India’s toxic air demands action
12/11/2025: According to a Lancet Countdown report, more than 1.7 million people in India died from outdoor PM2.5 air pollution in 2022, more than double the figure for 2020. Such losses undermine development goals and deepen inequalities, as poorer communities suffer the worst exposure while having the least means to adapt.
Source: Devex
Oxfam delivers million-signature ‘Make Rich Polluters Pay’ petition to COP30
12/11/2025: Oxfam and its activist partners at COP30 have delivered a petition demanding that the super-rich pay for climate damages. The petition is part of a global civil society campaign, which calls on governments to tax those who hold outsized responsibility for driving carbon emissions.
Source: Oxfam International
Smart policies, not more dependence, will boost Africa’s health financing
11/11/2025: Abrupt cuts in foreign aid have exposed vulnerable health systems across Africa. But these seismic shifts are also a unique opportunity. There are multiple levers that governments can pull to secure the sustained financing that is needed for health care.
Source: Devex
Millions of lives at risk of famine, warn UN food agencies
11/11/2025: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme have issued a warning of a major hunger emergency, with acute food insecurity set to worsen in 16 countries and territories. Conflict and violence are the leading cause in 14 of the 16 hotspots.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Why Congolese see little hope in M23 peace talks
10/11/2025: Little progress has been reported since the June signing of a US-brokered peace deal between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and a separate July ceasefire agreed in Doha between Kinshasa and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Congolese civil society remain sceptical of deals they view as externally imposed and part of a long-term pattern of exploitation.
Source: The New Humanitarian
Six issues that will dominate COP30
7/11/2025: The 30th UN Climate Change Conference is taking place after two consecutive years of record-high global temperatures, and at a time when international relationships are being strained by wars and trade disputes. Here are six issues that delegates are expected to grapple with in Brazil.
Source: UN Environment Programme
US skips UN periodic rights review
7/11/2025: The US has missed the deadline to participate in its UN Universal Periodic Review, a process where the human rights record of every member state is reviewed by other states. No UN member state has failed to be reviewed since its creation in 2006.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Cautious optimism greets new global forest fund at COP30
7/11/2025: Architects of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, to be promoted at COP30 in Brazil, hope to secure $125 billion from sovereign and institutional investors, creating a permanent tropical forest conservation fund. Surplus yields will be divided among qualifying forest countries, with priority for Indigenous and local communities.
Source: Mongabay
US Women, Peace, and Security Act stalled by loss of staff
7/11/2025: The Trump administration is dragging its feet on obligations under the 2017 Women, Peace, and Security Act which recognizes the benefits of inclusion of women in peace and security efforts. The agencies and personnel responsible for reporting on the Act have been dismantled.
Source: Devex
Restoring free trade in post-US economic order
7/11/2025: As the US retreats from free trade leadership, plurilateral groupings in Asia-Pacific and European regions are moving to restore a rules-based multilateral trading system. The best solution lies with a reformed World Trade Organization, even if that means reviving it without the US.
Source: East Asia Forum