Ten years after the Paris treaty, are climate talks getting anywhere?
7/11/2026: Governments have pledged year after year to limit global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels. But rules that all resolutions must pass by consensus have given bad actors free rein. The COP31 conference must overcome despair that the central temperature goal has already failed.
Source: The Guardian
Civil society call for scrutiny of US rights record
6/11/2026: The US is scheduled to appear in Geneva on November 10 for its Universal Periodic Review, the UN peer review process of every member state’s rights record. But the Trump administration has declared that the US will not participate. Civil society organisations have submitted evidence of a dramatic worsening of the US government’s rights record over the past year, arguing that there should be no exemption from a process that applies to every UN member country.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Tanzanian court convicts opposition leader of incitement
6/11/2026: Tanzania’s High Court has sentenced the leader of the country's main opposition party to four years in prison. For years, the authorities have arbitrarily arrested and charged opposition figures for allegedly inciting protests and terrorism.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Joshua Wong sentence a reminder of Hong Kong’s disdain for human rights
5/11/2026: Amnesty International has called on the international community not to accept the continued criminalization of legitimate activism as the new normal in Hong Kong. Joshua Wong has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, the second national security conviction of the prominent activist.
Source: Amnesty International
Low income countries struggle to protect oceans as money fails to flow
5/11/2026: The UN’s recently concluded biodiversity conference, COP17, highlighted the slow delivery by richer countries of promised biodiversity funding. Developing countries lack resources to scale up protection of their coastal regions. Halfway to the 2030 deadline, the global target to protect 30% of oceans remains far out of reach.
Source: Dialogue Earth
New US congress should assert oversight of human rights
4/11/2026: Human Rights Watch has called on the newly elected US Congress to prioritize respect and protection for human rights both within the United States and around the world. In recent years Congress has failed to implement adequate safeguards or oversight of the Trump administration.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Climate adaptation finance for low income countries is too slow
4/11/2026: With global warming set to exceed 1.5°C, climate adaptation finance flows from developed to developing countries are far below estimated needs, according to a new report from the UN Environment Programme. Even if the goal to triple these flows by 2035 is achieved, less than 30 per cent of the need will be met.
Source: UN Environment Programme
Ethiopian authorities suspend independent newspaper
3/11/2026: The Ethiopian Media Authority has announced that it is indefinitely suspending the print and online license of the Reporter, one of Ethiopia’s oldest media institutions. Since 2025, Ethiopian authorities have banned numerous media outlets, deported foreign correspondents, and targeted local journalists through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and office raids.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Somalia looks to the future as the UN’s political mission closes
31/10/2026: For three decades the UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia has supported efforts to create constitutional processes, human rights frameworks and the development of governance structures in the country. As this support ends, specialist UN humanitarian and development agencies will remain to respond to continuing conflict and climate shocks.
Source: UN News
One year on, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility remains work in progress
29/10/2026: Launched at the 2025 COP30 climate summit, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility promises eligible countries up to USD 4 a year for every hectare of standing forest, of which at least 20% must go to Indigenous peoples. Specific arrangements for the financial model remain work in progress.
Source: Dialogue Earth