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By CIVICUS

Oct 13 2025 (IPS) -  
CIVICUS discusses enforced disappearances in Mexico with a member of the International Network of Associations of Missing Persons.

The crisis of disappearances in Mexico has reached alarming proportions, with over 52,000 unidentified bodies in morgues and mass graves. On 1 July, the Mexican Congress approved controversial changes to the General Law on Disappearances, which promise to modernise the search process through a national biometric system, but which human rights organisations and victims’ groups claim could establish an unprecedented system of mass surveillance.

What are the main changes and how will they affect searches?

The changes seek to strengthen the mechanisms for searching for, locating and identifying missing persons. The main innovations include the creation of a National Investigation File Database and a Single Identity Platform that will integrate various databases. The revised law also provides for the strengthening of the Unique Population Registry Code (CURP) through the incorporation of biometric data such as iris scans, photographs and fingerprints.

The law obliges authorities and individuals to provide information useful for search processes and incorporates new institutions such as the National Guard and the Ministry of Security into the National Search System. It also increases the penalties for the crime of enforced disappearance.

The new system aims to ensure faster and more efficient searches through technology and inter-institutional coordination. It also provides for the use of satellite imagery and advanced identification technologies, under the coordination of the National Search System.

What risks are posed by the authorities’ access to biometric data?

There are serious concerns that the changes give security and justice institutions, including prosecutors’ offices, the National Guard and the National Intelligence Centre, immediate and unrestricted access to public and private databases, including those containing biometric information. The official argument is that this will speed up searches.

However, civil society warns that the Single Identity Platform and the biometric CURP could become instruments of mass surveillance. It is feared the authorities could misuse the information and, instead of helping to find missing persons, use it to help control the population, putting the rights to privacy and security at risk.

How have victims’ groups reacted?

Victims’ collectives have rejected the reform as opaque and rushed. They complain that, although round table discussions were organised, these were merely symbolic and their proposals were not taken into account.

The families of missing persons argue the changes focus on technological solutions that don’t address the underlying structural problems of corruption, cronyism, organised crime and impunity. But no technological solution will work as long as the institutions responsible for abuses and cover-ups remain in charge of implementing it.

This law runs the risk of repeating the mistakes of the 2017 General Law on Enforced Disappearances. That was an important step forward, as it criminalised the offence, created a national search system and sought to guarantee the participation of families in locating and identifying missing persons. Unfortunately, it was never properly implemented. There are fears this new law, in the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms, will only deepen frustration and perpetuate impunity.

What alternatives do victims’ groups propose?

Their demands go beyond legislative changes: they demand truth and justice through thorough investigations, the prosecution of those responsible in state institutions and organised crime groups and an effective search in the field, with the coordination and active participation of victims’ groups.

The collectives also stress the urgency of identifying the over 52,000 unnamed people in morgues and mass graves, and are calling for the creation of an Extraordinary Forensic Identification Mechanism. And they demand real protection for those searching for their relatives, who continue to face threats and attacks.

Above all, they demand an end to impunity through the dismantling of the networks of corruption and collusion between authorities and organised crime. As one local activist summed it up, at the end of the day, without a genuine National Plan for Missing Persons, none of this will work. Each state also needs its own plan. Otherwise, we will remain in the same situation: without results, without reports and without answers about our disappeared.

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Mexico’s judicial elections consolidate ruling party power CIVICUS Lens 23.Jun.2025
The disappeared: Mexico’s industrial-scale human rights crisis CIVICUS Lens 22.Apr.2025
‘The discovery of the torture centre exposed the state’s complicity with organised crime’ CIVICUS Lens | Interview with Anna Karolina Chimiak 09.Apr.2025

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By Diwash Gahatraj
Tirtha Prasad Saikia, Director of the North-East Affected Area Development Society, speaks to IPS at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Credit: Diwash Gahatraj/IPS
Tirtha Prasad Saikia, Director of the North-East Affected Area Development Society, speaks to IPS at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Credit: Diwash Gahatraj/IPS

ABU DHABI, Oct 13 2025 (IPS) - As global conservation leaders gather in Abu Dhabi for the IUCN World Conservation Congress, communities in the hills of Darjeeling, thousands of kilometers away, are still counting their losses. In early October, heavy rains triggered deadly landslides that buried homes, blocked key roads, and left several people dead. The destruction has once again exposed how vulnerable India’s mountain regions are to extreme weather.

The Congress, convened every four years, started on October 9, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This flagship global forum unites over 10,000 conservation experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to advance nature-based solutions amid escalating climate and biodiversity crises. Key agendas of the Congress include localizing climate finance, nature-positive development, and post-2025 biodiversity targets, with sessions on Himalayan resilience. 

On October 4 and 5, intense late-monsoon rains hit Darjeeling, setting off multiple landslides across the tea-producing district in West Bengal. At the same time, starting October 3, continuous downpours flooded large parts of North Bengal’s Terai and Dooars regions. By October 10, the death toll had climbed to 40, with thousands forced into relief camps in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Kalimpong.

The recent Darjeeling landslides and North Bengal floods killed dozens of people and displaced thousands—for Tirtha Prasad Saikia, Director of NEADS, these disasters are more than statistics. They’re an urgent wake-up call.

Speaking with IPS on the sidelines of the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, Saikia drew on years of frontline experience responding to floods and climate disasters across Assam and northeast India. His message is clear: India’s fragile hill regions need immediate action combining nature-based solutions, local wisdom like Meghalaya’s living root bridges, and fair climate finance.

The Congress, he believes, offers a crucial platform to push these priorities forward, ensuring vulnerable communities and ecosystems can survive and thrive as climate risks escalate. Read excerpts from the conversation below.

IPS: How do you interpret this event, IUCN WCC 2025 from a conservation and climate-resilience perspective?

Saikia: The Abu Dhabi IUCN Congress is perfectly timed to advance the global conservation agenda, emphasizing nature-based solutions and integrated resilience. This focus is crucial for mountain and riverine ecosystems, where safeguarding biodiversity is inseparable from ensuring human safety.

IPS: What do such disasters reveal about the state of preparedness in India’s hill regions?

Saikia: They reveal predominantly reactive systems, poor enforcement of hazard zoning, weak micro-catchment early warnings, and infrastructure placed in high-risk locations, so extreme rainfall turns rapidly into catastrophe.

IPS: In your work across the northeast of India, do you see similar patterns of vulnerability emerging?

Saikia: Yes, the northeast shows the same mix of steep, fragile terrain, increasing extreme rainfall, deforestation, and unplanned hill-cutting, producing repeated landslides, erosion and compound flood impacts.

IPS: What makes Darjeeling and other Eastern Himalayan areas so susceptible to landslides and flooding?

Saikia: A natural baseline of steep slopes, young/unstable geology and intense orographic rain combined with human pressures such as hill-cutting, vegetation removal and riverside construction that weaken slope and river resilience.

IPS:  How much is this crisis driven by human actions versus changing climate patterns?

Saikia: It’s a combination of both. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall that’s often the trigger. But local human actions like deforestation, unplanned road construction, and illegal building remove natural buffers and increase exposure. These factors work together, turning what could  have been manageable events into major disasters.

IPS: Do current development models in India’s hill regions take ecological limits into account?

Saikia: Not sufficiently! Many development choices prioritize short-term growth (tourism, housing, roads) without rigorous catchment assessments, undermining long-term resilience.

IPS: When disasters strike, what immediate challenges do local communities face (displacement, livelihoods, relief)?

Saikia: Rapid displacement, loss of homes and farmland, ruptured connectivity that blocks relief, loss of seasonal incomes and acute health/sanitation risks are immediate and severe.

IPS: Are there examples of community-led efforts or local knowledge that reduce these risks?

Saikia: Yes, living root bridges of Meghalaya, stilted/raised houses and granaries among the Mishing communities and other indigenous peoples of Assam and locally run flood shelters and community early-warning practices show strong, low-cost resilience rooted in local knowledge.

IPS: How can these local practices be scaled up or integrated into formal disaster management and planning?

Saikia: Systematically document and evaluate practices, fund pilots via micro-grants, adopt hybrid designs (traditional and engineering standards), secure community tenure and embed proven models in state DRR and climate plans.

IPS: How can restoring forests, wetlands and slopes reduce landslide and flood risks in regions like Darjeeling?

Saikia: Restoration increases infiltration, reduces peak runoff and sediment load, and stabilizes soils, recreating natural buffers so heavy rains are less likely to produce catastrophic landslides or extreme floods.

IPS: Examples where ecosystem-based interventions have outperformed conventional infrastructure:

Saikia: Living root bridges and mature catchment reforestation resist heavy rains better and last longer than many concrete fixes, and wetland/floodplain reconnection reduces downstream peaks more sustainably than embankments that simply transfer risk.

IPS: What are the biggest governance or institutional gaps that limit adaptation?

Saikia: Weak enforcement of hazard zoning, siloed sectoral planning, limited local fiscal autonomy, poor micro-catchment data and inadequate local early-warning systems.

IPS: How can state and local governments better coordinate with communities and civil society?

Saikia: Create support for the local disaster planning units, finance communities on micro-projects, institutionalize the communities and convene multi-stakeholder basin platforms.

IPS: Is climate finance reaching the ground, or are structural barriers locking it up?

Saikia: Much finance remains centralized or tied to complex procedures; slow disbursement, weak local fiduciary capacity and donor timelines misaligned with ecosystem recovery keep funds from reaching communities quickly.

IPS: What funding mechanisms could ensure faster, more direct support for community-led resilience?

Saikia: Use micro-grant windows, locally managed climate funds and blended finance that pairs seed grants with technical assistance and results-based payments to accelerate on-the-ground action.

IPS: Do you see opportunities at IUCN WCC 2025 for regional collaboration on mountain adaptation and resilience?

Saikia: Yes, WCC is ideal to launch transboundary basin platforms, share hazard-mapping tools and early-warning protocols, and co-finance coordinated restoration targets across the Eastern Himalayas.

IPS: One key action India should take in the next five years to strengthen hill resilience:

Saikia: Set up and fund a National Mountain and Riverine Resilience Mission to map hazards, enforce land use, finance community nature-based solutions and build multi-level basin governance and local capacity.

IPS: How can the IUCN Congress and global gatherings turn conversations into concrete action for places like Darjeeling and the Eastern Himalayas?

Saikia: Fast-track pilot financing for community-led nature-based projects, publish an implementation handbook of proven local practices and broker multi-year donor–government–community agreements with measurable resilience targets to convert pledges into delivery.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Cecilia Russell
Kamikawa Yoko, Chair of JPFP and of AFPPD addresses the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA
Kamikawa Yoko, Chair of JPFP and of AFPPD addresses the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA

TOKYO & JOHANNESBURG, Oct 13 2025 (IPS) - Vulnerable children are being targeted online faster than parliamentarians and law enforcers can act, a conference convened by the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) heard. Yet, with international cooperation and sharing of ideas, lawmakers believe the scourge of online abuse can be addressed.

The Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity in Tokyo, Japan, on 7 October 2025 brought parliamentarians from Asian countries, ministry officials, practitioners, partner organizations, experts and media together to find solutions for the elimination of sexual crimes and violence against children and youth. It ended with a clear call for deeper international collaboration to tackle the protection of children in the digital age.

In her keynote address, Kamikawa Yoko, Chair of JPFP and of AFPPD, said, “Traditionally, in Japan, sexuality education was considered taboo; even the word ‘sexuality’ made discussion untouchable,” so she had proposed the concept of ‘Life Safety Education (LSE)’ so that it could be more readily accepted.

Lawmakers and other delegates at the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA

Lawmakers and other delegates at the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA

Setting the scene for the discussion, she said young people come to major cities like Tokyo and Osaka and are exposed to a vast amount of information through the internet and social media—with some lured by promises of an “easy income” only to be deceived and become victims before “they realize it, they may be coerced into the sex industry, human trafficking, drug trafficking, or other criminal activities.”

LSE was more than just teaching children age-appropriate knowledge about the bodies; it empowers children to recognize their rights, develop self-determination and protect themselves, she said, emphasizing that the lawmakers are often approached by public institutions and civil society groups for support.

“Protecting children is not optional. It is our shared responsibility,” she reminded the lawmakers.

Nakazono Kazutaka from Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology elaborated on the country’s Life Safety Education program, saying it aims to prevent children from becoming perpetrators, victims, or bystanders, using age-appropriate content and social media guidance. The education is integrated into health and PE classes, with digital materials and teacher training. The initiative is expanding to more schools and regions, emphasizing human rights and dignity.

Makishima Karen, MP Japan, addresses the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA

Makishima Karen, MP Japan, addresses the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA

Makishima Karen, MP Japan, said the levels of incidences were worryingly high, with 2,783 cases related to child pornography involving 1,024 individuals reported. She also explained that many victims fell outside of the law enforcement and safety nets designed to assist them. Often the grooming starts innocently, with young people detailing hobbies and daily life; they often become entrapped by people who groom them, lure them in with promises, and then sexually assault and abuse them.

The worrying factor is that the abuse remains unreported or if reported, the children disappear, making follow-ups difficult. New laws criminalizing unauthorized filming have been passed, Makishima said but legal mandates need to be extended. She cited an example of how victims of non-consensual sexual images must request removal individually from each digital platform, irrespective of their age—unlike in the US, where the visuals need removal within 48 hours.

, Chanlinda Mith, Director of Research of the General Department of Legislation and Research, National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia addresses the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA

Chanlinda Mith, Director of Research of the General Department of Legislation and Research, National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia, addresses the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA

Makishima outlined measures the Ministry of Education was involved in, including the LSE, which emphasized the importance of “not becoming a bystander when witnessing harmful behaviors.”

“Children need to understand the impact of sexual violence and foster a mindset that respects oneself and others too,” she said, and this is done with different messaging for various ages, so, for example, early childhood education would include messages that “your body belongs to you, and parts covered by a swimsuit are private and should not be shown or touched.”

Teens and youth messaging is unambiguous, stating that any “sexual act that you do not want constitutes sexual violence,” and the perpetrator and not the child is blamed.

Yet there is a need for content ratings in online communication that are effective and enforceable, but the problem is international rather than national—and she called for a deeper collaboration.

“Platform operators are very often global; therefore, this would require international collaboration. On the ground, the teachers are trying to educate children, but we need international collaborations beyond the boundaries of countries.”

Among other solutions mooted by international delegates at the conference was the restriction on the use of social media for children and youth under 16.

Catherine Wedd, an MP from New Zealand gave a remote presentation to the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA

Catherine Wedd, an MP from New Zealand, gave a remote presentation to the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Education for Life, Safety, and Human Dignity. Credit: APDA

“Globally, the data is grim; 16 to 58 percent of girls in 30 countries have experienced cyber violence. These are our daughters, sisters and friends. The psychological toll is real. Cyberbullying destroys self-esteem and sparks anxiety and depression,” Catherine Wedd, an MP from New Zealand, said.

New Zealand, following the example of Australia, is moving to regulate social media for youth.

Wedd said she championed a bill that will “ensure that the onus is placed on the companies to create necessary age verification measures to prevent children from accessing social media platforms and to enforce a social media ban for users under 16.”

In Cambodia, social media in the form of a Youth Health mobile app has been developed to enhance health education and sexual and reproductive health for adolescents, Chanlinda Mith, Director of Research of the General Department of Legislation and Research, National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia, told the conference.

Apart from crucial information designed to keep young people safe, the app, developed in collaboration with UNFPA, gives the youth anonymity should they need to discuss sensitive matters.

Both Yos Phanita, an MP from Cambodia and Dr. Abe Toshiko, Chair of the JPFP Project Team and MP Japan, reiterated the call for regional and international cooperation in their closing remarks

“We must continue to foster regional cooperations share best practice and advocate for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) as a fundamental human right and a critical foundation for building healthy, equitable, sustainable societies across Asia,” said Phanita.

Abe agreed, saying that he hoped the discussion would serve as a “catalyst for concrete policy progress and for building greater understanding and support across our society.”

Note: The conference was organized by the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and Plan International Japan, in cooperation with the Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP) Project Team on LSE and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).
IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Kareff Rafisura - Sheryl Rose Reyes - Natdanai Punsin
A tricycle rider was wading through a flooded area in Kolkata, India.
 
AI technology will enable better disaster responses by governments and local communities. Credit: Pexels/Dibakar Roy
 
The UN, which commemorates International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on October 13, encourages citizens and governments to build more disaster-resilient communities and nations.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct 13 2025 (IPS) - The theme of this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters,” called for the urgent need to shift from reactive spending on recovery to proactive investment in disaster risk reduction.

Advancements in satellite imagery analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) now enable us to map hazards, exposures and vulnerabilities more effectively, providing timely and clearer insights into who and what is at risk, and guiding more targeted investments in resilience and disaster preparedness. Leveraging these advances is essential to building resilience and is an imperative to safeguard lives and livelihoods in Asia and the Pacific – the world’s most disaster-prone region.

Building on advances in big Earth data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, a new tool – SatGPT – offers an innovative solution that supports flood risk mapping. Developed by UN ESCAP in collaboration with regional technical and institutional partners, it represents a functional, next-generation spatial decision support system designed for rapid deployment, which would be most beneficial in flood-prone and resource-limited contexts.

By mapping historical hotspots and past flooding events using a massive collection of archived satellite imagery, insights from SatGPT help inform the allocation of disaster risk reduction investments to where they are needed most, reducing both human and economic losses. SatGPT contributes to the implementation of the four pillars of the Early Warnings for All Initiative by enhancing disaster risk knowledge and providing historical flooding data.

It can also contribute to improved forecasting models, strengthen early warning analysis, and inform preparedness and response strategies. SatGPT and other technological advancements open an opportunity to deliver risk information that is consistent, accessible, comparable, and open-source, enabling evidence-based disaster risk reduction investment decisions.

Country-specific initiatives further demonstrate the value of Earth observation data and digital innovations. For example, the Philippine Space Agency Integrated Network for Space-Enabled Actions towards Sustainability (PINAS) builds a community empowered by space data, connecting citizens, public, and private sectors to work together toward improved disaster response and sustainable development.

Indonesia is developing an AI project on flood mapping with pilot sites in Jakarta and North Java Island, and SatGPT is planned to be integrated into this platform. Thailand is developing the Check Nahm (Check Flood) flood warning application that consolidates data from various sources, including CCTV cameras, to enhance early warning systems, provide near real-time updates on the flood situation, and forecasts.

The application’s cloud-based data integration can also incorporate SatGPT’s historical mapping capabilities. The University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China, demonstrates how flooding exacerbates social inequalities by integrating geospatial information, AI and socioeconomic data.

The vulnerability difference was calculated based on the defined social classes and climate scenarios, demonstrating that people with weaker socioeconomic status will face higher exposure risks and greater impacts due to inequality.

The Jakarta Ministerial Declaration on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific highlighted the strong potential of emerging technology applications from the fourth industrial revolution to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

To translate the Declaration into tangible impacts, countries in the region have focused on equipping young government professionals with the skills to rapidly analyze trends and transform geospatial information into actionable insights using SatGPT and other AI-powered tools, driving smarter and faster disaster risk reduction decisions.

Future efforts will respond to countries’ need for enhanced AI development, access to open-source data, standardized methodologies, and opportunities for capacity development. They will also further strengthen the capacities of local governments and communities to adapt and apply AI-powered tools like SatGPT to generate localized insights on high-risk areas, making mitigation and adaptation investments more effective.

As we champion funding for resilience and co-develop AI-powered disaster tools, it is vital to remember that data and technology are only as meaningful as the lives they aim to protect. Behind every map and dataset are real communities facing real risks. Keeping this human perspective at the center of innovation ensures that our efforts remain grounded in empathy, purpose and impact.

Kareff Rafisura is Economic Affairs Officer, ESCAP; Sheryl Rose Reyes is Consultant, ESCAP; and Natdanai Punsin is Geo-Informatics Officer, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA)

IPS UN Bureau

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By Kul Chandra Gautam
The corner-stone of the UN headquarters building was laid on UN Day at a special open-air General Assembly meeting held on 24 October 1949. Credit: UN Photo

KATHMANDU, Nepal, Oct 13 2025 (IPS) - The United Nations turned 80 this year. What should have been a moment of pride and celebration at the high-level session of the UN General Assembly in September 2025 turned instead into an occasion of bitter irony.

At the UN Headquarters in New York—fittingly located in the host country that once helped found and champion the organization—the loudest fireworks came not from commemoration but condemnation.

The President of the United States, boasting that he had “ended seven wars in seven months while the UN did nothing,” derided the very purpose of the institution. He dismissed climate change as a hoax, renounced the Sustainable Development Goals, and mocked multilateralism as an obsolete bureaucracy.

Kul Chandra Gautam

That outburst was shocking, but not surprising. The UN has long been an easy target for populist politicians. Yet even as it endures ridicule and neglect, the truth remains: if the UN did not exist, the world would have to create it again.

An Imperfect but Indispensable Institution

The UN’s failures are glaring and often heartbreaking. As the wars in Ukraine and Gaza rage on—each aided and abetted by two Permanent Members of its Security Council—the organization looks helpless, capable only of issuing pleas and providing meager humanitarian aid.

Its impotence is evident again in Haiti’s gang warfare, Myanmar’s and Sudan’s military atrocities, Afghanistan’s gender apartheid, and North Korea’s saber-rattling, just to name a few.

It is easy to blame “the UN,” but the real culprits are its Member States—especially the five veto-wielding powers of the Security Council, who too often place narrow national interests above global security. Many others strangle the UN with grand resolutions and lofty mandates but fail to fund them.

Hiding behind sovereignty, many governments oppress their citizens, foster corruption, and neglect their global commitments. Meanwhile, the richest nations, capable of lifting millions from poverty, pour trillions of dollars into their militaries.

Still, despite its flaws and frustrations, humanity cannot afford to abandon the United Nations. The challenges of our time— poverty, climate change, pandemics, terrorism, cybercrime, and mass displacement—are “problems without passports.” No nation, however powerful, can solve them alone. Only collective action through a multilateral system can address the interconnected crises that define the 21st century.

For smaller or poorer nations, the UN is an amplifier of voice and leverage. Acting together, they can negotiate more fairly with the powerful. For big and powerful nations, the UN provides legitimacy and a framework for cooperation that unilateral action can never achieve.

The UN, for all its imperfections, remains a mirror of our world: it reflects both our aspirations and our divisions. Its hypocrisy is our hypocrisy; its failures are our failures. Resolutions without resolve and promises without action are the true reasons for its ineffectiveness.

Yet amid the cynicism, it is worth recalling that the UN and its agencies have earned 14 Nobel Peace Prizes—more than any other institution in history. That is no small testament to its contributions to peacekeeping, humanitarian relief, human rights, and development.

But it cannot rest on past laurels. If the UN is to remain relevant, it must transform itself to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.

Time for Tough Love and Real Reform

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has launched the UN@80 Initiative to sharpen the system’s impact and reaffirm its purpose. A recent system-wide Mandate Implementation Review uncovered a staggering reality: over 30% of mandates created since 1990 are still active, and 86% have no sunset clause. Many require the Secretariat and specialized agencies to carry them out “within existing resources”—an impossible task.

Hundreds of overlapping resolutions and reports clog the UN’s machinery, sustained by bureaucratic inertia and Member States’ appetite for endless paperwork. Too many meetings produce too little action.

Technology now offers a way out. Artificial intelligence can consolidate and streamline reporting, freeing up resources for real work. Likewise, the frequency of governing board meetings—three times a year for agencies like UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women, and WFP—could be reduced without sacrificing accountability.

Facing financial crisis, political hostility from major donors, and a proliferation of unfunded mandates, the UN has no choice but to rationalize its structure. Some agencies will have to merge or move their operations from costly headquarters in New York and Europe to lower-cost locations in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

UNICEF has already taken the lead with its “Future Focus Initiative,” with plans to cut headquarters budgets by 25% and relocate 70% of its staff to more affordable hubs such as Bangkok, Nairobi, or Istanbul. Such moves can reduce expenses, bring the organization closer to the field, and align it better with the realities of today’s world.

At the same time, the UN must take advantage of the tremendous growth in professional capacity within developing countries. Many of these nations now produce highly qualified experts who can serve effectively—and at lower cost—than expatriates from the Global North.

UNICEF pioneered this decades ago by hiring national professionals in its field offices. Expanding this practice system-wide would not only save money but also strengthen local ownership and credibility.

These are sensible, short-term measures. But they only scratch the surface. The real test of leadership lies in tackling the deep structural reforms that have eluded the UN for decades.

The Hard Reforms: Power, Accountability, and Money

1. Democratizing the UN

The UN’s mission is to promote peace, democracy, development and human rights—but its own structure remains profoundly undemocratic. The Security Council’s five permanent members hold veto power that can paralyze action even in the face of genocide or aggression.

That provision might have made sense in 1945, but it is indefensible in 2025. Yet changing it requires the consent of those same five powers. Only enlightened leadership in those countries and sustained public pressure globally can bring about reform.

Democratization must also extend to how the UN’s top leaders are chosen. The Secretary-General and heads of major agencies are still selected through opaque bargains among powerful nations. These posts are often “reserved” for certain nationalities rather than awarded on merit. The UN must move toward a transparent, merit-based system if it hopes to regain credibility.

2. Reviving the “Responsibility to Protect”

Too many regimes hide behind the shield of sovereignty to oppress their own people. The world leaders agreed at the UN Millennium Summit in 2005 that when a government fails to protect its citizens—or worse, becomes their tormentor—the international community has a Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The 2024 Pact for the Future reaffirmed that principle.

But R2P has rarely been applied because powerful nations invoke it selectively—protecting their allies and condemning their rivals. True leadership would mean upholding R2P universally, without double standards.

3. Rebalancing Priorities: Disarmament and Development

The UN was founded to prevent war. Yet worldwide military spending now exceeds $2.7 trillion a year—nearly $7.5 billion every day. NATO countries are expanding their defense budgets even as social spending shrinks and commitments to the poor are cut.

This is moral madness. Humanity needs fewer weapons and more investment in sustainable development. Redirecting even a fraction of global military spending toward the Sustainable Development Goals would do more to secure peace than all the bombs in the world.

4. Fixing the UN’s Finances

Money and power often speak louder than moral authority at the UN. The United States contributes about a quarter of the UN’s regular budget—and uses that leverage to exert disproportionate influence. Other large donors do the same.

In 1985, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme proposed a simple remedy: no single country should pay—or be allowed to pay—more than 10% of the UN’s budget. That would reduce dependence on any one donor while requiring modest increases from others. Ironically, Washington opposed it, fearing it might lose influence.

Reviving that proposal today could help depoliticize UN financing and make it more sustainable. The UN should also expand partnerships with private philanthropy, foundations, and innovative sources such as taxes on global financial transactions or the use of the global commons. Such mechanisms could liberate the organization from the recurring hostage drama of budget threats and withheld dues.

A Hopeful Horizon

History rarely moves in straight lines. Progress often comes two steps forward and one step back. Today, the post-World War II international order is fraying, and populist nationalism is resurgent. But in the long arc of human history, the movement toward global cooperation is irreversible.

We are slowly—but surely—evolving from primitive tribalism to modern nationalism and onward toward shared global solidarity. Multilateralism may be under siege, but it will rise again, reimagined and renewed, because our interdependence leaves no alternative.

I take hope from the energy and courage of Generation Z across the world—from Nepal and Bangladesh to Kenya, Indonesia, Morocco, and beyond. Young people are challenging corruption, inequality, and authoritarianism, and they see themselves increasingly as global citizens, connected through technology and united by shared aspirations rather than divided by borders or dogma.

If we can offer these young citizens opportunity and justice instead of inequality and despair, we will see the dawn of a more cooperative, humane, and equitable world. That, in turn, will breathe new life into the United Nations—still imperfect, still indispensable, and still humanity’s best hope for promoting peace and prosperity.

Kul Chandra Gautam, a former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, is the author of ‘Global Citizen from Gulmi: My Journey from the Hills of Nepal to the Halls of United Nations’.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Katsuhiro Asagiri

TOKYO, Oct 10 2025 (IPS) -  

Toda Peace Memorial Hall. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The screening room at the Toda Peace Memorial Hall in Tokyo fell silent as Kazakh filmmaker and human rights advocate Aigerim Seitenova stepped forward in a black T-shirt and green skirt to introduce her 31-minute documentary, “Jara – Radioactive Patriarchy: Women of Qazaqstan.” The screening event was co-organized by the Kazakh Nuclear Frontline Coalition (ASQAQQNFC), the Soka Gakkai Peace Committee, and Peace Boat, with support from Japan NGO Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (JANA).

The hall itself is symbolic in Japan’s peace movement. It is named after Josei Toda, the second president of the Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai, who in 1957 made his historic Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons before 50,000 youth members. That appeal has become a moral pillar of Soka Gakkai’s global campaign for peace and disarmament.

Reclaiming Women’s Voices

Semipalatinsk Former Nuclear Weapon Test site. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri

“This film was made to make visible the voices of women who have lived in silence. They are not victims—they are storytellers and changemakers,” Seitenova told the audience of diplomats, journalists, students and peace activists.

Her documentary, Jara—meaning “wound” in Kazakh—tells the stories of women from Semey, formerly known as Semipalatinsk, the site of 456 Soviet nuclear tests conducted between 1949 and 1989.

Unlike earlier films that focused on physical devastation and disability caused by nuclear testing, Jara explores the unseen and intergenerational impacts: the stigma, the psychological scars, and the inherited fear of bearing children.

“Most films show Semey as ‘the most nuked place on Earth.’ I wanted to show resilience instead of fear—to reclaim our story in our own voice,” she said.

 

Aigerim Seitenova Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri

Breaking the Silence

Seitenova’s personal connection to the issue began with humiliation.

As a university student in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, when she introduced herself as being from Semey, a classmate mockingly asked if she had “a tail.”

“That moment stayed with me,” she recalled. “It made me realise that nuclear harm is not only physical. It lives on in prejudice and silence.”

That experience would later drive her to create a film that breaks that silence.

Patriarchy and Nuclear Power

In Jara, women appear not as passive victims but as active participants in their communities, confronting the legacies of secrecy and discrimination.

“In militarised societies, nuclear weapons are symbols of superiority,” Seitenova said in her speech. “Peace and cooperation are dismissed as weak— as feminine. That’s the mindset we must challenge.”

Her feminist perspective connects nuclear weapons and patriarchy, arguing that both systems thrive on domination and power over others.

From the Steppes to Global Advocacy


Author made a documentary of the 2018 conference which Seitenova participated. Credit:INPS Japan

Born into a third-generation family affected by radiation exposure in Semey, Seitenova said her activism was inspired by “quiet endurance and the absence of open discussion.”

In 2018, she joined the Youth for CTBTO and Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) ‘Youth International Conference’ organised by the Kazakh government. During the five-day programme, young representatives from nuclear-weapon, non-nuclear and nuclear-dependent states travelled along with nuclear disarmament experts overnight by train from Astana to Kurchatov, visiting the former test site. “It was the first time I saw the land that shaped my people’s history,” she said.

Aigerim Seitenova captured in a scene from “Jara”. Credit: Aigerim Seitenova

She cites Togzhan Kassenova’s Atomic Steppe and Ray Acheson’s Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy as works that helped her articulate how nuclear policy and gender inequality are intertwined.

Mr. Hiroshi Nose, director of Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum explaining the impact of Atom Bomb. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri, President of INPS Japan

Shared Suffering, Shared Hope

In October, Seitenova travelled to Japan to participate in the 24th World Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in Nagasaki, meeting survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Seitenova(Center) was among a youth representative from communities affected by nuclear testings sharing her experiences at the Nuclear Survivors Forum held at UN Church Center, New York. Credit: ICAN / Haruka Sakaguchi

“Japan and Kazakhstan share the experience of nuclear suffering,” she said. “But we can transform that pain into dialogue—and into peace.”

That spirit carried into the Tokyo screening, where diplomats, journalists and peace activists discussed nuclear justice, gender equality and youth participation.

Turning Pain into Power

Through her organisation, the Kazakh Nuclear Frontline Coalition (ASQAQQNFC), Seitenova works to connect nuclear-affected communities with policymakers implementing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

“The fight for nuclear justice is not about the past—it’s about the future,” she said. “It’s about ensuring that no one else has to live with the consequences of nuclear weapons.”

As the applause filled the Toda Peace Memorial Hall, the resonance was unmistakable—linking a hall named for a man who condemned the bomb to the wind-scarred plains of Semey, where the voices of women are at last being heard.

Credit: SGI

This article is brought to you by INPS Japan in collaboration with Soka Gakkai International, in consultative status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

INPS Japan

IPS UN Bureau

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By Human Rights Watch

NEW YORK, Oct 10 2025 (IPS) - Egypt and Vietnam are on track to secure seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council despite being woefully unfit for membership. The UN General Assembly will elect members to the UN’s premier rights body in a noncompetitive vote on October 14, 2025.

These 2 countries are among 14 member states seeking three-year terms on the 47-nation Human Right Council starting in January 2026. Vietnam, currently a Council member, is seeking re-election.

“Noncompetitive UN votes permit abusive governments like Egypt and Vietnam to become Human Rights Council members, threatening to make a mockery of the Council,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch. “UN member states should stop handing Council seats on a silver platter to serial rights violators.”

Egypt, along with Angola, Mauritius, and South Africa are running for four African seats. India, Iraq, and Pakistan are joining Vietnam for the four Asian seats. For Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, and Ecuador are unopposed for two seats.

In the Western group, Italy and the United Kingdom are running for two available seats, while Estonia and Slovenia are candidates for two seats for Central and Eastern Europe.

General Assembly Resolution 60/251, which created the Human Rights Council in 2006, urges states voting for members to “take into account the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights.” Council members are required to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” at home and abroad and to “fully cooperate with the Council.”

Candidates only need a simple majority in the secret-ballot vote in the 193-nation General Assembly to secure a seat on the Human Rights Council. That makes it highly unlikely that any of the candidates will not be elected. Nevertheless, UN member states should not cast votes for abusive governments that are demonstrably unqualified for Council membership.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government has continued wholesale repression, systematically detaining and punishing peaceful critics and activists, and effectively criminalizing peaceful dissent. Government security forces have committed serious human rights abuses with near-absolute impunity. These include killing hundreds of largely peaceful protesters and widespread, systematic torture of detainees, which most likely amount to crimes against humanity.

The government also tries to prevent its own citizens from engaging with the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, and punishes those who engage with brutal reprisals. It ignores UN experts’ requests to visit the country.

The ruling Communist Party of Vietnam maintains a monopoly on political power and allows no challenge to its leadership. Basic rights are severely restricted, including freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and religion. Rights activists and bloggers face police intimidation, harassment, restricted movement, and arbitrary arrest and detention.

Mauritius and the UK, among the countries running. signed a treaty that recognizes Mauritius’ sovereignty over the Chagos islands but fails to address the ongoing crimes against humanity against Chagossians and their right of return to all the islands.

The UK forcibly displaced the Chagossian people between 1965 and 1973 to allow the US to build a military base. Mauritius and the UK should comply with their international rights obligations, including Chagossians’ right of return and should provide an effective remedy and reparations.

Angolan President João Lourenço has pledged to protect human rights, though Angolan security forces have used excessive force against political activists and peaceful protesters. South Africa has taken strong stances for accountability on Palestine and other issues. It should be similarly robust with rights violations by Russia and China.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government in India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused access to UN experts. Modi’s party leaders and supporters repeatedly vilify and attack Muslims and Christians with impunity, while the authorities often punish those who protest this campaign of Hindu majoritarianism.

Pakistan should cease the use of draconian counterterrorism and sedition laws to intimidate peaceful critics, and repeal its blasphemy laws. The government should prosecute those responsible for incitement and attacks on minorities and marginalized communities.

In 2024, Iraq passed a law criminalizing same-sex relations and transgender expression. Violence and discrimination against LGBT people are rampant, for which no one is held to account. Iraqi authorities have increasingly repressed activists and journalists.

In Ecuador, the government has attacked judicial independence and security forces have committed serious human rights violations since President Daniel Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” in January 2024.

In Chile, President Gabriel Boric’s administration has played a leading role in speaking out on human rights violations around the world. Human rights challenges, including racism and abuses against migrants, remain a problem in the country, however.

In the UK, the authorities should end their crackdown on freedom of assembly. Many peaceful protesters in support of Palestinians or action on climate change have been arrested and some imprisoned after demonstrating.

Italy should stop criminalizing and obstructing sea rescues and enabling Libyan forces to intercept migrants and refugees and take them back to Libya, where they face arbitrary detention and grave abuses. Italy also failed to comply with a 2025 International Criminal Court arrest warrant by sending a wanted suspect back to Libya instead of to The Hague.

The Human Rights Council has played a crucial role in investigating abuses in Syria, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, and elsewhere. It recently established an investigation into serious crimes in Afghanistan by all parties—past and present —and extended its fact-finding mission for Sudan. Other countries and situations need scrutiny.

Council members should press for investigations of abuses by major powers, such as China’s crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and others in Xinjiang, and take up extrajudicial killings by the US of alleged narcotics traffickers on sea vessels.

For Council investigations to be credible, it needs financing. It is critical for countries to pay their assessed UN dues while boosting voluntary contributions. This will ensure that independent human rights investigations do not become casualties of the UN’s financial crisis resulting from the Trump administration halting virtually all payments to the UN and China and others paying late.

“The Human Rights Council has been able to save countless lives by carrying out numerous human rights investigations that deter governments and armed groups from committing abuses,” Charbonneau said. “All governments should recognize that it’s in their interests to promptly pay their UN dues so the rights Council can do its job.”

IPS UN Bureau

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