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Anti-FGM activists protests outside the National Assembly in Banjul, The Gambia, on 18 March 2024, as lawmakers discuss a bill seeking to lift the ban on FGM. Credit: by Muhamadou Bittaye/AFP

By Inés M. Pousadela
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Aug 3 2026 (IPS)

Last August, a one-month-old girl in The Gambia bled to death after being subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice that had been illegal in the country since 2015. FGM is a human rights violation, whatever the appeals to faith or tradition made in its defence, but now the Gambian Supreme Court is being asked to strike the country’s ban down. This is the second attempt in two years to make FGM legal again.

Civil society stopped it the first time. When a repeal bill reached the National Assembly in 2024, the Network Against Gender-Based Violence brought survivors to testify, lobbied legislators, ran radio programmes and obtained a ruling from Cairo’s Al-Azhar University saying that FGM is not required under Islam. The bill fell in July 2024.

The ongoing fight in The Gambia is a measure of how fragile advances in the recognition of rights are. FGM is in retreat across most of the countries where it is practised, the result of decades of campaigning by survivors and community organisations. But holding that ground is becoming harder, as the money supporting those campaigns dries up and a resurgent anti-rights movement works to recast FGM as a traditional practice under foreign attack.

A practice in retreat

Over 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, with an additional four million cut every year. But the direction of travel has changed. A 2024 UNICEF report found that half of the decline in prevalence over the past 30 years has come in the last decade, with rates among adolescent girls halved or cut by 30-plus percentage points in countries including Ethiopia, Kenya and Sierra Leone. Attitudes have shifted too. Around 400 million people in practising countries, two-thirds of the population, now say they want FGM to end.

That change has a clear source. The Joint Programme run by UNICEF and the UN Population Fund found that the sharpest reductions come where communities are supported to deliberate and then commit, publicly and collectively, to abandoning the practice. The UN channels funding and provides coordination, but the dialogues, declarations and door-to-door persuasion are the work of community activists, national organisations and survivor networks. Thanks to these civil society efforts, in 2025 alone, over 7.5 million people took part in community dialogues and over 190,000 religious leaders and community influencers publicly denounced FGM.

The tools that work

Where campaigners have targeted the religious justifications that sustain FGM, results have followed. In 2025, Islamic scholars in Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia issued a joint ruling saying that nothing in the faith requires FGM. Litigation has proved another powerful tool. In July 2025, the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States found Sierra Leone in breach of its international obligations for failing to criminalise FGM, and said that, when intentionally inflicted, the practice meets the threshold of torture. In India, the Supreme Court has begun hearing whether cutting among the Dawoodi Bohra community should lose constitutional protection as an essential religious practice. And this June, Colombia became the first country in Latin America to ban FGM, driven by Emberá Indigenous women campaigning against a practice carried out in their own community.

Prohibition is now the norm rather than the exception, with Djibouti and Guinea writing bans into their constitutions in 2025. But laws alone don’t necessarily change what happens on the ground, and enforcement remains thin. Arrests and prosecutions rose sharply in 2025, yet there were still only 711 FGM court cases all year. In The Gambia, the fine imposed on the country’s first convicted cutters was paid by a prominent imam, an act that helped galvanise the campaign seeking to repeal the ban.

The movement’s defunding

The tactics that drove three decades of progress are now being starved of funding, with budget cuts falling hardest on the survivor-led and grassroots groups that are most effective but always face the toughest struggles for support. Funding for the Joint Programme fell from US$29.6 million in 2024 to US$16.3 million in 2025. The dismantling of USAID removed the largest single source of civil society funding worldwide, and total US foreign aid halved in a year. The UK, once the biggest funder of FGM prevention, is winding down its flagship programme with no replacement, so it can spend more on weapons.

The economics make no sense, because every dollar invested in prevention brings a tenfold return. The Joint Programme estimates that treating the health consequences of FGM currently costs US$1.4 billion a year. Politics, though, is playing a big part. In global north countries, political shifts are driving the withdrawal of aid, and far-right parties invoke FGM to stigmatise migrant communities while also opposing the gender justice policies that would make a difference. In practising countries, prohibition is increasingly recast as a foreign imposition on culture and faith. What unites these arguments is a shared sleight of hand that treats FGM as a question of cultural identity rather than a violation of fundamental human rights.

Elimination by 2030, the target that states set when they agreed the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, is already out of reach. But the evidence on what works is not in dispute, and it points towards communities and grassroots movements. The question is whether governments that claim to value human rights will keep supporting those delivering progress, or let a generation of girls pay the price of retreat.

Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Head of Research and Analysis, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report. She is also a Professor of Comparative Politics at Universidad ORT Uruguay.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org

 

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Cyrille Tchatchet II is "very proud and honoured" to represent England and take home a silver medal.

Le Bénin a rendu hommage à plusieurs de ses filles et fils qui se distinguent par leur parcours, leur créativité et leur engagement. C'est à travers la première édition de la cérémonie nationale du Mérite et de la Mémoire tenue vendredi 31 juillet 2026 au Dôme du Sofitel de Cotonou, dans une atmosphère marquée par la reconnaissance et la solennité.

Initiée par le président de la République, Romuald Wadagni, Grand Maître des Ordres nationaux du Bénin, la cérémonie a été organisée sous l'égide de la Vice-Présidente de la République, Grande Chancelière des Ordres nationaux du Bénin. Elle a permis de distinguer des personnalités issues de plusieurs secteurs, notamment l'éducation, la culture, les arts, le sport, l'agriculture, l'action sociale et l'inclusion.

Pour le chef de l'État, cette célébration vise à mettre en lumière celles et ceux qui contribuent à écrire l'histoire du pays. « Nous allons faire en sorte que les grandes figures qui ont marqué notre histoire contemporaine, que les jeunes qui, par l'excellence de leur travail, dessinent le visage du Bénin de demain, que tout ce monde soit célébré », a déclaré Romuald Wadagni.

Selon lui, cette reconnaissance dépasse le simple hommage. « Une telle célébration, ce n'est pas seulement rendre hommage à ce qui nous rend fiers, mais c'est également faire en sorte que dans la cité, de nouvelles vocations naissent. C'est faire en sorte que la communauté ait envie de se sublimer », a-t-il ajouté.

Parmi les récipiendaires figurent les meilleurs élèves aux examens nationaux du CEP, du BEPC et du Baccalauréat, distingués pour leur excellence scolaire. Plusieurs ambassadeurs de la culture béninoise ont également été honorés, à l'image de Romuald Hazoumè, Julien Sinzogan, Georges Adéagbo et Edwige Akplogan, pour leur contribution au rayonnement artistique du Bénin.

La musique béninoise a aussi été célébrée à travers la distinction de grandes voix ayant marqué l'histoire culturelle du pays, dont Angélique Kidjo, Danialou Sagbohan, Nel Oliver, Séna Joy ou encore Alèkpéhanhou.

La cérémonie a également mis en avant l'engagement social, avec la reconnaissance accordée à la Fondation Claudine Talon, ainsi que les parcours d'anciens sportifs, de journalistes sportifs, d'acteurs du monde agricole et de personnes vivant avec un handicap.

À travers cette initiative, les autorités entendent inscrire durablement la valorisation du mérite dans la mémoire collective nationale et encourager l'excellence dans tous les domaines.
Voici la liste des distinctions par catégories

Voici la liste des distingués

Racines et Couleurs

Romuald Hazoumè
Julien Sinzogan
Georges Adéagbo
Edwige Akplogan

Les Voix éternelles du Bénin

Danialou Sagbohan
Nel Oliver
Séna Joy
Angélique Kidjo
Bluky D'Almeida
Isbath Madou
Kiri Kanta
Michel Aloucou alias Alèkpéhanhou
Vincent Ahehehinnou
Wally Badarou
Yves Gontran Valette

Engagement social

Fondation Claudine Talon

Les Champions de la Nation

Bonaventure Codjia
Georges Boco
Julien Affaton
François-Xavier Adjovi
Saadou Do Rego
Issiaka Soulé
Pierre Ogoudjobi
Achille Takpa
François Moufalilou Liady

Les Mains qui nourrissent

Simon Takpa
Olivier Zaga
Houenoumadji Ado
Boubacar Mama
Roland Vignonfodo

Dignité et Honneurs

Prisca Tchansi
Chantal Gbenakpo
Prudencia Atindokpo
Franck Adomalinkpo
Bastou Odjo
Ahmed Taofik

Selon McKinsey et Lean In, seulement 54 % des entreprises ont fait de l'aide aux employées pour gravir les échelons hiérarchiques une priorité, contre 90 % il y a quatre ans.

Washington étudie la possibilité de frappes ciblées contre le Groupe de soutien à l'islam et aux musulmans (JNIM). Une telle opération signerait le retour militaire des États-Unis au Mali, dans un Sahel où le dispositif russe n'a pas tenu ses promesses sécuritaires. Mais les expériences française, russe et, plus récemment, nigériane rappellent les limites d'une réponse fondée principalement sur la puissance de feu.

Une option militaire encore incertaine

Selon le Washington Post, l'administration Trump examine plusieurs scénarios visant le JNIM, coalition djihadiste affiliée à Al-Qaida. Aucune décision n'a toutefois été annoncée. Le Pentagone s'est refusé à tout commentaire, tandis que des désaccords subsisteraient au sein de l'exécutif américain sur l'opportunité d'une intervention.Une opération nécessiterait, en principe, l'accord de Bamako, des renseignements suffisamment précis et une coordination avec les forces maliennes et leurs alliés russes d'Africa Corps. L'équation est d'autant plus complexe que les États-Unis ont quitté, en 2024, leur base de drones d'Agadez, au Niger, qui constituait l'un des principaux points d'appui de leur dispositif de surveillance dans la région.

Le bilan accablant du partenariat russe

Le JNIM ne se cantonne plus à ses bastions du nord et du centre du Mali. Il étend désormais son emprise vers l'ouest et le sud, où se concentrent une grande partie de la population, des activités économiques et des voies d'approvisionnement du pays. Selon l'Africa Center for Strategic Studies, près de 20 % des activités violentes attribuées au groupe au Mali ont été enregistrées dans ces régions entre juillet 2024 et juin 2025, contre 8 % au cours des douze mois précédents. En ciblant les routes commerciales, les convois de carburant et les sites industriels, le JNIM cherche moins à conquérir immédiatement Bamako qu'à l'isoler et à l'asphyxier économiquement. Depuis septembre 2025, ses attaques contre les corridors reliant le Mali au Sénégal et à la Côte d'Ivoire ont provoqué des pénuries et des flambées de prix. Dans ce contexte, Washington estime que Moscou s'est révélé être « un partenaire de sécurité inefficace ». Les données de l'ACLED, reprises par Reuters, assombrissent encore le bilan : en 2025, les forces maliennes et leurs alliés de Wagner et d'Africa Corps auraient tué 918 civils, contre 232 attribués au JNIM et à la branche sahélienne de l'organisation État islamique. Ces violences contre les populations, notamment peules, risquent en outre d'alimenter les recrutements djihadistes.

Une frappe ne fait pas une stratégie

Des frappes américaines pourraient détruire des camps, neutraliser des cadres du JNIM et perturber temporairement ses chaînes de commandement. Le précédent nigérian illustre cependant à la fois l'utilité tactique et les limites stratégiques de ce type d'intervention. Le 25 décembre 2025, à la demande d'Abuja, les États-Unis ont frappé deux camps liés à l'organisation État islamique dans l'État de Sokoto. Selon les autorités nigérianes, seize munitions guidées ont été employées ; l'Africom a fait état de la mort de plusieurs combattants. En mai 2026, une série d'opérations aériennes et terrestres conjointes aurait ensuite tué 175 membres du groupe dans le nord-est du Nigeria, dont plusieurs responsables, selon un bilan de l'armée nigériane rapporté par Reuters. Ces opérations ont désorganisé des réseaux et approfondi la coopération en matière de renseignement entre Washington et Abuja. Elles n'ont pourtant pas mis fin à l'insurrection. Boko Haram et l'État islamique en Afrique de l'Ouest conservent d'importantes capacités opérationnelles, tandis que persistent les facteurs qui nourrissent la violence : pauvreté, faiblesse des services publics, conflits locaux et abandon de territoires périphériques. Les États-Unis pourraient obtenir au Mali des résultats tactiques comparables contre le JNIM. Mais après Serval, Barkhane, Wagner et Africa Corps, une leçon s'impose : éliminer des combattants ne suffit pas à rétablir durablement la sécurité. Une frappe peut infléchir momentanément le rapport de force ; elle ne remplace ni l'État, ni la justice, ni une solution politique.

La 2ᵉ édition du Tournoi national de pétanque a été lancée, ce samedi 1er août 2026, sur l'Esplanade de l'Amazone à Cotonou, à l'occasion de la 66e anniversaire d'indépendance du Bénin. La manifestation s'est déroulée en présence du Président de la République, Romuald Wadagni.

L'Esplanade de l'Amazone à Cotonou a accueilli la 2e édition national de pétanque. Elle a été organisée par le Ministère des Sports et de l'Engagement civique (MSEC), avec l'appui technique de la Fédération Béninoise de Pétanque. La compétition a réuni des sélections provenant des 12 départements du Bénin.

« La pétanque incarne des valeurs qui font écho à l'identité de notre nation. Sport accessible et populaire, elle rassemble les générations, les familles, les amis et les communautés autour de ce qui compte le plus : le respect, la solidarité, le partage et le plaisir d'être ensemble », a déclaré le Ministre des Sports et de l'Engagement civique Benoît Dato.

Pour lui, cette initiative traduit la volonté du Gouvernement de promouvoir le sport pour tous. « Ce qui nous rassemble sera toujours plus fort que ce qui nous différencie. Le sport, par son pouvoir de réunir, demeure l'un des plus beaux symboles de cette ambition », a-t-il déclaré.

À travers cette deuxième édition, les autorités entendent faire de la pétanque un vecteur de cohésion nationale et renforcer la pratique du sport sur l'ensemble du territoire.

A Gawézi, une localité de la commune de Kalalé, dans le département du Borgou, les corps sans vie de deux enfants ont été repêchés, samedi 1er août 2026. Les victimes se sont noyées dans un marigot situé non loin du village.

Une baignade vire au drame à Gawézi dans la commune de Kalalé. Deux enfants ont perdu la vie dans un marigot dans la soirée du vendredi 31 juillet 2026. Les corps sans vie des victimes ont été repêchés le lendemain, samedi 1er août.

Selon un élu local rapporté par Fraternité, les victimes appartenaient à un groupe de 8 enfants. Ils étaient sortis la veille, vendredi 31 juillet, pour se promener. Au cours de cette promenade, ils se sont dirigés vers un marigot situé à côté d'un champ de riz. Ce marigot selon l'élu, est réalisé sous forme de puits. Tous les enfants se jettent alors dans l'eau pour ce bain qui sera fatal pour deux d'entre eux.
De retour à la maison, explique l'élu local, les parents interrogent les 6 autres sur la position de leurs camarades. Ils informent qu'ils étaient toujours au marigot. Les recherches effectuées ont permis de retrouver leurs corps sans vie le lendemain.

L'un des deux, selon la même source, serait tombé dans le puits et l'autre, cherchant à le secourir, se serait également noyé. Une situation qui a plongé toute la localité dans le deuil et la consternation.
La Police et les autorités locales se sont dépêchées sur les lieux pour les constats d'usage.
Profitant de cette tragédie, les autorités locales ont invité les populations à veiller sur les enfants et d'éviter la fréquentation des zones inondables en cette période de crue.

F. A. A.

La grâce présidentielle accordée par le président de la République, Romuald Wadagni, à l'occasion du 66ᵉ anniversaire de l'indépendance du Bénin, permet la libération de Donouvossi Olivier, condamné à une peine exceptionnelle de 200 ans d'emprisonnement ferme.

Incarcéré depuis le 19 juin 1998 à la prison civile d'Akpro-Missérété, Donouvossi Olivier avait été reconnu coupable de complicité de vol à main armée. Il a été condamné à 2 400 mois de prison (200 ans d'emprisonnement). En l'absence de cette mesure de grâce, sa date théorique de fin de peine était fixée au 19 juin 2198.

Au moment de l'obtention de la grâce présidentielle, le détenu avait déjà passé 337 mois en prison, soit 28 ans et un mois de détention. Donouvossi Olivier figure parmi les 369 personnes ayant bénéficié de la grâce présidentielle signée par le chef de l'État dans le cadre de la célébration du 66ᵉ anniversaire de l'indépendance du Bénin. Cette mesure de clémence a permis à plusieurs condamnés de recouvrer la liberté.

Le dépôt de gerbe au Monument aux Dévoués par le Président de la République Romuald Wadagni et le défilé militaire ont marqué ce samedi 1er août 2026, les festivités du 66e anniversaire de l'accession du Bénin à la souveraineté nationale et internationale. Des membres du gouvernement, présidents des institutions, personnalités, ex-présidents ont pris part à l'évènement. Cette édition de la fête nationale est placée sous le thème « Les Forces de Défense et de Sécurité, ensemble avec le peuple, en marche vers la propriété ».

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Les obsèques de Denis Hodonou, promoteur du journal Tam-Tam Express et figure de la presse privée béninoise, se dérouleront du 5 au 8 août 2026 à Cotonou et à Porto-Novo. Le journaliste sera inhumé le jeudi 6 août au cimetière Danto de Porto-Novo, après une messe d'enterrement célébrée à l'église Sainte-Geneviève.

Les hommages débuteront le mercredi 5 août avec des veillées de prière prévues à 20 heures à l'église Saint-Michel de Cotonou et à la maison Hodonou à Porto-Novo. L'inhumation interviendra le jeudi 6 août, à l'issue de la célébration eucharistique à l'église Sainte-Geneviève de Porto-Novo.

Les cérémonies prendront fin le samedi 8 août avec une messe d'action de grâce prévue à 9 heures à l'aumônerie de l'église Sainte-Geneviève de Porto-Novo.
Denis Hodonou s'est éteint le 21 juin 2026. Promoteur de Tam-Tam Express, il est considéré comme l'un des pionniers de la presse privée au Bénin.

Le conseiller communal à Allada, Edmond Zinsou a été interpellé le samedi 1er août 2026 et placé en garde à vue.

Il n'est plus libre de ses mouvements. Edmond Zinsou est désormais aux mains de la police républicaine. Le conseiller communal à Allada serait impliqué dans une affaire portant sur un véhicule immatriculé au Nigéria. La police aurait déjà interpellé plusieurs personnes dans cette affaire. Edmond Zinsou avait été déjà condamné à deux ans de prison dans une affaire de fraude douanière.

Le ministère de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche scientifique en charge de la formation technique, a lancé le concours d'entrée dans les écoles et instituts des universités publiques (INMeS, IFSIO, ENSPD, ENSTIC, ENEAM, INSPEI, INJEPS, IUEP-MA, de Djougou, ENS de Porto-Novo, ENS de Natitingou, et ENSET). L'information est rendue publique à travers un communiqué en date du vendredi 31 juillet 2026. Les personnes concernées doivent être titulaires du Baccalauréat ou d'un diplôme équivalent obtenu en 2026, et avoir la mention « Assez bien » au moins. Elles devront selon le communiqué, être âgées de 21 ans au plus au 31 décembre de l'année d'obtention du diplôme.

Ci-dessous le communiqué

À l'occasion de la célébration du 66ᵉ anniversaire de l'indépendance du Bénin, les États-Unis ont adressé leurs félicitations au peuple béninois. Dans une déclaration rendue publique, le Secrétaire d'État américain Marco Rubio a salué le parcours du Bénin en tant que nation souveraine et réaffirmé l'engagement de Washington à approfondir la coopération bilatérale.

« Les États-Unis sont fiers de s'associer au peuple béninois à l'occasion de la célébration des 66 années d'existence du Bénin en tant que nation souveraine », a déclaré Marco Rubio. Pour le chef de la diplomatie américaine, cet anniversaire constitue « une étape importante qui témoigne de sa résilience et de la force durable de son esprit national ».

Le Secrétaire d'État américain a également formulé des vœux de réussite au Bénin dans cette nouvelle phase politique. « Alors que votre pays poursuit sa marche en avant sous une nouvelle direction présidentielle, nous lui adressons nos vœux les plus sincères pour une année fructueuse et couronnée de succès », a-t-il indiqué.

Au-delà des félicitations, Washington entend consolider les relations avec Cotonou. « Nous réaffirmons avec fierté la richesse des relations qui unissent nos gouvernements et nos peuples », a souligné Marco Rubio.

Le partenariat américano-béninois devrait ainsi continuer à s'articuler autour de plusieurs domaines d'intérêt commun, notamment les opportunités économiques, la stabilité et la sécurité. « Nous demeurons résolus à renforcer davantage notre partenariat et à œuvrer côte à côte à la réalisation de nos ambitions communes », a précisé le Secrétaire d'État américain. Marco Rubio a appelé à poursuivre cette dynamique de coopération.

L'Iran pourrait penser qu'il est en mesure de gérer ce conflit avec suffisamment de prudence pour maintenir la pression sur les États-Unis tout en évitant une guerre totale.

Dominica's geothermal power plant. As Caribbean countries seek to reduce their dependence on imported fossil fuels, renewable energy remains a key pillar of the regional resilience agenda advanced by CARICOM leaders. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS

By Alison Kentish
GROS ISLET, Saint Lucia , Aug 3 2026 (IPS)

From wars that drive up fuel prices to supply chain disruptions, inflation and increasingly frequent climate disasters, Caribbean leaders say many of the forces shaping the region’s future lie beyond their control.

Their response, however, is not resignation.

Instead, leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the region’s largest economic grouping, are pursuing a strategy built on strengthening the systems they believe they can influence, hoping to make one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions more resilient to external shocks. These include food and energy security, transportation, healthcare, artificial intelligence and regional trade.

At their recent summit in Saint Lucia, the leaders argued that CARICOM must be judged less by declarations than by whether regional cooperation improves people’s daily lives.

“Our discussions have been guided by one central objective, ensuring that CARICOM delivers results that people can see and feel in their everyday lives,” CARICOM Chairman and Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre said as he outlined the meeting’s outcomes.

“Heads of government focused on the issues that matter most to the people of the region.”

Those priorities included the rising cost of living, food security, affordable transportation, disaster resilience and the challenge of building stronger economies in an uncertain global environment.

Leaders acknowledged that inflation in food, fuel, freight and electricity has largely been driven by global conflicts, supply chain disruptions and commodity price shocks, which small island economies have little ability to influence. While several governments have introduced temporary measures to cushion households, they argued that lasting relief will require deeper regional cooperation on transportation, consumer protection and trade.

“We will work together,” said Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who leads CARICOM’s work on the Caribbean Single Market and Economy. “None of us is omniscient, none of us has all the answers, and none of us are omnipotent as well.”

One of the summit’s most tangible initiatives was renewed work toward an affordable intra-regional ferry service, long viewed as critical to reducing freight costs, improving travel and strengthening food security. Leaders said the proposal would begin with a proof of concept using existing ferry capacity while governments harmonise regulations governing licensing, insurance and vehicle movement across borders.

The initiative complements CARICOM’s “25 by 2025 Plus Five” programme, which aims to reduce the region’s food import bill by expanding agricultural production and strengthening regional supply chains. Leaders argued that producing and transporting more food within the Caribbean would make the region less vulnerable to global disruptions.

Energy security emerged as another defining theme.

Prime Minister Terrance Drew of St Kitts and Nevis said that the Caribbean’s greatest vulnerability is not a lack of energy resources but its continued dependence on imported fossil fuels.

“We don’t have an energy issue,” Drew said. “We have an energy-harnessing issue.”

Pointing to the region’s abundant solar, geothermal, wind and wave resources, Drew said renewable energy offers perhaps the greatest long-term opportunity to stabilise Caribbean economies, reduce electricity costs and improve living standards.

“There’s nothing that can really stabilise our economy, or transform our economy, or deal with this constant up and down, like stabilising our energy sources,” he said.

Recognising that technological change will also reshape the region’s future, CARICOM agreed to establish a regional Blue Ribbon Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Leaders said the commission will develop regional guidance on AI, helping member states capitalise on its benefits while managing risks around jobs, privacy and ethics.

Climate resilience also remained central to the discussions.

Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius while continuing to advocate internationally for the special circumstances of Small Island Developing States. They also advanced work on a regional insurance and reinsurance strategy aimed at improving financial protection for governments, businesses and households, as climate-related disasters become more frequent and more costly.

Historical justice remained firmly on the regional agenda. Leaders endorsed renewed efforts to advance CARICOM’s Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice through closer engagement with the African Union, upcoming Commonwealth meetings and other international forums.

The agenda set in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, has effectively set CARICOM’s agenda for the months ahead. From advancing ferry connectivity and renewable energy to strengthening food security, disaster resilience and artificial intelligence governance, the challenge now is implementation.

For Caribbean citizens, the measure of success will not be the number of declarations adopted but whether regional cooperation delivers tangible improvements in everyday life.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Excerpt:

Unable to influence wars, global fuel prices or supply chain disruptions, Caribbean leaders are focusing on strengthening the systems that will make the region more resilient.

Von hohen Aktienkursen profitieren Reiche besonders stark. Ärmere hingegen werden durch steigende Preise und Mieten zunehmend abgehängt. Das ist politisch gefährlich., Als Elon Musk Anfang Juni 2026 mit dem geplanten Börsengang von SpaceX offiziell zum ersten Billionär der Menschheitsgeschichte aufstieg, war das Medienecho gewaltig. Kaum Aufmerksamkeit hingegen erhielt die Tatsache, dass dies kein Ausreißer, sondern Symptom einer strukturellen Verschiebung ist, ...

By Daud Khan and Thomas McMahon
ROME / RICCIONE, Italy, Aug 3 2026 (IPS)

For the last few years, Artificial intelligence has been making increasingly intrusive demands for our attention.

It burst onto the scene like a child prodigy, enthralling us with feats of brilliance. With consummate ease, it removed drudgery from our tasks and began helping us achieve our personal and workplace objectives.

Daud Khan

But AI has now grown into an unruly adolescent. It is disrupting how we work and think; it is demanding constant attention; and it is distracting us from other important activities and tasks.

As is the case with adolescents, there have been calls to set rules and regulations on AI, applying appropriate limits on what AI can and cannot do. The aim being to allow us time to deal with its immediate impacts on, for example, the jobs market, on media and communication, and on its military use.

But would government imposed regulations solve the problem? The answer is no for several reasons.

Firstly, there is the siren call of easier access to vast stores of knowledge, top quality writing skills and polished images and infographics. It is hard to resist the temptation to delegate boring tasks to AI, such as drafting emails that respond to routine messages. From there it is a slippery slope towards AI writing our university or job applications, office memos, or manuals and instructional content. However, these are tasks that define who we are and how others perceive us. And this reliance on AI kills creativity, individuality and human relations – there is no longer a turn of phrase or a spelling mistake that makes the message special.

Thomas McMahon

Just ask yourself: would you rather get a handwritten note of appreciation from someone who works for you or who you supervise, where some words are illegible and the paper is smudged; or an email with perfect grammar that you know they are not capable of authoring?

Secondly, AI Psychosis is becoming a pervasive disruptor of social relations. AI models are purposely designed for “engagement farming” – a fancy term for hooking people into an ever-increasing reliance on these services. It achieves this through sycophantic responses that feed one’s ego or anxieties, releasing endorphins and creating a craving for more.

We can now access gratifying, yet wholly synthetic, social interactions at our fingertips via chatbots. Consequently, we risk crafting individualised reality bubbles that are unchecked by the social norms we experience in the real world. Will it become easier and more pleasurable to interact with an intelligent machine to fulfill our need to talk, to discuss books, or for emotional engagement without fear of rejection – at any time of day or night?

Thirdly, if we allow machines to shape our thoughts and emotions, we risk destroying diversity of opinion, crushing creativity and resulting in a unified, monolithic narrative that is controlled by the megacorporations providing these AI services.

Pope Leo XIV expressed this concern in his recent encyclical where he warned of “the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralizes differences, and the pretense that a single language — even a digital one — can translate everything, including the mystery of the person, into data and performance”.

Lastly, it is essential to consider how the mismanagement of AI has the potential to drive a further wedge between rich and poor populations. The Pope cautions us of being misled by “a technology that promises to free us from all weakness, and models of wellbeing that leave behind entire populations”.

Increased focus is being placed on the impact of data centers within local communities, given their inordinate usage of electricity and water and the constant noise pollution these facilities generate. At full capacity, processing a daily 10 billion Gigabytes of data, a 100 MW data center consumes up to 2.4 million KWh of electricity and 2 million litres of water per day – more than a small city.

The human brain can process 74 Gigabytes of data while sipping a tiny 0.3 KWh of electricity (260 calories or 12% of total daily energy intake). Our bodies require a daily ration of 2.5 litres of water to function normally. Contrast this with preparing a 100-word email using ChatGPT, where each prompt-and-response interaction consumes the water in a standard 500 ml bottle. Even from a strictly environmentally-conscious viewpoint, surely it would be better to use our brains for this instead?

However, whatever our concerns, the genie is out of the bottle and there is no going back – we must learn to use AI properly. We need to better understand its limitations and where it delivers greatest impact, given the resources required.

AI should not be seen as a substitute for human expertise but instead complementary to it. Indeed, the more expertise one has in any given field, the more valuable a contribution AI makes. Experts can better formulate more pertinent questions and redirect the conversation should the AI meander off course. Experts also detect errors more easily in what may appear to be perfectly valid responses.

It is essential that we encourage people, particularly our young people, to continue learning and perfecting their chosen crafts, ignoring the wild marketing claims that various professions have been largely solved by AI already. The more knowledge and expertise the younger generation can build, the more judiciously and selectively they can deploy AI in their work and for society’s future benefit.

Daud Khan is a retired UN staff based in Rome. He has degrees in economics from LSE and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar; and a degree in Environmental Management from Imperial College London.

Thomas McMahon is a Data Engineer who specialises in developing bespoke AI systems for UN agencies.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Rohingya refugees cross the Naf River on a makeshift raft while fleeing violence in Myanmar, on their way to Bangladesh. Credit: UNICEF/Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin

By Mohammad Zaman
VANCOUVER B.C., Canada, Aug 3 2026 (IPS)

The Rohingya crisis remains one of the most enduring humanitarian and political failures in South and Southeast Asia. Since the 2017 mass expulsion from Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Bangladesh has hosted more than one million refugees in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char, while Myanmar has failed to create conditions for safe return. What began as an emergency response has hardened into protracted displacement marked by statelessness, insecurity, aid dependency, and diplomatic fatigue. Repatriation is repeatedly presented as the preferred durable solution, yet every major attempt has failed because the core political question remains unresolved: the Rohingya cannot safely return to a state that denies them citizenship, protection, and equal belonging.

In 2017, only months after the largest influx, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a bilateral Memorandum of Arrangement. It promised a time-bound repatriation process, but it was non-binding, weakly enforced, and silent on the guarantees most essential to return: citizenship, freedom of movement, property restitution, and independent monitoring inside Rakhine. Bangladesh, facing demographic, environmental, and political pressure, needed a pathway to reduce the burden of hosting refugees. Myanmar, by contrast, had incentives to delay, control, and symbolically manage the process without addressing the legal and security conditions that caused the exodus.

Three major repatriation efforts since 2017 reveal the same pattern. Attempts in 2018 and 2019 collapsed because refugees refused to return without credible guarantees of safety, citizenship, and dignity. A China-facilitated initiative in 2023 proposed a pilot return of several thousand people and arranged verification visits by Rohingya representatives to Rakhine. It also stalled. Cyclone damage, renewed fighting, and widening armed conflict made even limited returns impractical. More importantly, refugees remained unconvinced. Their reluctance was not resistance to return; it was a rational response to risk. Returning to fenced villages, transit camps, or controlled areas without rights would merely convert exile in Bangladesh into containment in Myanmar.

Dr Mohammad Zaman

These failures expose the central flaw in the repatriation agenda: it has prioritized the movement of people over the creation of a solution. Success cannot be measured by border crossings alone, but by whether returnees can live safely as citizens with restored rights, homes, livelihoods, and community security. For the Rohingya, Myanmar’s 1982 citizenship framework, restrictions on movement, communal segregation, and discriminatory administration remain decisive barriers. The 2021 military coup further weakened prospects for accountability and reform. Since then, Myanmar has fragmented into multiple conflict zones, and Rakhine has become a battlefield involving the military, the Arakan Army, and other armed actors. Bangladesh is therefore no longer dealing only with a reluctant state authority; it must navigate a shifting territorial reality in which non-state actors control or contest areas central to any return.

The political problem is both domestic and regional. Domestically, Myanmar’s state-building project has excluded the Rohingya by portraying them as outsiders rather than citizens. Without recognition of Rohingya identity and legal status, administrative repatriation will remain cosmetic. Regionally, the crisis is shaped by strategic interests. China has mediated because stability in Myanmar affects its investments and influence, but its diplomacy has emphasized state-to-state negotiation more than rights-based accountability. India has balanced humanitarian concern with security and geopolitical interests, while ASEAN has struggled to move beyond cautious consensus and non-interference. Western governments have condemned atrocities and supported accountability efforts, but sanctions and legal cases have not changed conditions on the ground. The result is a fragmented diplomatic landscape in which no actor has combined sufficient leverage, consistency, and political will to compel Myanmar toward a rights-based solution.

Bangladesh’s position is increasingly difficult. Its initial humanitarian generosity has become a long-term national burden. The camps place pressure on land, forests, water, public services, and local labour markets. Security concerns have grown as trafficking, armed activity, and criminal networks exploit a population with limited mobility, education, and livelihood opportunities. Declining humanitarian funding has deepened frustration: reduced food rations, health services, and education increase despair and encourage dangerous onward movement by sea to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, where conditions are often insecure. Yet Bangladesh’s legitimate burden cannot justify premature repatriation. Any return must be voluntary, safe, rights-based, and dignified.

A critical analysis must also recognize the limits of humanitarianism. Aid keeps people alive, but it cannot resolve statelessness or political exclusion. The international response has often separated relief, justice, and diplomacy into disconnected tracks: humanitarian agencies sustain survival in Bangladesh; lawyers pursue accountability; diplomats negotiate repatriation frameworks; and development actors support host communities. Each track is necessary, but together they have not formed a coherent strategy. The Rohingya have too often been treated as beneficiaries rather than political stakeholders. A durable solution requires their participation in defining return conditions, monitoring mechanisms, citizenship pathways, education policy, and community security arrangements. The newly formed Rohingya Repatriation Committee has to address all of the above in finding a sustainable solution.

The road ahead must be realistic rather than rhetorical. Repatriation should remain the long-term objective, but only when it is safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable. This requires verifiable changes inside Rakhine: citizenship or a credible pathway to citizenship, freedom of movement, access to services, restoration or compensation for property, and protection from military, police, and armed-group abuse. Any future framework must include independent international monitoring with meaningful access to return areas. Diplomacy must also adapt to Myanmar’s altered conflict map by engaging relevant actors without legitimizing abuses or abandoning principles. Bangladesh will need pragmatic but principled engagement with the junta, the Arakan Army, regional powers, and international organizations.

Meanwhile, the camps in Bangladesh cannot remain waiting rooms for an indefinitely delayed return. Refugees need education, skills training, legal protection, and limited livelihood opportunities to prevent social deterioration and prepare for eventual reconstruction in Rakhine. These measures should not be framed as local integration against Bangladesh’s wishes, but as human-capital preservation and crisis management. International burden-sharing must become concrete: donors should sustain aid, expand resettlement for vulnerable cases, support host communities, and coordinate pressure on Myanmar. Accountability mechanisms should continue because impunity is one reason repatriation remains unsafe.

Ultimately, the Rohingya repatriation crisis is not a logistical failure but a political one. Buses, refugee lists, reception centres, and pilot projects cannot substitute for rights, security, and recognition. Bangladesh seeks relief, Myanmar seeks control, regional powers seek stability, and donors seek a manageable humanitarian file. The Rohingya seek what repatriation is supposed to mean: return to their homeland as citizens with dignity. Until diplomacy is anchored in that principle, repatriation attempts will continue to produce announcements without arrivals, agreements without trust, and roadmaps without roads. The way forward requires pressure, patience, and a shift from counting potential returnees to building the conditions under which return becomes a restoration of justice rather than an act of desperation.

Dr. Mohammad Zaman is an internationally recognized expert in resettlement and development. He has contributed many op-eds on the Rohingya crisis. Dr. Zaman’s recent edited book (co-editors Robert Anderson and Kawser Ahmed) is titled Rohingya Stories: History and Geopolitics in a Multipolar World (Springer, 2025).

IPS UN Bureau

 

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