Blogs & Opinions

Science as a Catalyst for Peace and Development

Nov 8, 2019 | UN Environment

Despite the benefits of indigenous knowledge, today the relationship between what some call “Western” science and traditional knowledge is difficult at best. Today, Western science…

How Often Does the UN Security Council Use a Gender Lens? Not Often Enough

Nov 6, 2019 | Katelyn Jones

The WPS agenda was instituted in October 2000 via the unanimous passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, which marked the first formal…

Can Women Make the World More Peaceful?

Nov 6, 2019 | Paulino Akon Yel Dut

A genuine comprehensive analysis shows that involving women in peacebuilding increases the probability that violence will end in an easy manner. Hence we should thank…

Rooting for the Environment in Times of Conflict and War

Nov 6, 2019 | UN Environment

Eighteen years ago, on 5 November 2001, the United Nations General Assembly declared 6 November the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in…

The Environment Has Become a Hostage of Armed Conflict

Nov 6, 2019 | Wim Zwijnenburg

This year, 2019, marked a new nadir for the environment that may reflect an ominous trend in warfare: Environmentally sensitive targets are being weaponized and…

Sudanese Women Urge Gender Balance in Country's Peace Process

Nov 5, 2019 | Amy Lieberman

 Sudanese women were influential in the widespread protests that led to the military overthrow of the country's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in April. Six months…

Gender Equality in African Agriculture: An Innovation Imperative

Nov 5, 2019 | Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg

President Barack Obama once highlighted the importance of leveraging the talents of Africa’s women using the analogy of a football match. He pointed out that…

Ghana Needs a Grievance Mechanism to Secure Women's Land Rights

Nov 5, 2019 | Nana Ama Yirrah

From farms to towns, women are a major provider of food and food security for their families, but women in half of the world still struggle to…

Guatemalan Women Force Development Bank to Investigate Gender Policy Violations

Nov 5, 2019 | Tamara Mohr

After a complaint filed by women's groups from Ixquisis, Guatemala, the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) has started an investigation on several policy violations, amongst which…

Trump Keeps Talking About 'Keeping' Middle East Oil. That Would Be Illegal

Nov 5, 2019 | James G. Stewart

President Trump wants it known that — despite his recent decision to pull back the U.S. militarily back from previously Kurdish-held territory in Syria —…

To Give Peace a Chance in Colombia, It's Time to Protect Women Land Defenders

Nov 4, 2019 | Carmen Sanchez Cumming

More than three years have passed since the government of Colombia signed a peace agreement with FARC rebels that promised to end the longest internal armed…

Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in Rohingya Camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh

Nov 4, 2019 | Dr. Zahid Hayat Mahmud

Since August 2017, around one million Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh following a wave of targeted violence in the neighboring Rakhine State of Myanmar. Most of the…

To Give Peace a Chance in Colombia, It's Time to Protect Women Land Defenders

Nov 4, 2019 | Carmen Sanchez Cumming

More than three years have passed since the government of Colombia signed a peace agreement with FARC rebels that promised to end the longest internal armed…

Why Environmental Security Is Paramount to Venezuela’s Future

Nov 2, 2019 | Bram Ebus

Venezuela’s historic meltdown is often explained as a consequence of bad governance, corruption and the collapse of the oil sector or of international sanctions. Solutions…

Women Pastoralists Feel the Heat of Climate Change

Nov 1, 2019 | Sharon Birch-Jeffrey

For many people, climate change is about shrinking glaciers, rising sea levels, longer and more intense heatwaves, and other extreme and unpredictable weather patterns. But…

The Road to Women's Economic Empowerment: Do Women (and Men) Prefer On or Off the Farm?

Nov 1, 2019 | Berber Kramer and Isabel Lambrecht

Improving women’s economic empowerment continues to be the focus of a wide range of development projects, ranging from vocational trainings to microcredit to cash and…

Language Matters: The Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Japan and South Korea

Oct 31, 2019 | Yeonju Jung and Ayako Tsujisaka

Nineteen years ago today, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325—a foundational resolution to the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda. Since the…

Tanzania's Female Parliamentarians to Mainstream Gender in Climate Adaptation

Oct 30, 2019 | Shakwaanande Natai, Madaka Tumbo, Winifred Masiko, and Henry Mahoo

Climate change has been described as a wicked problem, with complexities, feedback loops and tipping points that can cause damage in the most undeserving of…

Men Sweeping? Women Inheriting? Kenya Shakes Up Gender Roles

Oct 30, 2019 | Caroline Wambui

It’s early morning and Moses Njiru 43, has an array of household chores lined up before heading to his job as a cattle broker. 

Dressed in…

Trump's Baffling Plan to Pillage Syria's Oil

Oct 30, 2019 | Robin Wright

President Trump dropped a stunner during his rambling press conference, on Sunday, after announcing the death of Abu Baker al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State leader, in a…

Climate Change to Further Escalate Violence in Western Africa

Oct 28, 2019 | Rabiya Jaffery

Nearly 50 million people in west Africa rely on agriculture and livestock for their livelihood but the land available for pastoral use has been rapidly…

Conflict Minerals Policy Shows the EU Can and Does Learn from the Mistakes of Others

Oct 28, 2019 | Dirk-Jan Koch and Olga Burlyuk

It is easier to learn from your own mistakes than from the mistakes of others. But can a cumbersome political structure like the European Union…

Climate Change Is Benefiting Terrorists in Somalia

Oct 27, 2019 | Christine Ro

Almost half of all people in Somalia don’t have enough food, according to Save the Children. The factors are complex, but a core one is…

Climate Change Reinforces the World's Inequalities

Oct 25, 2019 | Irene Banos Ruiz

As drought, flooding and fires lay claim to headlines and landscapes across the world, and as countries and cities grapple with the cost of it…

Want to Empower Women in Agricultural Systems? Engaging Men Is Part of the Equation

Oct 25, 2019 | Kate Doyle

Women’s experiences of gender-based violence, as well as imbalances of power between men and women, have a profound impact on women’s ability to participate in…

Remarkable US Army Climate Change Report Studies Conflict Risk, What Caused Syria War, Bangladesh Risk, Geo-engineering!

Oct 25, 2019 | OOSKAnews

A combination of global starvation, war, drought and disease could have devastating effects on world security according to a report from several United States agencies…

Privatization of War: A New Challenge for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

Oct 24, 2019 | Marta Bautista Forcada

Since the end of the Cold War, the outsourcing of military and security by armed forces activities has shifted from the exception to the rule.…

Is Lake Chad Shrinking? It's a Story That Masks Serious Failures of Governance

Oct 22, 2019 | Oil Brown and Janani Vivekananda

Lake Chad is a hydrological miracle – a life-giving, freshwater lake in the Sahara desert. But the region around the lake has been engulfed in…

Abyei: Sudan and South Sudan's New Chance to Solve Old Disputes

Oct 21, 2019 | John Pendergast and Brian Adeba

In the excitement around Sudan's evolving political order and the concerns around South Sudan's challenges, less attention has been paid to some long-standing contentious issues that…

U.S. Plan to Guard Syrian Oil Fields Sows Confusion

Oct 21, 2019 | Lara Seligman and Keith Johnson

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday confirmed that President Donald Trump’s administration is considering maintaining a small force of U.S. troops in northeastern Syria near…