Fariba, a young Afghan woman, had just begun a university degree in 2021 when the Taliban returned to power and banned women and girls from secondary and higher education. This is just one way that the de facto authorities have restricted women and girls’ fundamental rights. Today, Afghanistan has the second largest gender gap in the world after Yemen. “Sometimes […]
The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) has concluded at United Nations Headquarters in New York following a week-and-a-half of substantive discussion between Member States, civil society representatives and UN agencies. At the end of the conference on Wednesday, Member States adopted a Ministerial Declaration by a vote of 154-2-2, with the United States […]
This Friday July 25, 2025 marks the first observation of the International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent, following a declaration last year by the UN General Assembly. It recognises their immense contributions to society, but also acknowledges the challenges they face due to the double burden of racism and sexism. Although woman […]
Digital innovation and technology remain underfunded and underdeveloped across Africa, according to a report on Africa’s development which was discussed at the General Assembly on Monday July 21, 2025. In 2024, only 34 per cent of women and 45 per cent of men on the continent used the internet, compared to global averages of […]
Citing new global agreements on pandemic preparedness, ocean protection and development financing, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres said on Monday July 21, 2025 that recent “signs of momentum” show multilateralism can still deliver. Addressing ministers at UN Headquarters in New York, he called for urgent action to rescue lagging Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) amid war, inequality and fiscal strain. “Transformation […]
Worldwide, some of the most widespread and damaging drought events in recorded history have occurred in recent years due to climate change and resource depletion. This is according to a new report from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and the International Drought Resilience Alliance on the global impacts of droughts from 2023 to 2025. […]
NEW YORK, Jul 16 2025 (IPS) – Around a quarter of countries still have nationality laws that deny women the same rights as men to acquire, retain, or change their citizenship, or to pass citizenship onto their children or foreign spouses. These legal inequalities expose women and their families to a wide range of harms. […]
The Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) has commended the Government of Liberia for officially signing the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, marking a critical step forward in addressing gender-based violence in the country. While praising the move, AFELL is calling on the government to take the next essential […]
Global life expectancy increased by an astonishing five years between 2000 and 2019. And then since the COVID-19 pandemic, it slid backwards by almost two. More than 110 million children have entered school since 2015 – but by 2023, 272 million children still had no access to the classroom. The UN’s key Sustainable Development Goals Report […]
As the deadline for the 2030 Agenda looms, ministers, experts, and civil society leaders from around the world will convene in New York next week for a high-level UN forum to fast-track action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2025 High-Level Political Forum, or HLPF, follows two recent successful UN conferences focused on vital development […]
