News


Op-ed: Build Back Better: Women at the Centre of Decision-Making

Jun 26, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world and our world view, deepening pre-existing inequalities, and exposing vulnerabilities in social, political, and economic systems. Across every…


Vietnam: Vietnamese Family Held after Spreading News of Deadly Land Dispute

Jun 26, 2020 | Agence France-Presse

Four members of a Vietnamese family who spread news online about a deadly land dispute have been arrested, authorities said Thursday, as the communist government…


DRC: UN Calls for 'Sustained Efforts' against DRC Natural Resource Trafficking

Jun 25, 2020 | Agence France-Presse

The UN Security Council called Thursday for "sustained efforts" in preventing the illegal trade of natural resources from the DR Congo, as gold in particular…


Grant-Fun­ded Post-Doc­toral Re­searcher in 'Toxic Crimes Pro­ject'

Jun 25, 2020 | University of Helsinki, Erik Castren Institute

The 'Toxic Crimes Project' is looking for a full-time grant-funded researcher at the postdoctoral stage for a 26-month period (starting October 2020). Our project is…


Afghanistan: New World Drug Report: Opium Production in Afghanistan Remained the Same in 2019

Jun 25, 2020 | Jelena Bjelica, Afghanistan Analysts Network

The United Nations Drugs and Crime Office’s (UNODC) World Drug Report, released today, shows a decrease in the cultivation of opium in Afghanistan in 2019 following price…


Libya: Women, Peace, and Security in Libyan Context

Jun 25, 2020 | United Nations Support Mission in Libya

Full and effective participation of women in public life, including all political processes and peace building initiatives remains essential and a core priority for UNSMIL.…


Uganda: Integrating Gender into Climate Change Interventions

Jun 25, 2020 | Sarah Kenyi, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung

The effects of climate change such as prolonged droughts and unreliable weather patterns adversely impact smallholder coffee growing farmers in Uganda. To mitigate this, the…


Myanmar: Mogok Bans Entry to Unlicensed Gem Mines

Jun 25, 2020 | Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times

Mogok township in Mandalay Region will prohibit people from entering gem-mining concessions that have expired licenses. Ko Soe Min Hlaing, a local resident, described the…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Uses Green Stimulus to Hire Lockdown Jobless, Boost Kabul's Water Supply

Jun 25, 2020 | Sayed Hassib, Reuters

Lockdown measures to curb the spread of the disease have taken their toll on Afghanistan's economy, so the government is employing more than 40,000 jobless…


Colombia: A Community’s Struggle to Protect Itself from Land Mines in the Colombian Amazon

Jun 25, 2020 | Camila Osario, New Yorker

The Siona indigenous territories are located in the state of Putumayo, which has, since the nineteen-sixties, been the crossroads of a war between the Colombian…


Yemen: Seawater Seeping into Decaying Oil Tanker off Yemen Coast

Jun 25, 2020 | Maggie Michael, Associated Press

The United Nations said an abandoned oil tanker moored off the coast of Yemen loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil is…


Climate Change: Foreign Ministers Flag Climate Change as Major Spark for Conflicts

Jun 25, 2020 | Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Climate change impacts - including growing food and water scarcity - are becoming increasingly important drivers of conflict and unrest around the world, and security…


Nigeria: Deforestation, Land Grabbing on the Rise in Cross River ― ERA

Jun 25, 2020 | Ike Uchechukwu Calabar

Environmental Right Action/ Friends of the Earth, ERA/FoEN have asserted that the incident of land grabbing and deforestation was becoming increasingly alarming in various Cross…


The Gender Dimension of Sustainable Development

Jun 24, 2020 | Michael Fitzpatrick

Despite the recent ravages of plague, war, and pestilence, we humans still excel in one unceasing task — breeding. So much so, humanity is on…


Water Sharing Tensions Between Iran and Afghanistan Still High as Droughts Ease

Jun 24, 2020 | Phoebe Sleet

Both Iran and Afghanistan have suffered from prolonged droughts over the last several years. In Afghanistan, the worst drought in decades directly affected two-thirds of the country in 2018-19. Around ten…


Water Wars: The Pandemic’s Great Power Competition at Sea

Jun 24, 2020 | Sean Quirk

As the world continues its fight against the coronavirus, the U.S. and Chinese militaries are testing each other’s limits in the Indo-Pacific region. Beijing is…


Climate Change: Dhaka Seeks UNSC's Bold Steps to Address Climate Challenges

Jun 24, 2020 | Dhaka Tribune

Bangladesh has sought a “bold decision” from the UN Security Council to ensure security and peace across nations addressing climate challenges through partnership and collaboration.


Iraq: Iraq Passes Bill to Unlock Funds for Cash-Strapped State

Jun 24, 2020 | Samya Kullab, Associated Press

Iraqi lawmakers Wednesday passed a crucial bill allowing the country to finance a widening fiscal deficit amid an unprecedented economic crisis spurred by falling oil…


Water Sharing Tensions Between Iran and Afghanistan Still High as Droughts Ease

Jun 24, 2020 | Phoebe Sleet

Both Iran and Afghanistan have suffered from prolonged droughts over the last several years. In Afghanistan, the worst drought in decades directly affected two-thirds of the country in 2018-19. Around ten…


How Can Extractive Sector Laws and Policies Contribute to Gender Equality?

Jun 23, 2020

What do governments and international organizations mean when they say that they aim to advance gender equity in the context of natural resource governance? Many governments…


Afghanistan: Drought, Desertification Threaten Future of Agriculture in Afghanistan

Jun 23, 2020 | Afghanistan Times

A former official warns against the successive droughts in the country, calling it a threat for the future of agriculture since deserts are widening as…


South Sudan: East African Court Bars South Sudan, Two Firms from Exporting Oil

Jun 23, 2020 | Luke Anami, East African

The government of South Sudan and two mining companies have been barred from operating and exporting oil due to spills that have polluted the environment.…


Afghanistan: 'Divorce Isn't an Option': Afghan Women Find Hope in Saffron Scheme

Jun 23, 2020 | Stefanie Glinski, Guardian

In Zadid’s village in Herat province’s Pashtun Zarghun district, an area disputed by the Afghan government and the Taliban, an increasing number of men are…


China/South China Sea: South China Sea Surveys Pressure Claimants, Mine Info with Military Use

Jun 23, 2020 | Drake Long, BenarNews

Beijing has increased the tempo of its deep sea surveys in the South China Sea, worrying claimant states and other nations. Experts say the mapping…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China Sends Ship as Warning to Vietnam: No Court Case, No Oil Drilling

Jun 22, 2020 | Ralph Jennings, Voice of America

China sent a survey vessel through waters claimed by its maritime sovereignty rival Vietnam this month to warn Hanoi against starting new energy exploration projects…


Iraq: Water Hyacinth Pest Chokes Iraq's Vital Waterways

Jun 22, 2020 | Agence France-Presse

The water hyacinth, nicknamed the "Nile flower" in Iraq, is an invasive plant native to South America's Amazon basin that has ravaged ecosystems across the…


Liberia: Leaders of Maryland and River Gee Restore Calm into Disputed Goldmine

Jun 22, 2020 | E. Varney Kamah, Global News Network Liberia

At long last the elders of both Maryland and Rivergee Counties have finally agreed to suspend activities at the Besseken goldmine dispute between of the…


Egypt/Ethiopia: Dispute Over Africa’s Biggest Hydro Dam Set for Discussion at UN

Jun 22, 2020 | David Wainer, Bloomberg

The United Nations Security Council will discuss for the first time Monday a growing dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over a giant hydropower dam being…


Conflict, Conservation, and Cooperation Across the India-Bhutan Border

Jun 22, 2020 | Umika Chanana

In the article, Dr. Anwesha Dutta construes the evolution of separatist movements that stimulates the unbridled extraction of forest resources, impacting the lives and livelihood of…


Reports Highlight the Need for Further Consideration of Gender, Climate, and Security Linkages

Jun 22, 2020 | Magdalena Baranowska

In a recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) paper, Elizabeth Seymour Smith, a Research Assistant with SIPRI’s Climate Change and Risk Programme, explores the intersection of…