Nations back ambitious clean water and sanitation goals this decade
The voluntary commitments that came from the conference fall far short of a legally binding agreement like the 2015 Paris Agreement for climate change.
Global Issues
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New IPCC report urges 'hope' and climate justice for most vulnerable
Almost half the world’s population lives in regions highly vulnerable to climate change, where deaths were 15 times higher in the past decade.
Study says bottled water industry undercuts safe drinking water for all
The bottled water industry is expected to grow to $500 billion a year in sales but isn't aligned with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
WHO chief calls 3-year pandemic 'a chaotic patchwork of responses'
WHO's chief offered three lessons the world must learn to be able to effectively cope with future global health crises.
U.N. panel prepares last report of series to shape climate policy
The head of the U.N. panel of climate experts called for quick action because 'inaction and delays are not listed as options.'
U.N. raises concerns about human rights records in over 40 nations
A quarter of all of humanity lives today in places that are affected by conflict and usually it's the civilians 'who suffer the most.'
U.N.'s early warning climate plan for extreme weather picks up support
A third of the world, mainly in least developed countries and small island developing states, isn't covered by early warning systems.
Negotiators clinch historic deal for high seas biodiversity
The treaty is intended to strengthen marine protections on international waters beyond the 200 nautical mile jurisdiction of coastal nations.
Male-only parliaments are becoming a thing of the past
Six nations have gender parity or a women's majority: Rwanda, Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, New Zealand and U.A.E.
Nations work to update draft of WHO's proposed pandemic treaty
The treaty takes aim at the huge inequalities in health care and access to products that the COVID-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus.
Researchers find 1.77B children worldwide lack basic safety net
The number of children without basic social protections is increasing worldwide, UNICEF and ILO say in a new study.
WHO's COVID origins investigation in China has become 'very difficult'
The U.N. health agency says it updated its plans based on China's response but there's been "no quiet shelving of any plans" for investigating.
Malta elevates sea level rise on the world's peace and security agenda
The tiny island nation made the case that more attention must be focused on the threat of rising sea levels and gaps in international law about loss of land.
At Munich summit, a focus on democracy versus autocracy
Human rights has become "a major flashpoint in the growing systemic competition" between competing ideologies and governance systems.
Pollution, climate change feed drug-resistant 'superbugs'
Fed by pollution and climate change, strains of bacteria immune to all known antibiotics may become a major cause of death by mid-century.
Keywords for the next pandemic: accountability, equity, solidarity
Chief among the questions over a proposed pandemic treaty is an 'accountability gap' that undermines the proposed treaty's potential.