The Human Consciousness Now...Our World in the Midst of Becoming...to What? Observe, contemplate Now.
Sep 7 2026 (IPS) -
CIVICUS discusses struggles for abortion rights in Liechtenstein with Gabriella Alvarez-Hummel, a journalist and reproductive rights activist who works with Fristenlösung für Liechtenstein, an organisation that campaigns for the introduction of a legal time-limit abortion model.
Gabriella Alvarez-Hummel
What’s the current state of abortion rights in Liechtenstein?
Liechtenstein has one of the strictest abortion bans in Europe. Abortion is only allowed in cases of rape or life-threatening circumstances. As a result, women travel abroad for abortions, usually to Austria or Switzerland. Since 2015, doing so is no longer a criminal offence under Liechtenstein law. But those seeking abortion care are entirely on their own. An information ban – the last of its kind in Europe – keeps them from learning what their options are and where to go. Many don’t realise that since the law changed in 2015, only doctors face criminal liability, not patients. But the fear of legal consequences persists regardless. The ban is also inherently stigmatising, and many internalise that stigma.
Women who travel abroad to get an abortion must pay for the procedure in advance, all while racing against the clock, as neighbouring countries only allow medication abortions up to eight or nine weeks of pregnancy and surgical abortions up to 12 weeks.
Once abroad, the obstacles continue, because despite more liberal laws, access isn’t seamless in neighbouring countries. In the Austrian province of Vorarlberg, only a single clinic performs abortions. On the Swiss side, the regional hospital in Grabs, just across the border, doesn’t perform them. Most women travel to Chur or St Gallen, a 45-minute drive if you have a car. Simply getting this information often takes call after call.
What are women’s rights groups doing to change the law?
A popular initiative is under way that calls for the decriminalisation of abortion up to 12 weeks, repeal of the national information ban and health insurance coverage for the procedure.
We have collected almost 5,000 signatures, five times the number required, equivalent to a quarter of all eligible voters.
A parliamentary vote on the legalisation bill is scheduled for 2 September, to be followed by a popular vote. Prince-Regent Alois must then sign the bill into law, but he has already said he won’t and will use his veto instead.
How have activists responded to the veto threat?
The veto threat came as no surprise, given that the Prince-Regent took the same stance on the same issue 15 years ago. It should be noted, however, that he has traditionally shown restraint. He’s only ever announced he’d use his veto power once before. That time, it sparked a year-long discussion about the Prince-Regent’s veto rights before over 75 per cent endorsed him in a public vote.
While his veto power does have democratic legitimacy, the timing is troubling. He made his announcement before a single signature had been collected, representing a problematic interference in the democratic process and public debate.
Ultimately, this pre-emptive strike backfired. Instead of deterring people, it energised them, motivating a surge of volunteers whose dedication helped us secure a historic number of signatures.
For now, we’re focused on the upcoming vote. A resounding, high-turnout victory would send an undeniable message about what people want, hopefully putting pressure on the Prince-Regent to reconsider. He would be using his veto for the first time, against women’s rights of all things.
What other obstacles stand in the way of reform?
On top of the veto threat, the prime minister, who happens to be the first woman to hold the office, has publicly called the initiative unnecessary, arguing that women can simply cross the border for an abortion. That shows how little she understands what those affected go through.
With the country’s two most powerful people opposed, the odds look stacked against reform. Yet a recent poll found that over 70 per cent support legalisation. The public seems to be on the side of not criminalising anyone for having an abortion.
CIVICUS interviews a wide range of civil society activists, experts and leaders to gather diverse perspectives on civil society action and current issues for publication on its CIVICUS Lens platform. The views expressed in interviews are the interviewees’ and do not necessarily reflect those of CIVICUS. Publication does not imply endorsement of interviewees or the organisations they represent.
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UNITED NATIONS, Sep 7 2026 (IPS) - More and more, global disarmament discussions are encompassing the humanitarian and environmental impacts of the testing and use of nuclear weapons, as it becomes clear that the legacy of nuclear weapons leaves its mark on multiple generations.
This was the purpose of the international meeting on ‘Victims Assistance and Environmental Remediation’ for countries affected by nuclear weapons. The meeting, held on September 1 in UN Headquarters, convened member states, academia, and civil society organizations, along with representatives from communities directly affected by nuclear weapons use and testing.
The meeting was convened at the direction of the General Assembly under resolutions 79/60 and 80/56, which called for a meeting to be held by 2026 on the lived experiences of communities affected by nuclear weapons and the measures that member states and the international community at large can take to address their concerns. The meeting was chaired by Kazakhstan and Kiribati, two countries that were once sites for nuclear tests in the 20th century. Since then, they are among the former testing states avidly advocating for nuclear disarmament.
This meeting examined the humanitarian and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons use and testing. Many speakers present remarked on the long-lasting effects of exposure to nuclear radiation. The physical, social, economic, and psychological consequences of nuclear use are felt across multiple generations. Persistent health issues are an all-too-common reality among affected communities. People exposed to radiation are more susceptible to noncommunicable diseases like cancer or leukemia or to living with lifelong health conditions.
“The consequences of nuclear weapons do not end when an explosion is over. As the enduring suffering of the Hibakusha—the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—and the legacy of more than 2000 nuclear tests around the world make clear, the effects of nuclear weapons persist for decades and across generations,” said Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the Office of Disarmament Affairs (UN-ODA).
Nakamitsu said that the efforts to provide remediation should be sustainable; responses to the issues should not depend on “individual projects or temporary initiatives,” but rather on sustained cooperation across national and multilateral systems that have the capacity to preserve knowledge and technical expertise over long periods of time. “Communities need confidence that support will not disappear when a particular project or funding cycle comes to an end.”
Environmental remediation also constitutes, as the representative from Guatemala put it, “an indispensable responsibility” for the international community. The damage inflicted on the environment has rendered farmlands untenable, water systems altered, and impacted areas inhabitable due to radiation.
The first UN international meeting on victims’ assistance and environmental remediation for countries affected by nuclear weapons use and testing. Credit: Manuel Elias/UN Photo
Algeria’s representative remarked on the visible impact left by nuclear testing as evident in the Algerian Sahara, where testing was conducted near the towns of Reggane and In-Ekkar. One such result was radioactive lava flowing out from a mountain in the region, which cooled and hardened over time. The state carried out monitoring and environmental assessments of the affected, but as Algeria remarked, this effort cannot be done alone.
The impact also did not occur in a vacuum, as communities in those sites, including pastoralists, were forced to relocate or otherwise live with the outcomes. “Communities near these sites carry the burden that physics imposes: illness, land they cannot cultivate, and the harm of uncertainty,” he said.
States are encouraged to share knowledge and expertise on the methods taken to resolve their issues, such as environmental records for testing sites.
For Pacific Island states, remediation is paramount, for the environment is deeply linked to their cultural heritage. It is made more tragic as they risk losing their connection due to the consequences of nuclear testing.
Oemwa Johnston, a fourth-generation nuclear survivor from Kiribati, spoke on how she and other young people continue to carry this impact. “As a young woman and descendant of nuclear survivors, I belong to a generation that did not create nuclear weapons or conduct the nuclear tests of the past. Yet, we have inherited their legacy,” she said.
There was an unanimous call for affected individuals and communities to be at the center of disarmament talks and assistance efforts. Their lived experiences should shape the policies that are meant to support their needs.
“Affected communities cannot be seen only as recipients of assistance or subjects of research. They are knowledge holders,” said Mohamed Ambrosini, Soka Gakkai International’s (SGI) UN Representative for Disarmament.
Interactive dialogue and intergenerational exchanges between hibakusha, affected communities, and younger generations can create the spaces for people to reflect on the impacts of nuclear weapons. Preserving these testimonies and learning from them becomes more urgent as the hibakusha, the survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, are aging, Ambrosini warned.
Ambrosini and other civil society members also emphasized that in centering their experiences and recognizing their dignity, this sets the path for them to receive nuclear justice and repatriation for their suffering. These efforts should also respect their dignity and provide them with meaningful spaces to be part of decision-making processes.
There were calls for States to take the responsibility to support affected communities. This should come in two forms: compensation from states through national and federal support programs and official recognition, even apologies, from nuclear powers for their testing.
In the context of Japan, hibakusha and other affected communities receive relief from the government, but not state compensation. While hibakusha are eligible for certain benefits like free health care, the terms for who qualifies for these benefits may be too narrow. Emilie McGlone from Peace Boat, a Japan-based civil society group, argued that the current systems for victim assistance do not include non-Japanese or overseas hibakusha, or people who lived outside the specific geographic boundaries from the hypocenter of the bombings.
“The starting point for all victim assistance is defining who is recognized. Japan’s experience shows that while official definitions may be narrow, victims themselves as well as civil society in affected areas advocate for broader rights. Civil society and diverse impacted voices must therefore be involved in the design of victim assistance policies,” said McGlone.
The meeting recognized the current international frameworks that limit or prohibit nuclear weapons use and testing, such as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). It also held up the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which carries provisions for victim assistance and environmental remediation, as outlined in Articles VI and VII of the treaty.
As Bangladesh’s delegate noted, the TPNW recognizes that “addressing the use of nuclear weapons must go hand in hand with preventing their future use.” As of now, 100 countries have either signed or ratified the treaty, which calls for complete nuclear disarmament, though this does not include the current nuclear-armed states.
Note: This article is brought to you by IPS Noram in collaboration with INPS Japan and Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.
IPS UN Bureau Report
BANGKOK, Thailand, Sep 7 2026 (IPS) - Physical borders are shrinking, and digital ones are quietly taking their place. As governments use digital transformation as a powerful driver of economic and sustainable development, the challenge is no longer simply a digital divide between those with technology and those without it. It is a question of digital fragmentation, where infrastructure, standards and regulations make cross-border cooperation more difficult.
This raises an important question of how economies in Asia and the Pacific can pursue digital sovereignty while remaining connected to trade, innovate and develop together. One promising answer lies in closer cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Both regions are trying to build stronger digital capabilities while keeping their economies open to cross-border trade. Despite their different economic structures and development pathways, the two blocs share many of the same digital ambitions and challenges.
Digital transformation has become a powerful driver of economic development, competitiveness and resilience. However, progress remains uneven within regions. While some countries are rapidly building digital infrastructure and services, others still face constraints in skills, financing and institutional capacity. This means digital transformation is no longer solely considered in terms of technology. Governments are increasingly seeing it as a strategic priority which is linked to competitiveness, national security, sovereignty and their citizens’ well-being. For regional blocs such as the EAEU and ASEAN, this makes cooperation and the exchange of experience more and more important.
In the EAEU, this ambition is reflected in the work of the Eurasian Economic Commission. In 2017, the EAEU launched its Digital Agenda, which serves as the overarching framework for digital transformation processes across members States. The EAEU’s regional approach is complemented by national efforts. A good example from Kazakhstan was how a dedicated ministry for artificial intelligence (AI) is established and that Kazakhstan already passed new laws on AI, cybersecurity and digital assets, and started running powerful computing centres. Kazakhstan’s nationwide AI training programme is already reaching thousands of people. This is a good example of what a push towards digital sovereignty can look like.
Such a similar ambition can be seen in the ASEAN region, where the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) is expected to be launched at the 49th ASEAN Summit this November. DEFA aims to create a more seamless regional digital economy by addressing areas, such as digital trade, cross-border shopping, e-signatures, cybersecurity, electronic payments and AI. The region has been asked for such a framework since SMEs account for 85% of jobs and 44.8% of GDP in South-East Asia, but they generate only around 18% of exports. At the same time, the region’s digital economy is already worth an estimated US$ 0.5 trillion and is expected to double to US$ 1 trillion by 2030. With an effective implementation of DEFA, this number can be further increased to US$ 2 trillion.
With all these developments, the complementary strengths of ASEAN and the EAEU are highlighted. The EAEU’s experience in building digital public platforms, solutions for critical infrastructure and cybersecurity frameworks is complemented with ASEAN’s dynamic markets, vibrant digital entrepreneurship and successful models for commercialising digital services. A stakeholder survey conducted by ESCAP across EAEU and ASEAN countries in 2025 found broad agreement on the nature of digital transformation, priority technologies and key risks. This suggests that, despite their different contexts, the two regions share significant common ground for cooperation.
This is where ESCAP can play an important convening role as the UN’s regional body for Asia and the Pacific. Through the project “Strengthening Regional Cooperation in Digital Transformation for Economic and Sustainable Development”, ESCAP is working with ASEAN and EAEU countries to help identify practical solutions, share experiences and advance opportunities for collaboration between the regions. Policymakers explored how both subregions can cooperate more efficiently across borders.
Interesting examples include the benefits of interoperability. Eleven South-East Asian economies now run their own QR-payment systems, with eight already working across at least one border. This same interoperability is starting to reach across other subregions, with a QR-code issued by a Russian bank already working in Viet Nam. These experiences demonstrate a clear scope to explore how similar approaches could support wider cross-border cooperation between ASEAN and the EAEU.
In hindsight, the first sentence of this blog could have been: Physical borders may be shrinking, but digital borders are still being drawn. Addressing digital fragmentation requires dialogue, shared standards, and practical cooperation that allows countries to benefit from the digital transformation. Initiatives like this aim to strengthen interoperability and knowledge sharing across subregions and promote a digital future of Asia that is connected, inclusive and supports sustainable development for all.
Ruhimat Soerakoesoemah, Head of Subregional Office for South-East Asia, ESCAP; Andrey Panteleev, Head of Economic Policy Strategies Section, Macroeconomic Policy Department, Eurasian Economic Commission; and Philip Diamant, Intern, Subregional Office for South-East Asia, ESCAP
IPS UN Bureau
NEW YORK / ADDIS ABABA, Sep 7 2026 (IPS) - Tonight, thousands of women across Africa will give birth. Whether they survive to see daylight will largely depend on where they live, how quickly they reach care, and whether the health system around them is ready to respond.
Maternal deaths in Africa have dropped 40 percent since 2000, but progress is now stalling. Africa still accounts for more than 70 percent of all maternal deaths worldwide. A woman facing pregnancy complications on the continent is around 130 times more likely to die than a woman in Europe or North America.
Most of these deaths are preventable. Postpartum hemorrhage remains the leading direct cause of maternal death, while indirect causes such as HIV, malaria, and anemia also account for a substantial share. What connects them is delay: delay in seeking care, delay in reaching a health facility, and delay in providing the best treatment to save a woman’s life. The fact that so many maternal deaths occur within health facilities is telling: the problem is not only the absence of care but also weaknesses in facility readiness, referral systems, teamwork, and emergency response.
Throughout the continuum of maternal care, a well-educated midwife can recognize danger signs before they become emergencies: managing complications, including coordinating timely referrals; and delivering respectful and high-quality care. Midwives already deliver up to 90 percent of essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, and newborn health services, often in communities where health systems are weakest. But midwives cannot do this alone and their impact depends on the strength of the health system: functioning primary health care, community referral and transportation systems, reliable medicines and blood supplies, and access to emergency obstetrical and neonatal care when complications arise. Despite this indispensable role, midwives remain one of Africa’s most overlooked and underfunded health workers.
Based on the latest comparable WHO and UNFPA data, only four of 51 reporting African countries meet the WHO needs-based benchmark of 9.23 midwifery personnel per 10,000 population. Forty-seven remain below the benchmark. But the numerical shortage is only part of the story. Even where midwives are educated, roughly 34 percent of midwifery personnel in reporting countries are unemployed. The challenge, in other words, is not simply to educate more midwives—it is to integrate those already educated and deploy and retain them where needs are greatest.
Ending preventable maternal mortality by 2030 has become one of the continent’s greatest tests of leadership, equity, and health sovereignty.
With the appointment of H.E. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, as the AU Champion on Maternal and Child Health, our collective quest to end maternal deaths is elevated with the highest level of political support. In a recent op-ed, President Hassan called on African leaders and partners to rally around a simple yet powerful roadmap: the Three Zeros framework. It includes achieving zero home deliveries where women are cut off from skilled care and emergency referrals; zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths by shifting from access alone to quality, respectful, and emergency-ready care; and zero unvaccinated children by placing zero-dose children at the center of primary health care and last-mile delivery. Investing in midwives is fundamental to achieving these Three Zeros.
The case for investment is not just moral — it is economic. The UNFPA midwifery investment case reveals that investing in midwives can generate as much as a ten-fold return through combined social and economic gains. In Sierra Leone, modeling shows that universal care provided by midwives could save 2,278 maternal lives, save 19,029 newborn lives, prevent 39,970 stillbirths, and avert almost 860,000 unintended pregnancies by 2035. Beyond these clinical and economic gains, midwifery is also a powerful engine for women’s economic empowerment. Since the vast majority of midwives are female, expanding this workforce translates directly into thousands of stable, skilled, and dignified formal-sector jobs for women—particularly in rural and underserved communities where employment opportunities are often scarce. Converting informal, unpaid caregiving into salaried careers saves lives and builds financial independence for women, while strengthening Africa’s broader economic development.
Investing in midwives alongside multi-skilled community health workers creates a stronger continuum of care—from the household and community to the primary health facility and referral hospital. Community health workers can support early identification of pregnancy risks, promote antenatal care attendance, encourage skilled birth attendance, strengthen immunization uptake, and facilitate timely referrals, while midwives provide the skilled clinical care required to prevent maternal and newborn deaths. Together, this workforce forms the backbone of a people-centered primary health care system capable of delivering the AU’s vision of health sovereignty.
Africa has already shown political leadership in achieving a strong health workforce. In 2016, Africa committed to train and deploy two million community health workers as part of addressing the chronic health workforce gap—a target already half met. Under the leadership of H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and AU Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership (CHDP), the continent is committed to accelerating progress towards the target of two million multi-skilled community health workers by 2030.
Midwifery deserves the same political ambition, together with a clear continental target to close the midwifery gap.
Any midwifery target must sit within a broader health workforce agenda. Accelerating the reduction of maternal deaths depends on a wider multidisciplinary workforce, including nurses, doctors, anesthesia providers, laboratory personnel, pharmacists, blood service staff, and emergency transport teams. This model promotes integrated community health systems where trained, supported, and professional community health workers deliver a comprehensive package of essential services, including health promotion for maternal and child health, disease prevention, immunization, early identification of pregnancy risks, referrals, and links to health facilities.
Just as Africa united around scaling up community health workers, leaders should now rally around a target to educate, deploy and retain the midwives needed to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths on the continent and enhance the health outcomes.
The following priorities, supported by the evidence-driven global initiative The Midwifery Accelerator, offer a practical roadmap:
First, increase and institutionalize financing for the health workforce, including midwives, as a strategic investment for health security and sovereignty.
This means accelerating the Lusaka Agenda and Accra Reset and prioritizing domestic funding for workforce compacts to strengthen primary health care systems in high-burden countries for maternal and child deaths. Establishing dedicated workforce budget lines, and improving the efficiency of workforce financial management through digitalization will require strengthened public finance management capacity and capabilities and cross-ministerial coordination. Aligning partner contributions strategically with national health workforce development plans will improve efficiency and address issues linked to the transition from donor support.
Second, expand equitable access to skilled maternal and newborn care by deploying midwives strategically to underserved high-burden and rural areas.
We must educate, deploy, and retain enough midwives to improve the quality, continuity, and responsiveness of maternal and newborn care. This will require ensuring quality midwifery education aligned to international and national standards, financing new posts and absorbing unemployed midwives, educating more only where the needs are unmet. Retention is equally critical as poor conditions; limited career growth, low pay and migration continue to drain skilled midwives from many African countries. Building a resilient workforce requires investing in decent work, professional recognition, and supportive, accountable workplaces.
Third, we must advocate and empower midwives, building midwifery leadership, strengthening coalitions, and amplifying the voices of women and communities.
Midwives should play a central role in designing models of care, not just delivering them. Professional associations must be seated at policy and financing tables, the Chief Midwifery Officer Network should be formalized, and communities need a stronger say in holding health systems accountable.
Fourth, maternal survival must be addressed as a whole-of-government responsibility.
Backed by political and financial commitments, this requires engagement beyond health ministries, including the finance, education, gender, and planning portfolios, alongside local government and civil society partners.
Through the AU Champion Roadmap on Maternal and Child Health, the AU Commission is collaborating with Member States, Africa CDC, UNFPA, and other partners to strengthen accountability, data systems and peer-to-peer learning. Accountability must drive this agenda: every maternal death should be counted, reviewed, and used to strengthen health systems. What gets measured gets prioritized, and what gets prioritized gets funded.
The AU Champion Roadmap calls for sustained, African-led domestic financing for maternal, newborn and child health. Investing in midwives is an investment in maternal and newborn survival, women’s economic empowerment, resilient primary health care systems, and Africa’s future prosperity. Preventing maternal deaths protects families, creates decent jobs, strengthens trust in public institutions, and safeguards the continent’s greatest asset—its people.
Africa has shown that shared ambition can drive transformative change. That same ambition must be matched with sustained resolve and support to ensure that no woman or newborn’s life is cut short for reasons we can prevent. A strong and resilient midwifery health workforce is within our collective reach – let us use it to secure Africa’s health sovereignty, sustainable development, and future prosperity.
Dr. Diene Keita, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and
Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director General, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)
IPS UN Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 4 2026 (IPS) - As the 80th session of the UN General Assembly draws to a close, one of the final items in its agenda was to establish an annual observance for the elimination of child marriage, raising the global profile of a pervasive social issue.
On Friday, the General Assembly unanimously adopted resolution A/80/L.99, which establishes 27 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early, and Forced Marriage, an effort initiated by Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of Just Rights for Children, and championed by Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Dr. Fatima Maada Bio.
The resolution was brought forward by Sierra Leone and co-sponsored by at least 66 other countries, including Cabo Verde, Morocco, Costa Rica, Namibia, India, Rwanda, Sudan, and Afghanistan.
The resolution calls for governments, UN organizations, civil society groups, and other parties to observe the day through public awareness campaigns, advocacy, and education efforts. It also encourages Member States to implement holistic and multi-sectoral national strategies to abolish early marriage. The observance of this day will further accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and create a dedicated global platform to strengthen efforts for the health, education, and protection of all children, especially girls.
Bio addressed the General Assembly, calling the resolution a “call to action” and a reminder to the international community of its “collective responsibility to protect childhood and defend the dignity and rights of every girl.”
“Behind every statistic, a child, early and forced marriage is not merely a number. There is a child, there is a name, there is a dream, and there is a future. A girl who should be learning may instead be preparing for marriage. A girl who should be discovering her potential may instead be carrying responsibilities far beyond her years,” said Bio.
Ribhu, a lawyer, first called for the establishment of an international day in March this year, during the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW).
The reason he recommended 27 November, Ribhu explained to the Inter Press Service, was that it is the same date as when 250 million Indians pledged to end child marriage in 2025. According to him, this was the largest mobilization on an issue in human history.
“Today marks the tipping point showing that the end of the crime of child marriage is inevitable and imminent. Now is the time for governments to provide decisive leadership to end child marriage by 2030 and ensure education, protection, and development of every child to realize their full potential,” said Ribhu, who was present at the General Assembly, the only civil society representative invited to attend.
Now that the global community has adopted this resolution, this should signal a collective movement by countries to “promote whatever decisions we have made as a global village,” Bio told Inter Press Service (IPS).
“An international day itself cannot by itself end child marriage, but political attention can, strong laws can, effective institutions can, education can… and above all, sustained political will can.”
“I think every country has to be honest and more action-oriented. When you pass a law, that is one thing, but implementing it should be the agenda… There are a lot of problems around the world, but I believe the problem of early marriage is also at the top of the global agenda.”
She elaborated on the efforts in her own country.
“In Sierra Leone, we have gone beyond just talk. We have passed the law. It’s now an act, and because it’s now an act, it’s been implemented 100 percent. We push every boundary and every barrier that will stop the act from not being what we want. So if every country decides to implement [the law] like Sierra Leone, then what we had here today would be the greatest success in the world.”
For those individuals and groups that have advocated for the abolition of early marriage, the adoption of this resolution is a milestone in the growing recognition that early marriage is a form of child sexual abuse.
This universal condemnation of child marriage is further enshrined in many national laws and global agreements like the Conventions for the Rights of the Child, which outlaw it. Yet this does not reflect the reality.
According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), since 2024, one in five women were married or put in an informal union before turning 18, and an estimated 640 million women alive today were married in childhood. Early marriage affects women and girls disproportionately, for they are more likely to be married off younger than men and boys. According to the World Bank, between 2015 and 2024, 19 percent of the global population of women had been married before age 18, compared to 3 percent of men who were married before age 18.
Efforts from countries like Sierra Leone further amplified the momentum in the anti-child marriage movement. Bio has been advocating for the abolition of child marriage for years, and it was through these efforts that in 2024, Sierra Leone passed a law to make child marriage illegal.
“Today, the world has spoken with one voice: child, early and forced marriage has no place in our societies,” Bio said. “This resolution is far more than symbolic—it is a global mandate for action. As mothers, leaders, and advocates, we have a duty to ensure that every girl is free to dream, to learn, and to thrive, unburdened by the chains of forced union. Sierra Leone is profoundly proud to stand at the forefront of this movement, and we look forward to the tangible progress this day will inspire.”
At the end of the session, both Bio and Ribhu spoke to reporters outside the General Assembly Hall. They acknowledged the work done before to advance this agenda and congratulated both civil society and governments for their collective efforts and solidarity. Ribhu remarked that governments need to take “decisive action” through measures like implementing budgeted action plans and responsive, accountable institutions that will enforce anti-child marriage laws and dismantle the current ecosystem that perpetuates child marriage.
“This is the beginning where the world has spoken,” said Ribhu. “Now is the time for action. So we should act. From 27th November, the action begins.”
Ribhu touted India’s example, where the joint efforts of civil society and governments resulted in a decline in child marriages by over 10 percent in the last few years, and at least 550,000 marriages were prevented through legal action.
“Child marriage has no place in the civilized world, and the end of child marriage is not only possible, but it is going to be imminent.”
IPS UN Bureau Report
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 4 2026 (IPS) - Across the Kenya-Tanzania rangelands, communities have long understood a reality that the global community is increasingly recognising: healthy rangelands support livelihoods, wildlife, water resources and local economies. They are among Africa’s most important natural assets and a foundation for resilience in a changing climate.
That lesson is especially relevant today. As East Africa prepares for the potential impacts of a strengthening El Niño, the focus should not be on rainfall totals alone. Forecasts point to an increased likelihood of wetter-than-normal conditions across much of the region, although the timing and distribution of rainfall may vary significantly.
Increased rainfall can improve pasture and water availability, but it can also increase flood risks and disrupt livelihoods, infrastructure and ecosystems. These conditions underscore the importance of healthy rangelands, reliable water sources and strong community-led approaches that help people prepare for and adapt to climate shocks.
One of the strongest messages to emerge from COP17 was the recognition of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and pastoralists as essential partners in restoring land and building resilience. Across Africa, communities are not simply beneficiaries of conservation and restoration efforts; they are often the people leading them
It was against this backdrop that governments, communities and development partners gathered in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for UNCCD COP17.
The conference highlighted a growing global understanding that drought, land degradation, biodiversity loss, climate change, water security and livelihoods are closely linked challenges that must be addressed together. It also signalled a stronger focus on turning commitments into action through new partnerships, investments and initiatives aimed at strengthening resilience on the ground.
For Africa, this attention could not be more timely.
Rangelands cover nearly half of the continent’s land surface and support hundreds of millions of people. They underpin pastoral and livestock-based economies, sustain biodiversity and tourism, contribute to water security, and help communities adapt to a changing climate. Yet many of these landscapes face increasing pressure from recurring droughts, land degradation and growing climate risks.
The Kenya-Tanzania rangelands illustrate both the scale of the challenge and the opportunity. Stretching across some of East Africa’s most important wildlife and livestock landscapes, they support people, livestock and wildlife across interconnected ecosystems. Their future depends on how effectively land and water resources are managed today.
One of the strongest messages to emerge from COP17 was the recognition of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and pastoralists as essential partners in restoring land and building resilience. Across Africa, communities are not simply beneficiaries of conservation and restoration efforts; they are often the people leading them.
Across Kenya’s rangelands, community conservancies demonstrate what can be achieved when local knowledge is matched with investment and long-term partnerships.
A community conservancy is a locally governed institution through which landowners voluntarily work together to manage land, wildlife and other natural resources for shared social, economic and environmental benefits. These conservancies help protect wildlife while supporting livelihoods and improving the management of land and water resources.
A good example can be found in northern Kenya, where community conservancies operate across connected landscapes that support both pastoral livelihoods and wildlife. In these drylands, healthy grass is not simply an environmental asset; it underpins household income, livestock production and food security.
Community-led grazing systems help manage when and where livestock graze, protecting critical grazing areas during dry periods and allowing grasslands time to recover. Together with improved water management and restoration efforts, these approaches strengthen drought preparedness while supporting wildlife, livestock and local economies. They show that conservation and development do not have to compete. When communities are supported to lead, both people and nature can thrive.
These experiences point to an important lesson: while restoring degraded land remains essential, preventing degradation in the first place is often more effective and less costly. Healthy rangelands are built through long-term commitment, local leadership and sustained investment.
COP17 also elevated the importance of sustainable rangeland management through the Steppe Action Agenda and the Rangelands Flagship Initiative.
Together, these efforts seek to advance the conservation, sustainable management and restoration of rangelands while increasing investment and coordinated action to strengthen the resilience of pastoral and rangeland-dependent communities. They reflect growing recognition that healthy rangelands are essential for resilient communities, thriving biodiversity, water security and adaptation to climate risks.
Importantly, the conference also underscored that restoring land is not a financial burden. It is a strategic investment in resilience, livelihoods and prosperity.
This was reflected in the launch of the Drought Resilience Investment Facility (DRIF), which aims to help countries move from responding to drought crises to preparing for them. COP17 also announced approximately US$1.3 billion in new and pipeline financing for land restoration and drought resilience across 23 countries. Together, these commitments signal a growing shift towards proactive resilience-building rather than repeated emergency responses.
The challenge now is ensuring that investment reaches the communities doing the work on the ground. Success will depend not only on the amount of funding available, but also on strengthening the institutions, conservancies and partnerships that help manage land and water resources over the long term.
As governments, development partners, philanthropies and the private sector look to scale solutions across Africa, rangelands deserve far greater attention. They are among the continent’s most valuable assets for food security, biodiversity conservation, economic development and climate resilience.
COP17 highlighted what communities across Africa’s rangelands have known for generations: healthy land supports healthy communities. The task now is to turn that recognition into action through sustained investment, stronger partnerships and greater support for the people already managing these landscapes for the benefit of current and future generations.
Samson Kuraru is Northern Kenya Conservation Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy
KATHMANDU, Sep 4 2026 (IPS) - That day, Subash Tamang was mining sand along the banks of the Trishuli River near the Trishuli Hydropower Project, working alongside his wife, brother, sister-in-law, and two other family members. Suddenly, he noticed water gushing down from above the hydropower site. His first thought was that the dam had burst.
In an instant, everything changed. He and his family dropped everything and ran toward the river, desperate to save their lives. But then he saw something even more terrifying—huge waves of water were surging from the other side too, carrying clouds of dust and thick black mud.
“I couldn’t make sense of what was happening,” he recalls. “It looked like a monster coming at us.”
He was holding his wife’s hand, trying to run toward the hill, when the flood swept him away—carrying him nearly 500 metres downstream. Helplessly, he watched as the same raging waters took his wife, his brother, his sister-in-law, and three other family members right before his eyes.
“I was holding her hand, and then the flood pulled her away,” he recalls.
His leg was broken in the disaster. An army helicopter later rescued him and brought him to Kathmandu, where he is now receiving treatment at the Trauma Center.
“Our village has been reduced to ruins,” he says. “I don’t know where to go after this.”
Dr Rijan Bhakta Kayastha, a professor at Kathmandu University, says the August 26 disaster started when a massive chunk of glacier and surrounding rock gave way at altitudes of about 5,200 to 1,200 metres above the Lhande River in Tibet, just across the border.
The falling ice and rock turned into a powerful slurry, sending a massive cascade of water, ice, and debris into the Lhande River in Tibet. That surge triggered a devastating flood that raced downstream through the Bhotekoshi River, causing immense destruction.
The death toll from the disaster in Nepal has climbed to 1,114, with 3,996 people still unaccounted for, according to recent government figures. Among the missing are Nepali Hindu pilgrims travelling to the sacred Kailash Mansarovar site in Tibet, as well as tourists from at least 39 countries.
Authorities have recovered bodies swept away by the floods from Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan, Gorkha, Tanahun, Nawalparasi East, and Nawalparasi West districts.
Dr Bijay Jaisi, Director General of the Department of Roads, said initial assessments show flood damage to roads and bridges alone exceeds 30 billion rupees. Around 80 km of roads have been washed away and another 40 km destroyed, while 35 concrete bridges have been damaged and 53 suspension bridges swept away.
The disaster has wreaked havoc on the region’s hydropower infrastructure: the Rasuwagadhi and Chilime projects have been destroyed, and at least 13 other hydropower projects under construction in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts have sustained significant damage. The Rasuwagadhi hydropower project was completely washed away by the flood.
Most Devastating Flood
“This is one of the deadliest disasters in Nepal’s modern history,” said Dharmaraj Upreti, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. “We have never faced a flood this devastating and widespread before.”
Such floods are not unique to Nepal. In 2015, a similar disaster is believed to have killed around 200 people. More recently, on July 8, 2025, a sudden outburst from a large glacial lake in Tibet sent a surge of water down the Lende River, sweeping away the Maitri Bridge at Rasuwagadhi and killing at least nine people. Just three weeks later, on July 30, the Bhotekoshi flooded again, damaging roads and other infrastructure along the same corridor, according to Binod Parajuli, a senior divisional hydrologist at Nepal’s Flood Forecasting Division.
Arun Bhakta Shrestha, an expert on climate change and Himalayan glaciers, describes it as a “mountain tsunami”.
Kayastha explains that the disaster was first thought to have been triggered by a glacial lake bursting. But satellite images showed something different: a large chunk of glacier on the Nepal side broke off and slid down. Below it lay what experts call a “debris-covered glacier”—a mix of ice and gravel. When that mass collapsed, the ice and its contents began to melt, releasing a surge of water from the glacial lake. Because the terrain below is extremely steep, the mixture raced downhill at high speed, scouring the land next to the river and quickly turning into a devastating flood.
According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), research over 50 years of monitoring reveals that 89% of recorded years experienced a negative glacier mass balance. Crucially, the rate of glacier ice loss doubled post-2000 compared to the preceding decades.
Between 1990 and 2020, Hindu Kush Himalaya glaciers lost roughly 12% of their total area and 9% of their estimated ice volume, amounting to a cumulative loss of up to 27 metres of ice thickness since 1975.
Arun Bhakta Shrestha explained that rising temperatures are melting the glacier’s surface, allowing meltwater to infiltrate the ice. As this water percolates downward, it enlarges existing cracks and forms new fractures called crevasses.
“Crevasses are multiplying rapidly, and as more water pours into them, they grow both wider and deeper,” Sherstha said. “Meltwater moving through the glacier can reach the bedrock below, undermining large ice masses until they collapse. This is precisely the process we are witnessing now. Rising temperatures are hastening the expansion of these fissures.”
Kayastha said the crevasses on the glacier, which had persisted for several months, may have widened. He added that analysing satellite imagery could have helped minimise the damage, but the images were not reviewed.
Climate Change Reshaping Nepal’s High Mountains
Glaciologist Mohan Bahadur Chand warns that climate change is reshaping Nepal’s high mountains in ways that make new kinds of natural disasters more likely.
In recent years, he said, the landscape has become increasingly unstable. Snow once accumulated gently and settled low on the slopes. But as temperatures rise and glaciers retreat upslope, bare ground is becoming exposed. Sections of rock and ice are now left “hanging” precariously on mountain faces.
“It will fall one day or another,” Chand said. “We will see more such processes in the coming days.”
Three days after the flood, Ekat Bahadur Thapa stood at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, pinning photographs of his son and nephew to the missing-persons board.
His son, 28-year-old Subindra Thapa, and his nephew, 33-year-old Resham Bahadur Thapa, were driving along the China–Nepal border that day. Thapa said they called to tell him they were ready to transport people from Nepal into China and that they would return home soon.
When news of the flood broke, Thapa tried calling his son, but the call wouldn’t connect. He told himself they must have found shelter on the Chinese side. Still, by evening, there had been no word from either of them. But as three days passed after the flood with no word from them, that hope began to fade.
He rushed from hospital to hospital across Kathmandu, desperately searching for survivors, but they were not there. He went to the rivers where bodies had been recovered, hoping against hope. “When they could not be found there either, he returned to his village with a heavy heart,” said Thapa, 58.
On Wednesday, eight days after they vanished, Thapa performed funeral rites according to Hindu tradition, believing the remains to be theirs.
Tears streamed down his face. “How hard it must have been for them,” he said, his voice breaking. “How many times they must have tried to escape.”
He said, “May their souls rest in peace, wherever they are.”
“The early warning system was delayed because we couldn’t detect the flood in time,” says Binod Parajuli, Senior Hydrologist at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. “We were only able to act 15 minutes after the flood entered Nepal. By then, damage had already occurred in Rasuwa. When we finally sent out early warning messages to everyone, people assumed it wouldn’t be much worse than previous floods. But the damage ended up being far greater.”
Parajuli continued, “We couldn’t detect the flood early because it began outside our monitoring area. By the time it reached Nepal, we had very little time to respond. Our system sends SMS alerts when it detects rainfall, but this event did not begin with the kind of rain we normally monitor, making it difficult to issue timely warnings.”
He added that this represents a distinct form of cascading, compounding debris flow, and that early-warning systems for such events have not yet been developed.
Kayastha said that last year, when the flood struck, the area was considered highly vulnerable. The Nepal government was also advised to install an early warning system, which would not have been very expensive. The plan included installing two water-level sensors, a monitoring station and cameras in the field so that people could receive flood information more quickly.
“We couldn’t save the people in the upper reaches, but we were able to save those downstream,” says Rajendra Mishra, Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment. “This flood taught us that simply sending out a message is not the same as an early warning.”
He said that it was important to understand exactly who and what was at risk. Only then can we build a system that observes hazards in real time, communicates alerts effectively, and prepares communities for emergencies. This flood was a warning: bigger floods could come again.”
“Many people also failed to take the early warning seriously,” said Professor Dr Ranjan Kumar Dahal, an engineering geologist and geohazard expert. “Warnings should be communicated in clear, simple language that everyone can understand.”
Disaster Awareness Should Start Young
He added that disaster awareness should also be included in school curricula from an early age so that people understand the risks and know how to respond. The process of risk communication must be better understood.
Manish Raj Pandey, head of climate change at the National Trust for Nature Conservation, said the region’s topography is a key factor. He said, “Glaciers and the lakes they form, together with low-lying wetlands, are expanding for a range of reasons. In Nepal, this mix of steep terrain, glaciers and glacial lakes increases flood risk. At the same time, rising temperatures driven by climate change are intensifying these hazards.”
“Nepal’s severe flooding is driven largely by high-mountain hazards—especially glacier and rock-ice avalanches—exacerbated by a warming climate that is destabilising ice, permafrost, and slopes across the Himalayas,” said Dr Basantraj Adhikari, director of the Center for Disaster Studies at Tribhuvan University’s Institute of Engineering.
“We can’t stop floods, but we can reduce the damage they cause,” Kayastha said. To do that, he said, glaciers and glacial lakes need round-the-clock monitoring, with dedicated staff appointed to watch them.
He said that the government should also install water-level measurement stations on rivers fed by these glaciers and set up an early-warning system. Field cameras can be placed at these stations to provide real-time data, and they’re not expensive to install.
“Adhikari said that as settlements continue to expand along riverbanks, local, provincial, and federal governments must enforce stricter monitoring. Local authorities, he added, should rigorously implement risk-sensitive land-use planning.
Kayastha elaborated, “Many riverside settlements are not in safe locations; this pattern is evident across Nepal. Going forward, the siting of new settlements must be carefully assessed.”
Nandalal Gharti lies in the intensive care unit at the Trauma Centre with severe injuries. That morning, he was working at the customs yard in Timure when he saw the crowd running. He grabbed his youngest son and fled. As the torrent caught up to them, Nandalal pushed his son away from a collapsing wall, but moments later, the floodwaters swept them both away.
He said he had no idea such a massive flood was coming. The sun had been shining brightly just before the disaster.
Gharti was buried in thick mud for several minutes. Choking in the dark, he believed his end had come. With a final burst of strength, he pulled himself free, only to get pinned between two houses. He broke free a second time and scrambled onto a piece of floating driftwood. From there, he watched the area vanish under mud in seconds. Later, a rescue helicopter spotted him clinging to the wood and lifted him and three others to safety.
“I thought I was going to die. I thought my whole family would die too,” Gharti said
Five people remain missing after the flood, including his 10-year-old daughter, 12-year-old son, and his brother and sister-in-law.
He is receiving treatment at the trauma centre. “After surviving, we have nowhere to go,” he said. “We have lost our family and all our property.”
IPS UN Bureau Report