World leaders should defend UN principles at General Assembly
17/9/2025: Human Rights Watch has called on world leaders gathering for the UN General Assembly to commit to protecting the UN from powerful governments seeking to defund and undermine the organization’s capacity to promote human rights and international justice.
Source: Human Rights Watch
China unveils vision for equitable global governance
2/9/2025: At the conclusion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, President Xi Jinping called for “an equal and orderly multipolar world." His proposed Global Governance Initiative would include full and comprehensive adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
Source: Third World Network
Retreat from US global leadership on trade?
2/9/2025: President Trump's so-called "pocket rescission" appears to signal a gradual withdrawal from various multilateral bodies, including the World Trade Organization. Some observers believe that US withdrawal from international organizations could pave the way for a more meaningful global governance.
Source: Third World Network
Progress on the road to a UN Tax Treaty
20/8/2025: Governments have started substantive negotiations for the first-ever UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. Proposed reforms, such as enabling governments to tax any company with a “significant economic presence” in their territory, could generate new revenues for developing countries.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Trump’s tariffs are gutting Africa — and America’s influence
7/8/2025: The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), enacted in 2000, was a rare US gesture of goodwill, granting 32 sub-Saharan nations duty-free access to American markets for textiles, cocoa, and automotives. Set to expire in September 2025, AGOA is likely dead, analysts say, with Trump favoring bilateral deals over multilateral pacts.
Source: Devex
UN talks could end tax dodging by international corporations
4/8/2025: New global tax rules in an UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation are being negotiated, from now until 2027. The UN process could end creative accounting practices that deprive poorer countries of vital tax revenues needed for development.
Source: Greenpeace International
UN releases proposals for streamlining of mandates
1/8/2025: The UN is guided by more than 40,000 active mandates, serviced by around 400 intergovernmental bodies. The Secretary-General’s UN80 Initiative is tackling the duplication, fragmentation and outdated tasks that stretch resources and undermine delivery.
Source: UN News
As Trump wields the axe, who will fight to save the UN?
6/7/2025: The biggest contributor, at 22%, to the UN’s core budget is about to conclude a review of its membership. The US is not the only country falling short in its obligations to the UN. Will the global democracies fight to stop these rogue states dismantling the world’s best defence against a thrid workd war?
Source: The Guardian
Twenty years of the UN’s Responsibility to Protect
26/6/2025: UN member states have reiterated their commitment to the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, known as the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, established 20 years ago. Implementation has been marked by inconsistency and hypocrisy of states, notably those holding a veto.
Source: Inter Press Service
US again blocks appointments to resolve global trade disputes
24/6/2025: For the 88th time, the US has blocked a proposal for expeditiously filling all seven vacancies in the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization. As the system for settling trade disputes remains broken, multilateral rules and the rule of law appear to be the major casualty.
Source: Third World Network