By Robert Kibet
ZOUNGOU, Burkina Faso, Jul 18 2025 – In the heart of Burkina Faso’s drylands, in the village of Zoungou, a quiet transformation is underway. Alhaji Birba Issa, a smallholder onion farmer, bends over neat rows of lush green crops, the hum of solar-powered pumps audible in the background.

“This land used to sleep during the dry season,” he says, dusting soil from his hands. “Our diesel pump would break down. Crops died. But now, we farm all year.”

Issa leads one of 89 farmer cooperatives participating in the Renewable Energy for Agriculture and Livelihoods (REAL BF) programme, which is equipping smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, with clean energy technologies that are reshaping agricultural productivity and dignity across Burkina Faso’s drought-prone regions.

When Energy Meets Agriculture

Burkina Faso faces some of the highest levels of climate vulnerability in the world. Over 80 percent of its population depends on rain-fed agriculture, which has become increasingly unreliable due to erratic rainfall and rising temperatures.

In response, the REAL BF program—implemented by Practical Action with support from multiple development partners—has taken a holistic approach. It connects off-grid solar systems, biodigesters, and energy-efficient processing technologies to smallholder farming, helping communities extend their farming seasons, preserve harvests, and reduce reliance on polluting fuels.

By July 2024, the programme had reached 15,937 smallholder farmers, more than 80 percent of them women, and achieved 82 percent activity completion and 90 percent budget execution.

“These are not drop-and-go technologies,” says Issouf Ouédraogo, Practical Action’s West Africa Regional Director. “We co-designed the solutions with farmers, supported them to organize in cooperatives, and trained them to manage the systems. The results are community-owned, and that’s why it’s working.”

Fields that Grow Beyond Rain

In places like Komki Ipala, solar-powered irrigation now reaches 115 hectares of farmland. Farmers grow vegetables, rice, legumes, and onions throughout the year—no longer limited to the short rainy season.

“Before, we farmed three months,” says Aminata Zangre, a cooperative leader in Zoungou. “Now we plan for eight. My children eat better. We sell the surplus. And we use cow dung to generate energy. It’s like turning waste into hope.”

Zangre’s cooperative uses biodigesters to turn livestock waste into biogas and compost, reducing deforestation and creating a sustainable cycle of cooking fuel and organic fertilizer.

In Gon-Boussougou, Molle Nossira supervises a fish processing cooperative that once struggled with spoilage and smoke. “The fish used to go bad before midday. Now we use energy-efficient ovens and solar cold rooms,” she says. “Our fish stays fresh. We sell at better prices. We even sell cold drinks, which attract more customers.”

Quantifying the Impact

The numbers tell a compelling story:

• 180 MWh of clean energy is generated annually by the systems installed.
• 148 tonnes of compost and 1,268 kg of butane-equivalent biogas are produced yearly.
• 722 tonnes of firewood saved per year, helping preserve 135 hectares of forest.
• An estimated 1,437 tonnes of CO₂ emissions are avoided annually.
• Each smallholder farmer has seen a minimum income increase of 50,000 CFA francs (around USD 80) annually—often more.

“Food security has improved. Post-harvest losses are down. Women no longer spend hours collecting firewood,” says Farid Sawadogo, a field coordinator with Practical Action. “We see resilience growing in very real ways.”

Women in the Lead

While energy infrastructure is often seen as a male domain, this programme has turned that perception on its head.

In Koulpelé, Awa Convolbo leads a women’s cooperative focused on shea butter processing. “We used to work entirely with firewood, which was exhausting and harmful,” she recalls. “Now we use improved cookstoves and solar-powered water pumps. Our income has grown, and I’ve been able to support my children’s education.”

Convolbo participated in a knowledge exchange visit to Rwanda and returned home inspired to restructure her cooperative’s finances. “Clean energy didn’t just change how we cook—it changed how we lead,” she says.

Youth Shaping the Future

Young people, too, have found new roles in their communities—maintaining solar systems, managing cooperative finances, and digitizing agricultural planning tools.

“Young people now see farming and energy as a future,” says Sawadogo. “They are staying in their villages, building careers, and bringing new ideas.”

To further support access to knowledge and resources, Practical Action launched the Yiriwali Platform, a multilingual digital tool where farmers can choose clean energy technologies, find technology providers, and connect with microfinance institutions. Available in French, Moore, Dioula, and Fulfulde, the platform strengthens ties between smallholder farmers, tech suppliers, and financiers.

Scaling Lessons Beyond Borders

The REAL BF programme aligns with the UN’s Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL) and supports the Sustainable Development Goals—particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

With demonstrated success in rural Burkina Faso, the model is attracting interest from agencies like UNDP, FAO, and ECOWAS as a blueprint for scaling across the Sahel.

Practical Action hopes to expand the programme and deepen its impact through additional investment, particularly for the remaining cooperatives that could not yet be funded due to budget limitations.

“We’re showing that smallholder farmers aren’t victims of climate change,” says Ouédraogo. “They’re agents of climate resilience—when they have the right tools and power.”

Farming with Dignity

Back in Zoungou, Birba Issa reflects on the change he has seen in his community: children returning to school, women leading cooperatives, and farmers planning not just for the season but for the future.

“We’ve turned drylands into green fields,” he says. “And we farm with dignity.”

As the sun sets over the Sahel, these solar-powered communities are not just surviving—they are showing the rest of the region how to thrive.

By Jesselina Rana
NEW YORK, Jul 18 2025 – In its 80-year history the UN has never once been led by a woman. As the international community convenes for the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) to review progress on gender equality and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this remains a fundamental hypocrisy at the heart of global governance. How can an institution that has systematically excluded women from its highest office credibly champion gender justice worldwide?

With the various SDGs under review this year – goal 3 (health), 5 (gender equality), 8 (decent work), 14 (life below water) and 17 (partnerships) – there’s a widening gap between the UN’s pledge to seek ‘evidence-based solutions’ to ‘leave no one behind’ and the lived reality of women, girls and excluded communities worldwide. Despite decades of rhetoric on inclusion, these groups remain systemically marginalised from meaningful power and access to decision-making.

This contradiction between rhetoric and reality reflects a deeper power imbalance across the world that undermines the credibility and the effectiveness of efforts to address pressing global challenges.

CIVICUS’s State of Civil Society Report paints a picture of a disturbing rollback of progress on gender justice that spans continents and contexts. In Afghanistan, the Taliban have institutionalised a system of gender apartheid. In the USA, the Trump administration has drastically curtailed access to reproductive healthcare. Globally, the freeze on USAID’s health funding is projected to deny 11.7 million of the world’s most excluded women access to contraception, leading to over 4.2 million unintended pregnancies and more than 8,300 preventable maternal deaths. In Russia, the state’s campaign against ‘child-free propaganda’ represents its latest attempt to control women’s choices and repress LGBTQI+ people.

According to UN experts, Palestinian women and girls have faced sexual violence in detention, including being strip-searched by Israeli soldiers. In China, women’s rights activists have been imprisoned for ‘inciting subversion of state power’. Meanwhile, authorities in Ghana, Kenya, Mali and Uganda have introduced harsh anti-LGBTQI+ laws under the guise of protecting family values.

These global trends and imbalances are exacerbated by attacks on civic space, restricting civil society’s ability to challenge discriminatory laws and practices and dramatically increasing risks to the safety and lives of those who dare to resist. According to the CIVICUS Monitor, a collaborative initiative tracking civic space worldwide, over 70 per cent of the world’s population lives in countries where civic space is severely restricted. Only six out of 37 countries participating in Voluntary National Reviews at this year’s HLPF – the Bahamas, the Czech Republic, Finland, Japan, Micronesia and St Lucia – have open civic space. Civic freedoms are being crushed precisely when public participation is most desperately needed.

Even in the face of persistent failings in global governance and multilateral systems, feminist leadership continues to deliver where institutions fall short. As the UN marks the 25th anniversary of its Women, Peace and Security agenda, its most powerful legacy lies not in policy declarations, but in the actions of women who have transformed its vision into reality from Colombia to Sudan and Myanmar to Ukraine, contributing to peace agreements, defending rights under attack and rebuilding communities. Their leadership is often intersectional, crisis-tested and grounded in lived realities – precisely the evidence-based solutions needed to truly leave no one behind.

Today, the most effective responses to pressing global needs – climate resilience, democratic renewal and gender justice – are coming from the grassroots. Feminist movements, particularly in the global south, are already delivering on the SDGs, despite restricted civic space, chronic underfunding and persistent sidelining by patriarchal power structures locally to globally.

Across every metric that matters – from peace sustainability to economic resilience, from climate adaptation to democratic governance – feminist leadership works. Yet the institutions tasked with solving global challenges continue to exclude the leaders who’ve proven most effective at delivering solutions. If the UN80 Initiative is truly aimed at reasserting the value of multilateralism, it must centre the voices of women and excluded groups in policymaking and implementation.

The 2025 HLPF should offer a moment of reckoning. States can continue the charade of promoting gender equality while perpetuating gender exclusion at the highest levels, or they can finally align their actions with their rhetoric.

Through the 1 for 8 Billion campaign, civil society is calling for multilateral structures to be reimagined. This is not a call for incremental change or token gestures: it’s a demand for transformation. The world can’t afford another 80 years of male-dominated leadership at the UN while women and excluded communities bear the disproportionate brunt of global crises. The selection process for the next UN Secretary-General must be transparent and inclusive, and the role should be held by an intersectional feminist woman who leads with courage and holds truth to power.

Jesselina Rana is UN advisor at CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance.

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By Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levine
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 18 2025 – The United Nations celebrated Nelson Mandela International Day in honor of the activist and politician’s lifelong commitment to peace and democracy.

At the 16th celebration of Nelson Mandela International Day, delegates, representatives and visitors alike reflected on the impact of South Africa’s first black president and leader in a fully representative democratic election.

The activist and politician, who spent 27 years in prison, was a staunch freedom fighter—arguing that freedom was not only an individual mission but also a collective responsibility and communal effort.

These principles were enshrined in the Nelson Mandela Rules, officially called the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, a document protecting humane treatment of individuals without liberty. The document emphasizes respect for human dignity, prohibits torture and promotes fair and just conditions.

Although the Nelson Mandela Rules are “soft law” and not legally binding, the General Assembly has adopted them as universally agreed minimum standards. Many countries have incorporated the rules into domestic law, but many others have violated conditions of healthcare, solitary confinement and ethical working rights. Delegates and various speakers agreed that there was still much work to be done.

Nelson Mandela International Day, established in 2009 by the United Nations General Assembly and officially celebrated in 2010 on July 18th (President Mandela’s birthday), is a holiday encouraging all citizens around the world to engage positively in their communities.

Dr. Naledi Pandor, chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, addresses the UN General Assembly Plenary on Nelson Mandela International Day. Credit: Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levin/IPS

From annual volunteer events to the annual Mandela Prize, awarded to two laureates each year who have profoundly impacted their communities by serving humanity, speakers, including the award recipients, the Secretary-General and the chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, all reflected on Mandela’s legacy on their own lives and on the UN.

In Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly at their plenary meeting, he said, “Power is not a personal possession to be harbored. Power is about lifting others up; it’s about what we can achieve with one another and for one another. Power is about people.” He echoed Mandela’s belief in collective grassroots action to deliver power to the powerless, encouraging member states to bring these principles into practice.

Dr. Naledi Pandor, chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, similarly called for action against injustice and inequality. She recalled how the United Nations aided South Africa in ending apartheid as it “stood against apartheid domination, not through arms but through bringing its undeniable moral weight into combat against injustice. That boldness, that courage is needed more and more today.”

Nelson Mandela, then Deputy President of the African National Congress of South Africa, raises his fist in the air while addressing the Special Committee Against Apartheid in the General Assembly Hall, June 22, 1990. Credit: UN Photo/Pernaca Sudhakaran

Pandor went on to recall Mandela’s political views beyond South Africa—his demand for global equity extended to all, and reflecting on how he might feel about the current state of the world, she quoted his 1990 speech to the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid.

Mandela said, “We also take this opportunity to extend warm greetings to all others who fight for their liberation and their human rights, including the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara. We commend their struggles to you, convinced that we are all moved by the fact that freedom is indivisible, convinced that the denial of the rights of one diminishes the freedom of others.”

Mandela was a strong supporter of Palestine, often comparing its struggle with South Africa’s. South Africa, even after his death, maintained close ties to Palestine and brought the case of genocide against Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024.

The 2025 Nelson Mandela laureates, Brenda Reynolds of Saulteaux First Nation and Canada and Kennedy Odede of Kenya, both spoke about how Mandela inspired their respective work. Reynolds, a social worker by trade, led the establishment of a national, culturally grounded mental health initiative for survivors of Indian residential schools.

Reynolds described her work with survivors as an example of Mandela’s notion of moving forward from resentment towards progress—as people found peace with their experiences, they were able to recover and lift up their communities from oppression. She described this as a process of peacebuilding within people, saying, “peace begins with individuals, and from there, you can find peace within your family and within your communities.”

Odede, who founded Kenya’s largest grassroots movement, Shining Hope For Communities (SHOFCO), to empower struggling urban communities, shared how Mandela’s words and experience with struggle inspired him to build within his own life. He found creative ways to organize communities around simple things like soccer, providing hope to people in dire situations.

The representative for The Gambia, who spoke on behalf of the African states, called upon the UN to adhere to Mandela’s principles, particularly on poverty as a man-made horror that can and must be removed by actions of human beings. The representative warned of extreme poverty on the rise, centering the “developing countries and middle-income countries” suffering the most “with unemployment rates beyond records.”

He said, “It is time for solidarity, partnerships and genuine actions where they are most needed,” asserting that poverty and underdevelopment were huge perpetuators of racism, therefore continuing a vicious cycle that oppressed people.

The representative argued, “rising inequity and progressive discrimination are not inevitable; they are a result of decades of policies and dynamics emanating from colonialism, appetite, and discrimination.” Criticizing these practices as misaligned with the UN charter, he pushed the UN to renew their commitment to progressing social development by redistributing wealth.

As the world commemorates Nelson Mandela’s enduring legacy, the message resonating from this year’s observance is clear: his vision of freedom—rooted in dignity, justice and collective responsibility—demands more than remembrance; it requires action. From prison reform to poverty alleviation to indigenous healing to grassroots empowerment, Mandela’s ideals continue to challenge the global community to uphold humanity over power and compassion over indifference. In honoring his life, the UN and its member states are reminded that freedom is not static—it is a continual struggle, a shared pursuit and a moral obligation.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Maximilian Malawista
NEW YORK, Jul 18 2025 – “The power of AI carries immense responsibilities. Today, that power sits in the hands of a few,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the 2025 AI Action Summit, reflecting on a deepening reality as we inch closer to a world in complete digital domination. Today, seven of the world’s top ten most valuable companies are digital giants, focusing primarily on the output of communication, digital manufacturing, artificial intelligence and digital commerce, which is paving the way for a fully digitized life for all.

The top 10 companies include some of the biggest names in information technology and digital commerce:

NVIDIA: 4.002 trillion USD | Information Technology
Microsoft: 3.727 trillion USD | Information Technology
Apple: 3.172 trillion USD | Information Technology
Amazon: 2.359 trillion USD | Consumer Discretionary
Alphabet (Google): 2.161 trillion USD | Communication Services
Meta Platforms (Facebook): 1.828 trillion USD | Communication Services
Saudi Aramco: 1.627 trillion USD | Energy
Broadcom: 1.295 trillion USD | Information Technology
TSMC: 1.191 trillion USD | Information Technology
Berkshire Hathaway: 1.032 trillion USD | Consumer Discretionary

These companies actively reshape nearly every aspect of life, from showing you an ad for the brand-new phone you have been eyeing, to manufacturing the chip inside that very phone, and even delivering it to your doorstep. They are all connected and can be done from a single click of the screen.

Some of these firms have a near-digital monopoly on all aspects of the digital economy. Take Microsoft for example:

E-Commerce and digital payment: Microsoft.com
Digital content and distribution: Xbox Game Pass, Windows Store, Microsoft Store
Social media: Teams, LinkedIn
Online search: Bing
Online Advertising: Bing, Microsoft, LinkedIn Ads
Cloud Services: Azure, Microsoft 365
AI Models: Copilot

Your entire life can be run from one of these services, from finding your local market for groceries, to buying a new laptop for work, to storing your sensitive data, creating visualizations for that new project you’re working on, or even purchasing a video game. It’s all done from one company spread across a few platforms.

Market limitations amid consolidation

The vertical and horizontal consolidation of digital supply chains has made it nearly impossible for new companies to break into just about any of these markets. A lack of competition ultimately fuels higher prices, lower quality, and weakened privacy protection for the consumer.

Consumers often unknowingly support and reinforce this system. If they rely on Google across all their devices, it creates a cycle which lacks digital diversity, increasing the difficulty for smaller entities to innovate and break into the market.

By design, digital ecosystems keep users within the limits of a single company’s platforms, making it easy for the user to move from service to service, but at the hidden cost of freely giving up your data.

Advertising plays a vital role in this campaign for dominance. 97.6 percent of Meta’s revenue and 75.6 percent of Google’s comes just from ads. Just by being on their platforms you’re generating billions of dollars, without paying a single cent for use.

Unchecked growth

From 2020 to 2024, digital multinationals enterprises (MNEs) accounted for one-third of all greenfield data center projects, initiatives built entirely from the ground up. Logistic projects in contrast only accounted for 10 percent. This displays just how massively the digital world is expanding, fueled by investments in immersive online environments where users are increasingly spending money on non-physical assets, creating endless revenues streams out of thin air.

In China, the concentration of digital markets is comparatively extreme than in other countries, given that certain American applications do not work there. A handful of firms — Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance — control the population’s entire digital ecosystem. As the second-most populous country in the world, this is no small feat. WeChat alone is used by 95 percent of their population, centralizing social media, messaging, payments, and e-commerce into one platform. This means that competition effectively does not exist.

From 2017 to 2025, the combined share of sales between the top five digital MNEs doubled from 21 percent to 48 percent, displaying immense growth in a merely eight-year period. This trend was also observed within asset concentration, where the top five digital firms doubled from 17 percent to now 35 percent during that same period

Artificial Intelligence (AI) consolidation

As digital markets surge, so does dominance in the AI value chain. Just two companies, Microsoft and Alphabet, control 78 percent of AI development from start to finish, largely through their partnerships with startups like OpenAI and Anthropic. This allows them to virtually own every link in the chain, from data collection to model training and deployment, to application.

Generative AI requires massive capital, but also computing power, cloud services, AI chips, talent, and most importantly, data, which only the tech giants control. There is hardly, if any room for smaller firms to compete. This dynamic has shown to have serious market limiting implications, as AI will become necessary to digital expansion.

As UN Secretary General António Guterres warned at the 79th General Assembly in 2024, “A handful of companies and even individuals have already amassed enormous power over the development of AI – with little accountability or oversight for the moment.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Takaedza Tafirei and Asma Darwish
HARARE, Zimbabwe / TOURS, France, Jul 18 2025 – Across the globe—from Gaza’s rubble to the streets of Tbilisi—people are standing up for justice, dignity, and basic rights. But far too often, they are paying with their freedom, their safety, even their lives.

Why, in 2025, does speaking out for justice still cost an arm and a leg?

Takaedza Tafirei

As human rights defenders ourselves, we ask this not as a rhetorical flourish, but from the depths of personal experience. The world is witnessing a sharp rise in protest repression, even in so-called democratic states. And the silence—or worse, complicity—of the international community is deafening.

The CIVICUS Monitor paints a worrying picture: only 40 out of 198 countries maintain an open civic space, while 72.4% of the world’s population lives under repressive or closed conditions—a rise from the previous year. Freedom of expression violations appeared in 49 countries (45% of all cases), while peaceful-assembly and association violations made up 29% and 26%, respectively. Alarmingly, detention of human rights defenders was recorded in at least 58 countries, and nearly 10% of violations were linked to Israel, Palestine and solidarity protests.

Such repression can take place anywhere–from authoritarian countries to “mature democracies.” In March 2025, for instance, the United States—once a global standard-bearer—was added to the CIVICUS Watchlist for its rapid decline in civic freedoms, including executive orders threatening peaceful assemblies and free expression.

When democracies tighten civic space, authoritarian actors feel empowered to escalate their own crackdowns. This is a dangerous global trend.

Both of us have personal experience facing down authoritarianism.

Takaedza comes from Zimbabwe, where his journey as a protest organizer taught him what state repression looks like up close. Today, he coordinates global efforts to protect the right to peaceful protest at CIVICUS, working with brave activists who’ve been beaten, jailed, and silenced—simply for demanding a better future. From his own experience, he’s lived their fears and their hopes.

Asma Darwish

Asma was arrested in Bahrain for organizing protests. She’s now exiled in France because she dared to demand rights that should never be negotiable. In Bahrain, she was told she could live a comfortable life so long as she didn’t open her mouth. Talk about women’s rights, prisoners’ rights, peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and suddenly, you’re a criminal.

Today, Asma leads the Stand As My Witness campaign at CIVICUS, which advocates for the release of imprisoned human rights defenders around the world. Since its launch five years ago on the 18 July Nelson Mandela International Day, Stand As My Witness has helped contribute to the release of 31 jailed human rights defenders around the world, from Burundi to Saudi Arabia, Algeria to Zimbabwe.

We do this work professionally, but we also know what it means to be persecuted and to feel abandoned, unseen. And we know how life-changing it can be when the world stands in solidarity with you.

From the pro-Palestinian student protests in the U.S. to Georgia’s anti–foreign agent law demonstrations, from Kenya’s #RejectFinanceBill movement to Mozambique’s electoral justice protests to Iran’s Women, Life, Freedom uprising—one pattern is clear: the price of peaceful protest is becoming unbearable.

Civic space is shrinking at an alarming rate. And when countries that are supposed to model democracy begin restricting their own civic spaces, it sends a dangerous signal. It emboldens authoritarian regimes to crack down even harder, knowing there will be little consequence.

This global assault on protest rights isn’t just a threat to human rights—it’s an attack on the very spirit of youth-led resistance. It’s an attempt to smother change before it even begins.

To be persecuted for speaking out is not just a legal issue—it’s emotional, mental, deeply personal. It’s isolation. It’s fear. It’s the constant threat that your activism might cost your freedom—or worse, your life.

But it’s also resilience. It’s the strength of knowing you are not alone. And that’s where you, the reader, come in.

This isn’t just our fight—it’s yours too. Here’s how the world can stand with those risking everything for justice.

First, always name and shame repressive governments.

Some regimes are incredibly sensitive to international perception. Public exposure—through social media, op-eds, open letters, and campaigns like #StandAsMyWitness —can be a powerful deterrent. In Asma’s case, sustained international pressure contributed to her release from detention and that of some family members. Naming and shaming works. Use your voice.

Second, practice global solidarity so human rights defenders feel seen and not forgotten.

When defenders are imprisoned, they often feel abandoned, but just knowing their names are being spoken and stories shared gives them strength. Personal letters, solidarity statements, and international acknowledgment matter. Solidarity isn’t symbolic—it’s strategic. It reminds governments that the world is watching, and assures imprisoned activists that they are not alone.

Third, if you can, provide real support such as legal, logistical, and mental health aid.

Many human rights defenders operate under immense strain with limited resources. Donating to or supporting trusted groups who provide legal assistance, emergency relocation, digital security or trauma care can help ease the burden and provide material benefits for whatever activists under threat might need in the moment. Likewise, attending trials—even virtually—can deter abuse and spotlight injustice. Advocating for mental health care, including for activists seeking asylum, is both necessary and long overdue.

Along those same lines, don’t just look abroad for activism–always make sure you fight for your rights at home and hold your own government accountable, too. That means pushing your elected officials to speak out on global abuses, provide asylum for persecuted human rights defenders, and safeguard civic space. Democracy isn’t static. When we lose it in one place, we all feel the effects. And if you lose your ability to protest peacefully in your own country, it will be even harder to stand up for the rights of others across borders.

Next, use your platform—whatever it is. Whether you’re an artist, educator, influencer, student, or professional—use your space to amplify human rights defenders’ voices. Bring their stories into classrooms, media and workplaces. Advocate for them publicly. Help shift the narrative from passive sympathy to active solidarity.

Last of all, don’t forget to celebrate human rights defenders. Too often, we hear about human rights defenders only at negative times such as when they’re imprisoned or killed. But their courage deserves celebration. Nominating them for awards, fellowships and storytelling projects honors their resistance and affirms their dignity.

Despite the crackdowns, we are not without hope because we’ve seen throughout the Stand As My Witness campaign how solidarity and activism works. Change is possible as long as across the globe, people organize, resist, and imagine a more just and free world.

If we want a world where justice is not punished, where peaceful protest is not criminalized, where human rights defenders do not pay with their lives—then we must act now. Not later. Not when it’s convenient. But now. Solidarity is our only currency for survival.

Takaedza Tafirei is Programme Coordinator for Freedom of Peaceful Assembly at CIVICUS and a former protest organiser.

Asma Darwish is a Bahraini human rights defender and Lead for Stand As My Witness Campaign & MENA Advocacy at CIVICUS.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 18 2025 – Over the past week, the humanitarian situation in Syria has significantly deteriorated, with tensions between the Druze religious minority and the Syrian military reaching new peaks. On July 16, Israel launched a series of powerful airstrikes on Syria’s capital city, Damascus, in defense of Syria’s Druze population, further spurring regional instability and exacerbating the dire scale of needs.

Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the security situation for Druze Syrians has been particularly volatile, with hostilities escalating between late April and early May. Clashes between the Druze communities and the Syrian military resulted in numerous extrajudicial killings of Druze civilians.

From July 11 to 16, violent altercations between the Druze and Bedoulin communities erupted in Suwayda and spread to neighboring cities, resulting in the Syrian transitional government deploying its military to restore order. According to figures from the Syrian observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), clashes between the Syrian military and the two minority groups resulted in over 200 deaths.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) adds that residents in Suwayda reported a litany of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, burning of civilian infrastructures, lootings, abductions, and incitement to violence.

OCHA spokesperson Eri Kaneko informed IPS that prior to Israel’s bombardment of Syria, roughly 300,000 civilians were in dire need of humanitarian assistance, roughly two-thirds of the nation’s population. Due to heightened insecurity, OCHA and its partners have been unable to assess the severity of the situation from the ground, or deliver humanitarian assistance.

On July 17, Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Damascus, as well as the Suwayda and Dorra governorates, with one of them targeting Syria’s Defense Ministry Headquarters and the vicinity of the Presidential Palace. According to Syria’s Ministry of Health, the attack resulted in at least 3 civilian deaths and 34 injuries, as well as significant damage to surrounding civilian infrastructures.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Israel’s “escalatory” airstrikes and called for an immediate de-escalation of hostilities. He added that Syria’s sovereignty must be respected, and that there must be an orderly political transition to ensure lasting peace.

According to figures from OCHA, nearly 2,000 families have been displaced from Suwayda following Israel’s bombardment, with most migrating to the Salkhad district. These communities face an overwhelming lack of access to basic services, such as food, water, and healthcare.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 57 percent of hospitals and 37 percent of primary healthcare centers are fully functional. UN deputy relief chief Joyce Msuya adds that millions of Syrians urgently require medical assistance, with injuries from unexploded ordnance, cholera, and food insecurity running rampant.

UN Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric added that aid workers have faced worsened access constraints due to insecurity and road closures. On July 17, WHO announced that it had dispatched 35 trauma and emergency surgery kits to assist in roughly 1,750 medical interventions. However, the majority of these supplies were halted from reaching Syrian healthcare facilities.

“Syria simply cannot withstand another wave of instability,” said UN Deputy Special Envoy to Syria Najat Rochdi. “The risks of further escalation in the region are not hypothetical – they are immediate, severe, and risk unraveling the fragile progress toward peace and recovery in Syria.”

In a statement shared to X (formerly known as Twitter), Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack in the “harshest terms”, citing its impact on civilian’s access to public services and violations of international humanitarian law

“This flagrant assault, which forms part of a deliberate policy pursued by the Israeli entity to inflame tensions, spread chaos and undermine security and stability in Syria, constitutes a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law.” The Foreign Ministry added that Syria retains its right to defend itself.

Following Israel’s strikes on Damascus, the Israeli government warned that it would scale up its attacks if Syrian militants did not retreat from Suwayda, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. “We are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming the Druze and to ensure the demilitarization of the area adjacent to our border with Syria,” said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in a statement shared to X.

Shortly after the attacks, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed reporters that the fighting parties had agreed on a ceasefire, with Syrian militants beginning to retreat from Suwayda. Despite Rubio’s belief that the hostilities were headed “towards a real de-escalation”, humanitarian experts have expressed concern over the broader implications of Israel’s intervention in Syria and the wider Middle East.

“Israel’s strikes on Damascus targets reverberated around the region,” said Mona Yacoubian and Will Todman of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).

“Many Middle Eastern states fear that ongoing U.S. support for Israel is allowing it to establish itself as the regional hegemon, with an ability to conduct strikes across the region with impunity. These fears have pushed Arab Gulf states to maintain ties with Iran to hedge against Israel’s influence.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Palitha Kohona
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jul 18 2025 – Who in Asia would ask for an Asian NATO? Past attempts to develop Asian security compacts under US leadership have not been glittering successes. The two treaty organisations that the US set up in the 50s to counter the Communist tide, the CENTO and the SEATO, have long dissipated.

Indo-China was taken over by the Communists, despite American and allied military interventions, the large-scale bombing, the devastation of countries and the loss of millions of lives.

Now the countries targeted, having survived the US led interventions, and having adopted liberal economic approaches, are thriving. Today the Indo-Chinese countries have mutually beneficial economic and political relations with China.

China has invested billions to develop infrastructure in the Indo-China region under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the economic benefits are palpable.

Over one billion USD has been invested in the region and beyond under the BRI with the goal of realising a common prosperous future. The strengthening economic ties would seem to outweigh any need for new military alliances.

After the ouster of the Shah in Iran, Central Asia has become a quagmire for US and Western interests. Despite the expenditure of billions, repeated military interventions and millions of deaths, mainly of non-combatants, no one would suggest that peace has dawned on the Central Asian region covered by CENTO.

The ten ASEAN countries have developed an intertwined economic relationship with China and have benefitted hugely from the bilateral free trade agreement. Today China has replaced the US as the main trading partner of ASEAN, with bilateral trade reaching almost a billion US Dollars.

Goods produced in ASEAN, including fruits and vegetables, have ready access to the lucrative Chinese market and millions of Chinese tourists are pouring into ASEAN countries. The bilateral student exchange is thriving with Chinese students accessing educational opportunities, particularly in Singapore and Malaysia.

Admittedly, there could be flash points in the South China Sea, highlighted, and at times exaggerate in particular, by the Western media. But given the nature of the strengthening bilateral economic and people to people relationship between ASEAN and China and the historical depth of their ties, left to themselves, it is likely that the countries of the region will resolve their differences on their own. No one from the region has, so far, proposed a military alliance to resolve their differences.

It is instructive that within days of the US announcing punitive tariffs on Australian copper and pharmaceutical exports, Prime Minister Albanese of Australia was in China with a high powered trade delegation promoting trade and tourism. China is Australia’s largest trading partner and is unlikely to be eager to upset the apple cart (beef market?) by promoting a defence arrangement targeting China.

Australian exports to China amounted to AUD 196 billion in 2024 and are growing. Australia’s exports to China have a significant positive impact on the living standards of average Australians.

The QUAD involving the US, Japan, Australia and India, although promoted with much hype when it was first created, has in recent times become less prominent.

China is nuclear armed but has a no-first-use policy. Nuclear armed North Korea has a policy centred on deterring attacks. In the circumstances to promote a NATO type arrangement in East and South East Asia as a deterrent would seem excessive and provocative. China has only one base outside mainland China (In Djibouti) to counter piracy in the region.

North Korea has none. China nor North Korea have any defence oriented military personnel outside their own territories. The US has thousands of military personnel in bases surrounding China. The US pivot to Asia had China in its cross hairs. It is the US that has identified China as a strategic threat not the other way around.

The best way to reduce real and imaginary tensions (some stoked intentionally), would be to encourage parties to engage in dialogue with each other. A fractured world needs peace, not more conflict, for human progress.

What we require are alliances that promote infrastructure development for developing countries, that address the threat of climate change and sea level rise, which strive to eliminate extreme poverty, and which will make the world a better place for the living and for future generations.

In the past, US military incursions in the region did not produce peace. On the contrary, the progress of countries was dramatically curtailed, thousands of combatants and civilians died and millions were maimed. We must learn from the past painful experiences.

Dr Palitha Kohona is former chief of the UN Treaty section, a former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and until recently, Ambassador to China.

IPS UN Bureau

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