UN unveils sharply reduced 2026 budget
17/10/2025: High arrears of contributions from UN member countries totalling $760 million have forced the Secretary-General to announce further cuts in the budget for 2026.. Staffing levels may be reduced by almost 20%.
Source: UN News
Conflict and climate change displace millions in Sahel region
10/10/2025: Nearly four million people across Africa’s vast semi-arid Sahel region have been uprooted by a volatile mix of conflict, hunger and climate change. The UN Refugee Agency reports that entire communities have been emptied in Burkina Faso, northern Mali and western Niger as violence spreads.
Source: UN News
Nobel Peace Prize winner welcomed by UN Rights Office
10/10/2025: Opposition leader Maria Machado has won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has consistently spoken out in support of her values.
Source: UN News
UNAIDS faces uncertain future amid UN reform
9/10/2025: The UN Secretary-General has recently proposed that UNAIDS should be closed next year. Leadership of the agency and over 1,000 NGOs argue in favour of a two-phased transition plan over five years.
Source: Devex
Can low income countries raise taxes to fund health?
9/10/2025: Cuts in foreign aid by US and European nations are estimated to reduce health funding for low income countries by 40%. Governments are under pressure to make up the funds through taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar. But these levies may not be a financial panacea.
Source: Devex
UN Refugee Agency faces even deeper budget cuts
6/10/2025: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has revealed that the Agency must contend with a 25% reduction in its budget due to cuts in foreign aid. He warned that any attempt to undermine the principle of asylum enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention and its subsequent Protocol would be “a catastrophic error”.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
ICC convicts former Janjaweed militia leader
6/10/2025: The International Criminal Court has convicted Ali Kosheib on charges involving war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2003 and 2004 in West Darfur. Human Rights Watch calls on governments to condemn US moves against the ICC - which provides a court of last resort, when all other avenues to justice are blocked.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Two thirds of climate funding for Global South is loans
5/10/2025: New research by Oxfam and CARE Climate Justice Centre finds that nearly two thirds of climate finance was made as loans, often at standard rates of interest without concessions. Developed nations are profiting from these loans even as the impacts of fossil fuelled climate disasters on the poorest countries intensify.
Source: Oxfam International
Over 3,000 climate litigation cases are reshaping global climate policy
3/10/2025: Climate litigation is now being pursued across more countries than ever before, according to a new report. Climate litigation has evolved into a powerful global tool for advancing climate action, covering virtually all aspects of climate governance.
Source: UN Environment Programme
Mali’s blocked transition: five years of deepening authoritarianism
3/10/2025: The military junta has dismantled Mali’s democratic foundations, five years after seizing power with promises of swift reform. Instead, sweeping decrees have outlawed political parties and dissolved all organised opposition. Civil society groups and independent media have been largely silenced.
Source: Inter Press Service