Embracing the Innovation Imperative: Tech-Governance at a Crossroads

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Opinion

Against the backdrop of disruptive global forces that create new challenges, risks, and opportunities for development, security, and the global order itself, the need for effective “tech-governance” – including the engagement of all countries, big and small, through existing global institutions – has never been more urgent

Technological change is unleashing a new era in productivity and creativity with far-reaching implications for global development and security. But, beyond adopting new, non-binding normative frameworks, all UN member states must come together to improve the management of new and emerging technologies to better leverage their many benefits, while mitigating multiple risks. Credit: istock

DOHA / WASHINGTON, DC, Aug 6 2025 (IPS) – Technological progress and the course of human history have moved forward together; more recent technological innovations have emerged with unprecedented speed and reach, deeply influencing many areas of human activity.

Advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning (consisting of neural networks), for instance, enable machines to process new information in real-time. As federated learning becomes more widespread, machine learning models can collaborate without the need to share sensitive data, thereby enhancing privacy and security.

These and other recent technological developments will find applications in sectors such as healthcare, where advanced algorithms can support personalized diagnosis and treatment. New and emerging technologies, including nanotechnology and human enhancement technology, have implications for international peace and security too.

Amidst the highest number of armed conflicts since 1946, military technologies are evolving rapidly in both damage potential and distribution.

Artificial intelligence and other technologies are fast expanding the autonomous capabilities of weapons and accelerating the spread of digital dis- and misinformation. At the same time, if present trends persist, only a few countries may dominate this space, in terms of both technological innovation and “setting-the-rules” for their governance.

Against the backdrop of disruptive global forces that create new challenges, risks, and opportunities for development, security, and the global order itself, the need for effective “tech-governance” – including the engagement of all countries, big and small, through existing global institutions – has never been more urgent.

In short, effective tech-governance helps countries to employ common principles (including safety and transparency), codes of practice, and regulation to implement shared values and protect basic human rights.

Successful governance of new and emerging technologies at the global level will require the UN’s 193 member states to not only adopt new, non-binding normative frameworks (such as the recently endorsed Global Digital Compact), but also to build upon them by pursuing targeted innovations in global governance.

In the Future of International Cooperation Report 2024, produced by the Doha Forum, the Stimson Center, and the Global Institute for Strategic Research, we call for assembling an International Scientific Panel on AI (ISPAI) that extends beyond the Global Digital Compact’s limited description focused on promoting “scientific understanding through evidence-based impact, risk and opportunity assessments.”

Feeding into current intergovernmental deliberations in New York co-facilitated by the Governments of Spain and Costa Rica, we believe the ISPAI should be tasked with producing knowledge products and increasing awareness of AI risk, principles, and regulations for policy-makers.

Modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the ISPAI’s ultimate objective could be to understand and address the impact of emerging digital information technologies on the world’s social, economic, political, and natural systems.

The extraordinary pace of AI innovation requires an agile and fast-paced approach to scientific assessment by continually evaluating the technology’s evolving capabilities and ramifications.

A community of practice through an AI Frontier Collaborative would further assist the ISPAI with a new international public-private partnership for expanding access to – as well as investing in – AI technology from leading private sector AI developers, where much of the innovation happens outside the public realm.

Such an initiative would build upon public-private conversations at the recent AI Action Summit in Paris and complement the Global Digital Compact’s commitment to stand-up a Global Dialogue on AI Governance, designed to engage the 118 UN Member States (primarily from the Global South) that do not belong to any of the current seven major international AI governance initiatives.

Additionally, the International Scientific Panel on AI could function as a subsidiary of, and with direct administrative support from, an International Artificial Intelligence Agency (IA2), as elaborated in this forum.

Advising the UN General Assembly and Security Council, the IA2 would boost visibility, advocacy, and resource-mobilization for global AI regulation, while monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on AI industry safeguards. It could further help countries to combat AI-enabled disinformation and the resulting misinformation that can fuel violence and aid terrorist and criminal organizations.

Critically, a scientific panel (like the ISPAI) requires an agile policy platform (like the IA2), as a chief beneficiary of ISPAI’s analysis and recommendations. This will help to ensure its policy relevance and impact, as well as to serve as a central coordination mechanism for AI and related cybertech expertise across the UN system.

Artificial intelligence and other new and emerging technologies make possible powerful new tools for problem-solving. But they also raise serious governance challenges, including in the spheres of global development and security. Effective regulation to maximize their benefits and minimize risks requires the astute combination of advanced knowledge, multistakeholder approaches, and an agile policy interface.

To prevent unbridled competition – dominated by only a select few large companies backed-up by equally large and powerful countries – from leaving everyone worse off, let alone precipitating a serious lose-lose confrontation, we must continuously update global governance tools and mechanisms to keep pace with technological advances.

Improving their effective global management will continue to usher in benefits for potentially billions of people worldwide while, simultaneously, mitigating technological risks.

Mubarak Al-Kuwari is Executive Director of the Doha Forum; Richard Ponzio is Director of the Global Governance, Justice, and Security Program and a senior fellow at the Stimson Center;

Mohamed Ali Chihi is Executive Director of the Global Institute for Strategic Research.

IPS UN Bureau

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UN Chief Hails Turkmenistan’s Quiet Diplomacy as Launchpad for Landlocked Solidarity

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Volunteers at the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS

Volunteers at the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS

AWAZA, Turkmenistan , Aug 6 2025 (IPS) – In the glass-panelled hallway straddling Buildings 2 and 3 at the Awaza Congress Centre, two smartly dressed young Turkmens stood behind an ornate national pavilion—anxious, alert, and surprisingly eloquent.

Their broad smiles visibly grabbed wide-eyed delegates attending the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs). With a confidence far beyond their age, the volunteers clearly explained to visitors the kernel of Turkmenistan’s national identity—entangled by culture as politics.

“This is a dutar,” said one, gesturing toward a glass-encased replica of a traditional two-stringed musical instrument. “It is played during weddings and celebrations. It carries the stories of our people.”

His colleague pointed to a smaller display nearby, where a miniature replica of the monumental Neutrality Monument stood—the golden effigy of Saparmurat Niyazov, the country’s founding president, glinting under gallery lights. “This represents our neutrality,” she said proudly. “We are a peaceful nation. We do not choose sides.”

As visitors flocked to the pavilion, the two young guides continued their patient explanations—this time describing a replica of Akhal-Teke horses, symbols of national pride, bred for endurance and elegance.

“Just like the horses,” one said with a grin, “Our country is strong, swift, and steady. But we also don’t race just because others are running.”

In this resort city, hospitality is a powerful expression of national pride.

As you move around the streets, women in long traditional gowns greet you with a graceful nod and a soft “Hoş geldiňiz”—welcome.” Dressed in embroidered velvet dresses that sweep the floor and crowned with intricate headscarves, these women are the gentle face of Turkmenistan’s long-held tradition of welcoming strangers with dignity and warmth.

“It is in our blood to treat foreigners with great care and concern.”

In a world increasingly divided, the warmth of Turkmenistan’s people, cloaked in simple gestures of kindness, stands as a symbol of diplomacy—one that speaks not through declarations, but through hospitality that lingers long after the meetings are over.

A Doctrine of Distance

Since 1995, when the UN General Assembly unanimously recognized Turkmenistan’s neutrality, the Central Asian nation has embraced a foreign policy of non-alignment, eschewing military alliances, foreign bases, and entanglements in regional conflicts. The policy, enshrined in the national constitution, is described by government officials as a model of “positive neutrality”—a means of building peace through equidistance and sovereignty.

A Fortress Amid Fires

Bordered by Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan occupies a strategically sensitive patch of Eurasia. Yet it has remained almost impervious to the turmoil around it. When war engulfed Afghanistan, Turkmenistan kept its embassies open. It offered humanitarian aid—but not political commentary.

Unlike other Central Asian states, it refrained from joining Moscow-led security blocs like the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and even kept Beijing at a careful diplomatic bay despite deepening energy ties.

Turkmenistan’s hosting of the LLDC conference carried both symbolic and practical significance. It is one of the few LLDCs that has successfully leveraged its location by investing heavily in cross-border energy and transport infrastructure.

“Your hosting of this important global gathering is a testament to the country’s commitment to international cooperation and sustainable development,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

A Landmark Moment for Landlocked Nations

On the shores of the Caspian Sea, in the resort town of Awaza, limousines ferried dignitaries past pine-lined boulevards and marble buildings as world leaders gathered for the momentous talk.

The Awaza gathering brought together representatives from 32 landlocked developing countries—home to nearly 600 million people across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America—to chart a new course under the Awaza Programme of Action, a 10-year strategy aimed at reversing structural disadvantages stemming from geographical isolation.

Awaza’s gleaming hotels and high-tech halls stood in contrast to Burundi’s rugged highlands thousands of kilometers away—but in both, a digital transformation is underway.

The stakes could not be higher. LLDCs account for just over 1 percent of global trade and economic output, despite housing 7 percent of the global population. They face steep transport costs, limited access to global markets, unreliable infrastructure, and acute climate vulnerabilities.

A Moment for Multilateralism

As the 3rd LLDC conference convened in the windswept coastal town of Awaza, all eyes turned to Turkmenistan—not for bold pronouncements, but for the quiet power of its example. With its longstanding policy of neutrality, the Central Asian nation has carved a distinct identity rooted in non-alignment and peaceful engagement, making it an ideal host for a summit aimed at fostering regional solidarity and global support for countries isolated by geography.

Secretary-General António Guterres, in a rousing address, held up Turkmenistan’s model of diplomacy and inclusion as a guiding light for other landlocked nations struggling with marginalization. Against a backdrop of rising global fragmentation, Awaza became more than a meeting ground—it emerged as a bridge between continents and between aspiration and action.

Speaking at a high-level press conference Tuesday, Guterres issued a passionate appeal for justice, equity, and renewed international solidarity, reminding the world that “geography should never define destiny.”

“This conference reflects a new era of cooperation taking shape across Central Asia,” said Guterres, “grounded in mutual trust, shared priorities, and growing regional solidarity. At a time when multilateralism is being tested, this spirit of partnership is more essential than ever.”

A Plea for Dignity and Inclusion

Guterres’s remarks were peppered with humanistic language rarely heard at geopolitical conferences. “This is not only a matter of development,” he told journalists. “It’s a matter of dignity and justice.”

Responding to a question from Euronews, he drew a distinction between landlocked developed nations like Switzerland or Austria and their developing counterparts. “They have free access to harbors and integrated markets. But for landlocked developing countries, being far from ports and trade hubs is a real disadvantage,” he said.

He praised Turkmenistan’s multilateral diplomacy and recalled the country’s remarkable feat of granting citizenship to all stateless persons left behind after the collapse of the Soviet Union. “This was almost unique in the world—a symbol of generosity I never forgot,” he said.

Four Pillars of Action

The Awaza Programme of Action is a comprehensive development framework aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda. It charts an ambitious, multi-sectoral path forward, structured around four priorities:

1. Unlocking Economic Potential

Guterres called for bold investment in infrastructure, education, digital connectivity, and innovation.

“The countries represented here have the talent and the ideas,” he said. “They need the tools and support.”

2. Connecting to the World

“Trade corridors, transit systems, and regional integration are not technical issues—they are lifelines,” Guterres said.

He urged countries and institutions to invest in both the “hardware” and “software” of trade—resilient transport infrastructure, harmonized customs procedures, and smart logistics platforms.

3. Confronting the Climate Crisis

Though LLDCs contribute less than 3 percent to global emissions, they are among the hardest hit by climate disasters.

Guterres called on rich nations to fulfill their pledges to double adaptation finance, support green industries in LLDCs, and provide early warning systems.

4. Reforming Global Finance

Guterres described the global financial system as “unfit for the realities of today.” He called for tripling the lending capacity of development banks, expanding concessional finance, and reforming sovereign debt architecture.

Global Responsibility and Shared Future

Though the conference was set against a backdrop of regional cooperation in Central Asia, its implications reverberate far beyond.

“When LLDCs thrive, entire regions benefit.” Guterres said

Global Call for Justice, Not Charity

Though spread across four continents—from the Sahel to the Himalayas, and from Central Asia to South America—LLDCs face a strikingly similar plight: crippling transport costs, technological isolation, and rising debt burdens.

“Landlocked developing countries don’t want charity. They want justice,” Guterres told reporters. “They want equitable access.”

Digital Lifelines for a Disconnected World

One of the most pressing themes in Awaza was the digital divide that has left millions in LLDCs without access to online education, health services, or global markets.

“Digital transformation must be central to our effort,” Guterres said.

He pledged to present a report on innovative financing to support AI capacity-building and called for robust public-private partnerships.

Connecting Landlocked Economies to the World

Guterres also emphasized infrastructure investment and seamless cross-border trade as keys to transformation.

“We must cut red tape, digitize border operations, and modernize transport networks,” he said.

Building Bridges Across Borders

In an interview with IPS, Aygul Rahimova, a resident of Turkmenistan, underlined the importance of the LLDC conference for regional connectivity.

“Although we are technically landlocked, Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea, which offers us a unique opportunity to serve as a transport and logistics bridge between Asia and Europe,” she said.

“I hope this conference becomes a catalyst for deeper cooperation… Turkmenistan is ready to play a key role in building bridges—through the Caspian, through trade, through diplomacy.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Spotlight on Landlocked Developing Countries Ahead of Third UN Conference

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Sustainable Development Goals

Uganda's Malaba town borders Kenya to the east and is a major entry point for goods destined for landlocked Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan from Kenya's Mombasa Port. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

Uganda’s Malaba town borders Kenya to the east and is a major entry point for goods destined for landlocked Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan from Kenya’s Mombasa Port. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

NAIROBI, Aug 1 2025 (IPS) – Landlocked developing countries face a unique set of challenges. Without coastal ports, they rely on transit nations, causing higher trade costs and delays.

To explore solutions to these complex hurdles, the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) or LLDC3, will take place in Awaza, Turkmenistan, 5–8 August 2025.

May Yaacoub, LLDC3 spokesperson and head of Advocacy and Outreach at the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and the Small Island Developing States (UNOHRLLS), told IPS that the conference is “an opportunity to unlock the full potential of landlocked countries and address the challenges faced by some of the world’s most marginalized countries.”

“In every LLDC the map itself shapes the economy. Without a coastline, even the simplest export, whether cotton lint, copper cathode or cloud‑based software, must first cross at least one foreign border and frequently an entire transit corridor before it reaches a port,” Tomás Manuel González Álvarez, Senior Programme Management Officer and LLDC Team Lead at UNOHRLLS told IPS.

“The UN estimates that this physical detour means average transport costs in LLDCs are about 1.4 times higher than in comparable coastal economies. Those added costs depress profit margins, narrow the range of viable products and deter investors who value just‑in‑time delivery.”

Against this backdrop and while lacking direct sea access causes and exacerbates hurdles in trade, connectivity, and development, Yaacoub says LLDCs host vibrant communities with untapped potential and that these countries “have the ideas and know what they need to prosper. By supporting them at LLDC3 with partnerships, innovations and cooperation, we can help to build a more equitable and prosperous future for all.”

“This conference comes at the heels of the expiration of the Vienna Programme of Actions, which was adopted in Vienna, Austria, in November 2014, during LLDC2. LLDC3 will continue the work of LLDC2 and serve as a platform to explore innovative solutions, build meaningful and strategic partnerships, and increase the investment in LLDCs,” she observed.

The theme of the conference is ‘Driving Progress through Partnerships’, which she says underscores a shift from donor-recipient dynamics to mutual accountability and co-investment. And, that this includes a stronger role for transit countries, enhanced multilateral cooperation, and alignment with the SDGs, Paris Agreement and the Pact of the Future.

Álvarez emphasizes that this key, landlockedness, is experienced very differently and that the conference agenda reflects an understanding of these complexities. In Africa, “for countries such as Niger or Zambia, the critical pain point is the sheer length and fragility of overland routes—1,800 km from Niamey to Cotonou; 1,900 km from Lusaka to Durban.”

“Road and rail bottlenecks meet frequent customs stops and, in parts of the Sahel, insecurity. The result is chronic delays and freight rates that can exceed the f.o.b. (a term that defines who pays for the transportation costs) value of low‑margin agricultural commodities.”

He says in Asia, Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan possess better road and rail grids yet face. At the same time, these economies are accelerating an energy transition, moving from hydrocarbons to renewables and green hydrogen so they now need corridors that can carry high‑voltage electricity and fiber as well as bulk ore.

“Bolivia and Paraguay rely on the 3,300‑km Paraguay–Paraná waterway for almost four‑fifths of their trade. Low river levels during recent droughts have stranded barges and cost Paraguay an estimated USD 300 million in 2024 alone. Moreover, new tolls levied by Argentina highlight the vulnerability that comes with dependence on a single transit state,” he says.

Within this context, Yaacoub says LLDC3 represents a major change in both scope and ambition compared to its predecessors—LLDC1 held in Almaty in 2003, which was a ministerial meeting, and LLDC2 in Vienna in 2014. The first conference of this nature, or LLDC1 focused primarily on transit policy, infrastructure development, international trade, and technical and financial assistance.

LLDC2 expanded to include structural economic transformation, regional integration, and means of implementation. Notably, she says, LLDC3 “introduces a more holistic and forward-looking agenda, emphasizing climate resilience and adaptation, digital transformation and technology access, sustainable industrialization, reforming the global financial architecture, shock-resilience and disaster risk reduction.”

Yaacoub says the LLDC3 agenda reflects the unprecedented global complexities of the current era—climate change, pandemics, geopolitical tensions, and economic shocks. Key thematic areas include climate vulnerability and financing, with an emphasis on operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund, doubling adaptation finance, and ensuring access to concessional resources.

Álvarez says the conference is particularly focused on converting the narrative from landlocked to land‑linked and that unlocking these countries potential relies on a strategy built on mutually reinforcing pillars that include “how Multibillion‑dollar investments in regional corridors, the Central and Northern Corridors in East Africa, the Trans‑Caspian route into Europe, and new dry‑ports on the Paraguay‑Paraná system can cut door‑to‑port time by 30 percent within the decade.”

He says building climate resilience is critical due to a “heavy reliance of LLDCs on agriculture, especially rain-fed agriculture, as a primary source of income, employment, and sustenance. Climate variability has already begun to disrupt agricultural cycles, reduce crop yields, and threaten food security. These effects ripple across rural economies, deepening poverty and forcing difficult choices for households.”

Álvarez says these issues are critical, as the same remoteness that inflates freight costs also hampers relief when drought, flood or storm strikes. Many LLDCs suffer disproportionately from climate‑related disasters because they lack redundant road and telecom links, and that “as extreme weather intensifies, production shocks travel quickly through thinly diversified economies and can wipe out years of growth.”

Overall, he says, “collectively these headwinds jeopardize progress on at least six Sustainable Development Goals—most visibly Goals 1 (No Poverty), 9 (Industry and Infrastructure) and 13 (Climate Action). Unless structural constraints are eased, many LLDCs risk missing the 2030 milestones by a full generation.”

Álvarez says the “developmental drag created by geography is not merely inconvenient; it is systemic.”

Stressing that high logistics costs shrink the set of competitive exports and that “many LLDCs remain reliant on two or three unprocessed commodities, leaving them vulnerable to price swings and limiting the spill‑overs that normally accompany industrial clustering.”

He says limited fiscal space means that governments struggle to finance education, health and social protection at scale. LLDCs as a group record poverty rates 50–60 percent higher than the global developing‑country average and score lower on the World Bank’s human‑capital index, 0.36 versus 0.48 in 2024.

Yaacoub confirms that all these issues will be explored in depth across key thematic areas that also include the private sector, civil society and youth engagement to foster inclusive partnerships and South-South and Triangular Cooperation with an emphasis on regional and interregional collaboration.

“This inclusive process ensures that the new Awaza Programme of Action is grounded in the lived realities of LLDCs and their partners,” she observes.

After all is said and done, Yaacoub says the most desirable outcome from the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries would be the global endorsement and operationalization of the Awaza Programme of Action, which is a transformative and actionable framework that empowers LLDCs to overcome their structural challenges and thrive in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

Stressing that LLDC3 will serve as “a high-level platform to present, promote, and mobilize support for the implementation of the Awaza PoA that was adopted in December 2024. The second outcome would be the mobilization of resources and investment commitments from development partners to support infrastructure, climate resilience, and digital transformation.”

Ultimately, she is optimistic that the conference will lead to strengthened partnerships and regional cooperation to renew and expand transit agreements and regional integration initiatives, including enhanced South-South and Triangular Cooperation frameworks and commitments to multilateral collaboration aligned with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement and the pact of the Future.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Protect Women’s Rights, Especially in a Time of Equality Backlash, Say Activists

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Gender

UN Women's Executive Director Sima Bahous at a 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development side event. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS

UN Women’s Executive Director, Sima Bahous, at a 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development side event. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 21 2025 (IPS) – Discriminatory laws and the absence of legal protections impact more than 2.5 billion women and girls worldwide in various ways. Legal reform is paramount to securing gender equality, and the world cannot afford to roll back on decades of progress in women’s rights.

On the sidelines of the 2025 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development on July 17, Equality Now and UN Women, with their partners the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law, the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights (GCENR), Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU), hosted an official side event, “Accelerating Law Reform to Keep the Promise of Beijing, the SDGs, and the Pact for the Future.”

The purpose of the event was to spotlight the success in ending discrimination through the passing of robust, inclusive legislation and acknowledging the work that remains in combatting legal discrimination against women and girls. Bringing together stakeholders across the public sector and nongovernmental organizations, the event highlighted the relevance of global agreements that center on sustainable development and uphold international law, Equality Now Executive Director Mona Sinha pointed out.

“It is ever more urgent in these times of backlash against gender equality that the right to equality on the basis of sex as a fundamental human right is protected and promoted by States and the international community,” said Sinha.

“At UN Women, we are proud to lead a global strategy to achieve equality in law for women and girls by 2030 with our partners… We are racing against time to repeal discriminatory laws and to replace them with protections rooted in dignity and equality,” said UN-Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.

The event coincided with the launch of a joint publication from Equality Now and GCENR  ‘Select Draft Articles on Nationality Rights to Ensure Gender Equality.’

The publication is intended to be used by policymakers as guidelines for drafting inclusive policies that enshrine protections for nationality rights for women and their children and partners. This was spotlighted as a persistent form of discrimination that restricts certain rights by virtue of their identity.

Panelists at the Equality Now side event at the 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS

Panelists at the Equality Now side event at the 2025 UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS

Catherine Harrington, Campaign Manager of the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, remarked on the “utter injustice” that men should have the “inherent right” to pass down nationality to their child or spouse, but women are not granted the same.

There are 24 countries where women legally cannot pass down their citizenship to their child, and at least 40 countries where women cannot confer the rights of citizenship to a non-citizen spouse. Such restrictions prevent impacted people from exercising other fundamental rights, including access to education, healthcare and even the right to enter the country they were born in or consider home.

The fight over equal nationality rights is emblematic of the broader issue of gender equality, as it demonstrates how a lack of legal protections can leave people vulnerable to having their rights denied or exploited.

“What does it say about women’s status as citizens and their equality in the family when the law that establishes the very foundation of political personhood, citizenship, holds that men naturally have the right to pass citizenship as full citizens and women do not and are not deserving of the same?” said Harrington. “What does it mean to be committed to combating gender-based violence when we know that gender discriminatory laws are linked with multiple forms of GBV and contribute to the root cause of gender-based violence, which is women’s unequal status in society?”

Women’s participation in public spaces, including politics, is also a measure of gender equality and a step toward sustainable development. A report from UN Women stated that while there was a boost in the proportion of women in parliament, as countries had taken steps to boost women’s participation in national and local legislatures, such as with gender quotas, three out of four parliamentarians were still men. These environments need to be created to be gender-inclusive and safe to ensure women’s participation. As long as the institutions that are meant to represent the people are shaped by laws that only benefit a select few, there is no room for equality.

“Democracy cannot be credible or effective if it does not reflect the diversity of people,” said Paddy Torsney, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Permanent Observer to the UN. Tornsey remarked that fostering inclusive political environments allows women the “power, protection and the platform to lead.” These environments can be created through inclusive policies and a zero tolerance for gender-based violence in all forms.

Effective, inclusive legislation can only be driven by “reliable data,” according to Hikaru Yamagishi from the World Bank. Yamagishi added that through the Women, Business and Law Project, the World Bank has provided “comprehensive, comparable data” on how laws affect women’s jobs to lawmakers across 190 economies.

Among their findings was that although women have 64 percent of the rights of men, economies have less than 40 percent of the systems in place needed to implement those rights in practice. This indicates a ‘significant’ implementation gap, Yamagishi said, between formal legislation and what women actually experience in real life.

“This implementation gap must be tracked alongside legal [gaps]. The Women Business and Law report evidences the importance of legal reforms like banning discrimination… but it also shows that those reforms only go so far without supportive policies,” she added.

The event brought together representatives from member states to share how their countries dealt with eliminating discrimination through legal reform. In the Kyrgyz Republic, steps were taken to reform the labor code, including 400 professions that were previously restricted from women.

Bakyt Sydykov, Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, remarked on federal programs that boosted employment opportunities for women living in rural areas. Along with civil society and trade unions, international partners like UN Women and the International Labour Organization (ILO) consulted the country’s legislative reform in ensuring equal employment opportunities.

“We believe that Kyrgyzstan’s experience can offer a useful reference point for other countries where similar challenges arise,” said Sydykov. “Our approach shows that when reforms stem from nationwide dialogue and international standards, implemented in partnership with all segments of society, they can succeed.”

“As a country that has elected two women to the highest position in the government, the Philippines can confidently say that gender equality is robust and highly needed in our society. However, there are still areas for improvement along the way,” said Noel Mangaoang Novicio, Minister, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the UN. Novice cited his country’s Magna Carta of Women, adopted in 2009, a comprehensive human rights law for women that is based on the principles of international law.

These examples demonstrate that widespread gender equality is achievable. Nevertheless, no country has achieved true gender parity, so it remains an ongoing effort. This also shows the importance of partnerships across multiple sectors and stakeholders. Governments can enforce legal reforms on a wide scale, the private sector can advocate for reforms and lead by example, and multinational organizations such as the UN and the World Bank have the resources to provide evidence of where change is needed and bring stakeholders together.

“When we work together to make legal equality a reality, it unlocks economic potential and fuels inclusive progress,” said Yamagishi.

The event, which included youth advocates and representatives from around the world among its attendees, demonstrated one of the UN’s roles in a microcosm: a convening body that brings together governments, civil society and experts on a global stage to drive forward shared commitments.

Antonia Kirkland, Equality Now’s Global Lead, Legal Equality and Justice, remarked that this makes the UN “an indispensable force in pushing for transformative, rights-based legal reforms worldwide.”

“By amplifying the voices of women’s rights advocates, particularly those from the Global South, UN platforms provide an opportunity to elevate grassroots demands to the international level, to influence legal and policy change. The UN provides an essential space for peer accountability, shared learning, and collective pressure that no single organization or government could generate alone,” said Kirkland.

Kirkland explained to IPS the ‘uniquely powerful’ role the UN and its agencies play in promoting legal reforms for gender equality. The UN has helped to set international legal standards, and its treaties and special mechanisms provide the frameworks to hold members accountable and call them out on legal discrimination.

With that said, the UN must continue its support and wield its influence amidst increasing attacks from anti-rights movements that threaten to reverse the progress on women’s legal rights.

Kirkland told IPS that anti-gender equality and anti-rights movements have been working to “erase or dilute the concept of ‘gender’ from UN documents, negotiations, and frameworks.” Erasing gender-inclusive language risks undermining international human rights standards and further weakening accountability for gender-based violence and discrimination and marginalizing the diverse experiences of women and girls.

Therefore, the UN needs to strengthen its monitoring and enforcement mechanisms for international commitments such as CEDAW and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and use its platforms to publicly track progress in legal reform. This will also require the support of member states through reaffirming their international commitments and through sustained funding to the UN.

“At a time of rising authoritarianism and anti-rights backlash, a strong, well-resourced UN is essential. Governments also need to enhance and defend the UN’s legitimacy in multilateral forums and resist political efforts to weaken its role in protecting rights and holding states accountable,” Kirkland said.

“Let us invest in feminist leadership. Let us enshrine equality, not only in our speeches, but in our statutes and in our actions,” Bahous said in her closing remarks. “The law must not be a tool of oppression. It must be the first guarantee of justice. Only when we achieve equality for all women and girls under the law can we get back on track to the SDGs, and SDG 5 [Gender Equality] remains our docking station upon which all SDGs depend.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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Man, Sea, Algae: HOMO SARGASSUM’s Stirring Critique of Human Culpability in the Caribbean

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Active Citizens, Arts, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Editors’ Choice, Environment, Global, Headlines, Latin America & the Caribbean, Natural Resources, TerraViva United Nations

Arts

“Plastic Ocean” by Alejandro Duràn, one of the artworks previously on display in the UN lobby. Credit: Jennifer Levine/IPS

“Plastic Ocean” by Alejandro Duràn, one of the artworks previously on display in the UN lobby. Credit: Jennifer Levine/IPS

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 14 2025 (IPS) – The United Nations’ HOMO SARGASSUM exhibition served as a public immersion into the marine world and called upon viewers to take action in the face of the climate crisis, specifically regarding invasive species and water pollution.

For the past month, an art exhibition entitled HOMO SARGASSUM took up residence in the New York headquarters lobby in connection to World Ocean Month and the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. Organized by the Tout-Monde Art Foundation. In its final week on display, visitors walked through the various projected films, sculptures and photographs. The exhibit closed on July 11.

The work is described as an immersive multisensorial art and science exhibition intended to bring together various experts in science, scholarship and creativity from the Caribbean to share their perspectives on the prevalent environmental and social issue. The exhibit is primarily an introspective study of sargassum, a type of seaweed or algae commonly found on the coast of the Americas and in the Caribbean.

Sargassum, which has proliferated significantly in recent years due to pollution and chemical fertilizer, releases toxic gases that harm nearby residents in water and on land. Animals struggle to survive, and humans experience respiratory failures and burns. This algae has inspired fear since Christopher Columbus recorded his crew’s sighting of the plant. Sargassum has also become a symbol recently for climate change in the Caribbean as well as the coexisting nature of marine and human life.

Co-curator and executive and artistic director of the Tout-Monde Art Foundation Vanessa Selk described the exhibit as a journey rather than a singular experience. She said, “Much like sargassum migrating through the Atlantic Ocean, we encounter natural and human-made challenges such as pandemics, pollutants and hurricanes. This narrative of the global ecological crisis, reflected in silent floating algae, warns us to change our existing paradigms and consider ourselves as one with our environment.”

Billy Gerard Frank, one of the featured artists in HOMO SARGASSUM, echoes this sentiment.

Frank created a mixed-media piece entitled “Poetics of Relation and Entanglement” with a painting featuring Columbus’ archival notes and sargassum pigment, as well as a film he shot on the island of Carriacou. The film centered on a large metal tank surrounded by sargassum, which had washed on shore and rusted onto the massive object. He specifically shot the film around the sargassum and the tank, an eyesore for the locals who used the beach and a barrier to boats trying to leave. Growing up in Grenada, Frank recalls sargassum as a mild inconvenience but explained how it has become more prevalent due to climate change.

However, only in recent years has conversation around sargassum shifted towards the impact of climate change and geographical inequities, like, as Frank noted, how smaller islands that produce significantly lower levels of pollution are the worst affected by climate change through natural disasters.

He referenced the recent Hurricane Beryl, a Category 5 storm that “completely devastated” islands like Carriacou. His inclusion of Columbus’ notes brings a decolonial perspective: the threats Caribbean islands face from mounting climate change are exacerbated by their history of occupation, mostly from European colonial powers. In a global organization like the UN where historical, geographical and environmental context is key to making any decision, such an interdisciplinary perspective is key.

From countless gifts from member states to various donations, the UN has been an artistic hub since its inception. As both a tourist attraction and space of work for international diplomats, the UN is a particularly ripe space for more radical, political art—notably Guernica, a tapestry based on a Picasso painting portraying the Spanish Civil War—due to its broad audience.

Speaking to IPS, Frank shared how influential art has been in political, social and intellectual movements, saying, “historically…creators, writers, and artists have been able to forge ahead and create new spaces…it gives us some hope that our work and the calling are even more important.”

Frank also told IPS how important it was for him to have the work featured at the UN.

“Because the UN is also a site of consternation right now, specifically with everything that’s happening globally. And in fact, that’s the space where this type of work should be, where there should be more conversation, and a space in which it could create a critical dialogue amongst people who work there, but also the public facing that too.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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UN Funding Crisis Threatens Work of Human Rights Council

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Civil Society, Global, Global Governance, Headlines, Health, Human Rights, Humanitarian Emergencies, International Justice, IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse, TerraViva United Nations

Opinion

The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within the UN system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe, and for addressing situations of human rights violations, and making recommendations on them, according to the UN. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year. It meets at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG).

NEW YORK / GENEVA, Jul 11 2025 (IPS) – The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) has expressed concern at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ announcement that certain activities mandated by the council cannot be delivered due to a lack of funding. The council has sought clarity on why certain activities had been singled out.

Among the activities the commissioner says can’t be delivered is the commission of inquiry on grave abuses in Eastern Congo, an important initiative created—at least on paper—at an emergency session of the HRC in February in response to an appeal by Congolese, regional, and international rights groups.

The establishment of the commission offered a glimmer of hope in the face of grave and ongoing atrocities in the region, and it was hoped it might be an important step toward ending the cycle of abuse and impunity and delivering justice and reparations for victims and survivors.

It is not only the activities highlighted by the commissioner that are impacted by the funding crisis, however. Virtually all the HRC’s work has been affected, with investigations into rights abuses—for example in Sudan, Palestine, and Ukraine—reportedly operating at approximately 30-60 percent of capacity.

In discussions about the proposed cuts, several states—notably those credibly accused of rights abuses—have sought to use the financial crisis as cover to attack the council’s country-focused investigative mandates or undermine the Office of the High Commissioner’s broader work and independence. For example, Eritrea invoked the crisis in its ultimately unsuccessful effort to end council scrutiny of its own dismal rights record.

Amid discussions on the current crisis, there has been little reflection among states on how the UN got into this mess. States failing to pay their membership contributions, or failing to pay on time, has compounded the chronic underfunding of the UN’s human rights pillar over decades.

The United States’ failure to pay virtually anything at the moment, followed by China’s late payments, bear the greatest responsibility for the current financial shortfall given their contributions account for nearly half of the UN’s budget.

But they are not alone: 79 countries reportedly still haven’t paid their fees for 2025 (expected in February). Among those that haven’t yet paid this year are Eritrea, Iran, Cuba, Russia, and others that have used the crisis to take aim at the council’s country mandates or to undermine the work or independence of the high commissioner’s office.

Rather than seeking to meddle in the office’s work or reduce the HRC’s scrutiny of crises, states should work with the UN to ensure funds are available for at least partial delivery of all activities they mandate through the council, particularly in emergencies.

Urgent investigations into situations of mass atrocities are key tools for prevention, protection, and supporting access to justice. They cannot wait until the financial crisis blows over.

Lucy McKernan is United Nations Deputy Director, Advocacy, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Hilary Power is UN Geneva Director, HRW

IPS UN Bureau

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