published 13 August 2026. The estimated 702,000 women and girls facing acute food insecurity at crisis-level or worse (IPC Phase 3+) during July–December 2026 is calculated by applying PCBS’s 2025 female population share (49.7 per cent) to the IPC projected caseload of 1,412,421 people. The calculation assumes proportional representation of women and girls across IPC phases and is rounded to the nearest thousand.

IPS UN Bureau

 

 

 

 

By Madhu Rao and Tyson Miller
SINGAPORE, Oct 9 2026 (IPS)

When governments gather in Yerevan this month for the 17th UN Convention on Biological Diversity, they will weigh a promise nearly 200 countries adopted six years ago: to effectively conserve at least 30 percent of land, inland waters, and sea by 2030. Achieving the ambitious 30×30 target is essential to sustaining the systems humanity relies on for survival—including crop pollination, purification of water and air, and climate regulation—as well as the biodiversity that underpins food production, fisheries, and tourism.

Unfortunately, the world is not on track to achieve this target. Moreover, the emphasis on the quantitative dimension of the 30×30 target has often overshadowed its more critical objective: ensuring that areas of high biodiversity value are protected, conserved, and connected through effective and equitable management.

The struggle to deliver on international commitments reflects a fundamental challenge. The Global Biodiversity Framework requires countries to halt and reverse biodiversity loss while pursuing economic growth, and businesses are increasingly expected to mitigate nature-related impacts. The ongoing expansion in infrastructure, mining, and the energy transition places additional pressure on biodiversity-rich ecosystems, creating difficult trade-offs that must be carefully managed.

The fundamental question remains: how do we reconcile economic development with meeting biodiversity commitments?

A new analysis of tropical countries contains insights vital to answering that question. Most importantly, it found that oil and gas concessions overlap nearly 61 million hectares—roughly two and a half times the size of the United Kingdom—of protected and conserved areas. Mining concessions overlap another 43 million hectares. Such conditions can turn protected and conserved areas into ‘paper parks’: places protected in law but vulnerable to extractive industries in practice.

What the Maps Reveal

The analysis examined a wide range of some of the world’s most vital ecosystems and the industrial pressures closing in on them—oil and gas, mining, industrial logging, and large-scale agriculture—across the Amazon, Central America, the Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia, with further examples from the Global North. The report focused on the tropical forests and marine ecosystems that not only harbor irreplaceable biodiversity but also remain at the center of conflicts between extraction and conservation.

Senegal, for example, is close on paper to protecting 30 percent of its territory, yet oil and gas blocks cover 99 percent of both the country’s protected areas and identified Key Biodiversity Areas. The remaining undisturbed forest in Cambodia largely lies inside protected areas, yet a fifth of those areas face mining concessions and most contain land of interest to oil and gas companies. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, nearly three-quarters of the ambitious new Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor overlaps with oil and gas blocks included in a recent licensing round.

This contradiction between conservation in policy and extraction in practice can also be seen in high income countries. The United States has opened Bears Ears National Monument to mining and is threatening new oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the UK also allows fossil-fuel companies to drill in protected areas.

There is further tension. Some of the mining pushing into protected areas is for minerals fueling the energy transition. Securing a stable climate and securing nature are both essential, and one should not be pursued by quietly sacrificing the other.

We need to consider not only how much additional territory must be brought under protection by 2030, but whether areas already counted as protected and conserved are genuinely conserved, effectively managed, and delivering meaningful biodiversity outcomes.

The Path Forward

High-integrity implementation of 30×30 means prioritizing places that matter most for biodiversity and ensuring they remain ecologically intact, connected, effectively conserved, and equitably governed. It means upholding Indigenous Peoples’ and local community rights and protecting these places from incompatible extractive and large-scale industrial activities.

There are four critical components. The first is the mitigation hierarchy, which calls for avoiding harm whenever possible before considering other measures. Areas of highest biodiversity value, including strictly protected areas, should be no-go zones for extractive industry.

The second is policy coherence. A protected area sits with a ministry of environment while a mining concession sits with a ministry of mines or energy, and unless biodiversity is built into the decisions of every economic sector, the two will keep colliding.

The third is biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning, which enables governments to clearly recognize where nature is protected and where development can proceed. Protect here, develop there.

Finally, effective and equitable governance, including rights-based approaches, is essential. Indigenous peoples and local communities steward some of the world’s most intact and biodiverse lands, including many areas of global importance for biodiversity. Their rights, knowledge and leadership are central to effective conservation.

With only four years left, the commitment worth making in Yerevan is durable protection for the areas that matter most, so they remain intact, connected, and free of the industries that would undermine them. We must make sure that 30×30 is not a promise that only exists on a map, but is a pathway to true biodiversity protection for our collective survival.

Madhu Rao, Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and Tyson Miller, Executive Director of Earth Insight

IPS UN Bureau

 

 

 

 

DRAFT REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council, Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for a review of the EU’s Black Sea Strategy
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Helmut Brandstätter

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP