As customary, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) is opening its new regular session in the second half of September. World leaders are converging on New York for their High-level Week’s multitude of events starting today, 22 September. Expect a series of grandiose monologues of Presidents, Kings, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers or other…
The United Nations turns 80 at a moment when its relevance is under sharper question than at any point since its founding. Conceived in the ashes of global war, the UN was meant to embody collective security and the promise of universal cooperation. Today, it stumbles under financial arrears of more than USD 5 billion,…
In Nepal, the small Himalayan country wedged between giants China and India, the “Gen-Z” has taken to the streets. The youth have two key demands – “the government lifting the ban on social media”, which has now happened, and an end to the “corrupt practices” of public officials. The unrest was triggered by a ban…
The situation in Gaza continues to spring up surprises on us, horrible, inhuman, deadly surprises. The latest, after the relentless bombing and killing of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians – apparently not innocent enough for the Israeli government, as they may have been dreaming of a free and independent Palestine – is the…
Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel has made his point crystal clear: He wants to proceed with the full occupation of Gaza City with troops on the ground, thus dealing the final blow to the much-weakened but still somewhat holding Hamas. He may believe it, or not. In the latter case he may be trying to…
Many changes have occurred over the decades since the UN was founded. We need to name these changes, some of which are systemic. For one, many new states were formed through the decolonization process and the collapse of the Soviet Union. They joined the UN, but did they truly subscribe to the spirit of the…
Could there be good news out of Kananaskis? The 51st summit of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries is taking place in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on 15-17 June 2025. Despite the constantly diminishing part of the world’s population and GDP that these countries represent (reportedly 10% and 44% respectively), one cannot underestimate the importance…
It is most worrisome to witness a further step towards the abyss being taken in the Middle East. The rogue regime of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahou continues to play God and to strike on enemies real and imaginary with utter force and impunity, leaving dead bodies, destruction, instability and lawlessness on its way. We offer…
The UN, the perma-polycrisis, and our shrinking moral imagination The United Nations, the world’s most ambitious peace project, is once again on the brink of running out of money. But this time, it feels different, big time. We’re living through what many now call a perma-polycrisis, a constant layering of political instability and conflicts, economic…
A new kind of state is born Reflecting on what is happening in the US since the (second) Trump inauguration on 20 January 2025, people say it is becoming an authoritarian state, a corrupt state, an anti-immigrant state, a human rights crushing state, a white nationalist state, an oligarch-controlled state, and a state that is…
