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- Feed Preview Inter Press ServiceCivil Society – Inter Press Service
Media Freedom Declining Across Europe, With Implications for Rule of Law
A new report has warned media freedom in the EU is close to “breaking point” in many states amid rising authoritarianism across the continent. In its latest annual report covering 2023, the B...
Rainy Chiloé, in Southern Chile, Faces Drinking Water Crisis
The drinking water supply in the southern island of Chiloé, one of Chile’s rainiest areas, is threatened by damage to its peatlands, affected by sales of peat and by a series of electricity pr...
We Should Aim to be at Peace with Nature, Says David Cooper of UN Convention on Biological Diversity
In a world faced with habitat loss and species extinction, climate change, and pollution, it’s crucial that countries develop their national action plans and create a society that lives in harm...
Transgender Health Rights Boosted by Hospitals’ ‘Separate Room’ Policy
Transgender people and civil society organizations have welcomed the decision of the chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to allocate separate rooms in hospitals for the transgender co...
Lao PDR Lawmakers Meet to Further ICPD25 Programme of Action
A recent workshop of lawmakers heard that targeted interventions would be necessary to meet the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), its Programme of Action (PoA), and L...
Harnessing Science-Policy Collaboration: The Vital Role of IPBES Stakeholders in Achieving Global Nature Targets
In December 2022, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) saw governments worldwide unite behind a set of ambitious targets aimed at...
Conditions Worsen for Belarus Migrants Stuck in ‘Death Zone’ on EU Border
As the refugee crisis on the Belarus/EU borders approaches its fourth year, a crackdown on activism in Belarus is worsening the situation for migrants stuck in a “death zone” as they attempt ...
Another Climate Victory in Europe… and Counting
A group of senior Swiss women recently won a powerful victory offering renewed hope for tackling climate change. Earlier this month, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the government o...
UN Live’s CEO Katja Iversen Talks About the Power of Popular Culture and ‘Sounds Right’
UN Live’s CEO, Katja Iversen, says the way to engage people in the environment is through popular culture—film, music, gaming, sports, food, and fashion. She is excited about the Sounds Right...
Afghan Women’s Voices Stifled as Taliban Tightens Media Controls
The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons
‘Toasting the World’s Most Natural Talent’: UN Museum Campaign Recognizes NATURE’s Contributions to Music
Spearheaded by the Museum for the United Nations, a new campaign brings together music and ecology to spark people’s interest and engagement in environmental conservation through consciously li...
The Summit of the Future Is a Rare Chance to Fix a Broken System: Civil Society Must Be Included
Today, the spectre of a major regional conflict, and even a possible nuclear conflagration, looms large in the Middle East. Despite stark warnings issued by the UN Secretary-General, António Gut...
Portable Ginnery Could Revive Kenya’s Ailing Cotton Industry
Kirinyaga University may have just breathed new life into Kenya’s ailing cotton industry as varsity dons develop a portable cotton ginnery. For an industry that has been struggling to survive, ...
Africa Pushing Limits To Boost Renewable Energy Supply Chain, Security
Investors, regulators, researchers, policymakers, and representatives of renewable energy companies, acknowledged the key challenges of shifting away from fossil fuels to renewable energy in Afri...
Solar Power and Biogas Empower Women Farmers in Brazil
A bakery, fruit pulp processing and water pumped from springs are empowering women farmers in Goiás, a central-eastern state of Brazil. New renewable energy sources are driving the process. “W...
Migration in the Americas: A Dream That Can Turn Deadly
The Darién Gap is a stretch of jungle spanning the border between Colombia and Panama, the only missing section of the Pan-American Highway that stretches from Alaska to southern Argentina. For ...
Rural Entrepreneurs Thriving Against All Odds in Zimbabwe
With heavy sweat drenching his face and his shirt soaked in the sweat, 39-year-old Proud Ndukulani wrestled with a homemade knife, which he dipped in some used oil, before turning the glistening ...
The Climate Alarm Is Ringing – It’s Time to Stop Silencing It
The heat records keep tumbling – 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history. Extreme weather events keep mounting up. And yet the voices most strongly calling for action to prevent climate c...
IPCI 2024: Oslo Commitment Protects Sexual and Reproductive Rights Across All Contexts
Parliamentarians from 112 countries have adopted the IPCI statement of commitment to protect and promote sexual and reproductive health rights, committing to the principle that “life or death i...
IPCI 2024: Technology as a Tool to Advance and Threaten Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights
Technology emerged as a core theme of IPCI Oslo for its relevance in advancing the objectives of the Cairo Programme of Action. When channeled for good, it is an effective tool that can fill acce...
China, India & Sri Lanka Embroiled in the Geo-Politics of the Indian Ocean
The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN and, until recently, Ambassador to China
30 Years On, Genocide Survivors Embark on a Journey To Build a Resilient Future
A minute of silence was observed on April 7 across Rwanda as the country held a memorial ceremony to mourn more than one million people, overwhelmingly Tutsis, who were systematically killed in t...
Senegal’s Democracy Passes Crucial Test
The fact that Senegal’s election took place on 24 March was in itself a triumph for civil society. That an opposition candidate, campaigning on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption agenda,...
Civil Registration is Shaping World’s Largest Election Year With 76 Nations Going to the Polls
Over four billion people will take to the polls in 2024 as 76 countries are set to hold elections. In Asia, this includes populous countries such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Ru...
Can Preserving Goa’s Khazans Address Climate Threats?
Growing up in a khazan ecosystem, the traditional agricultural practice followed in the south-western Indian state of Goa, Elsa Fernandes would love sitting in a koddo, a woven bamboo structure f...
India’s Farmers Could Use Better Monsoon Forecasts
Agriculture in India need not ‘gamble’ with the monsoons if accurate weather and climate forecasts are proactively made available to farmers, according to the results of a new experimental st...
WHO Calls for More Data on Violence Against Older Women and Women With Disabilities
Older women and women with disabilities experience abuse that is unique to their demographics, yet they are underrepresented in national and global databases, according to findings shared by the ...
Why Farmers in India and Pakistan Are Shifting to Natural or Regenerative Farming
Regenerative farming is seen as a climate solution, with advocates saying that it is the most straightforward way to benefit the planet's health and ensure food security. It is growing in popula...
Revival of Hope: How a Remote Indian Village Overcame Water Scarcity
The people of Patqapara Village, a hamlet in India’s West Bengal State, were until recently reeling under absolute distress due to water scarcity. The lack of irrigation facilities in this far-...
Global Governance: Time for Reform
At last the UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. While stopping short of demanding a permanent end to the violence, it goes further than the wor...
Abandoned Children Growing Problem in Northern Syria
Wael Al-Hassan was returning from work in the Syrian city of Harim when he heard the sound of a baby crying. He was returning from work on December 10, 2023. He stopped momentarily, turned on his...
Parents Harness Pedal and Wind Power To Demand Climate Action
Extreme sports are not just for young people. Climate activism isn’t either. Yamandù Pagliano is proof. The 59-year-old father of two is gearing up for an epic feat. He plans to cross the long...
Building Resilience and Mental Health Capacity of Youth
Sri Lankan lawmaker Hector Appuhamy, in conversation with IPS ahead of a two-day conference aimed at educating and involving university students in mental health issues, said parliamentarians ...
New Report Examines Progress on Global Sustainable Development Goals
At the half-way point of the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “are in deep trouble.” The need to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals has never b...
Women’s Land Rights in Farming Need Further Recognition
In the developing world, land rights for women remain tenuous in the agricultural sector. But if women farmers are recognized as landowners in their own right, it can lead to greater economic emp...