Results for Opinion

Seven decades after its adoption, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) remains a beacon of hope for the world, sending out an unequivocal message that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and that no abuse of human rights can be allowed to continue without challenge. But despite major advances over the last seven decades – such as the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN’s Responsibility to Protect doctrine – human-rights abuses continue to be perpetrated at an alarming rate and with virtual impunity. By Gordon Brown.

The establishment of renminbi-based oil trading at a time when China and many other economies confront aggressive US tariffs, and possible further development of renminbi-based trade in other commodity markets, suggests that the US dollar could face an unprecedented challenge to its hegemony. It may in the near future no longer be seen as the anchor of the international monetary system, bringing to an end to what Valéry Giscard d’Estaing famously called the “exorbitant privilege” enjoyed by the US as a result of the dollar’s centrality in international trade. By John A. Mathews and Mark Selden.

The Juliana v United States trial is about more than the environment; it will have far-reaching implications for intergenerational justice more broadly. Consider the issue of public debt. There have always been moral objections to one generation burdening the next with excessive debt, effectively limiting young people’s future liberty by impinging on their ability to form families, educate children, and create wealth. By Robert Dugger.

Kau Fale Alea, ko ho’omou tali e lipooti ‘a e ‘atita ‘oku tatau ia mo ha’amou pehee ‘oku mo’oni e lipooti ‘a e ‘Atita, ka ki he Kapineti mo e PM ke hoko atu pe ‘enau ngaue ta’e Faka-lao mo Ta’e-Faka-Konisitutone ka tau toki sio he ta’u fo’ou ki he palopalema ‘a e fonua. – ‘Inoke Fotu Hu’akau.

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate on October 2 has focused attention on the Saudi regime. And yet the strong response to Khashoggi’s brutal murder stands in stark contrast to the relative indifference the West has shown to the vastly larger number of victims of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. Saudi airstrikes have killed thousands of civilians, including children who died when school buses were bombed. Now those deaths are themselves heavily outnumbered by the toll of the widespread famine engulfing Yemen “much bigger than anything any professional in this field has seen”. By Peter Singer.

This kind of behaviour by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet members is no laughing matter any more, they are pussyfooting around with the most dangerous situation our nation ever experienced in the last 100 or so years. - 'Inoke Fotu Hu'akau.

As scientists have conclusively shown, in the last decade, we have entered a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, in which human activity – in particular, economic activity – has been the dominant factor influencing Earth’s climate and environment. In the Anthropocene, our planet’s life-support system is changing faster than ever. By Johan Rockström, Jørgen Randers, and Per Espen Stoknes

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body tasked with providing scientific evidence and consensus on climate change and its implications for decision-makers and the public, has just issued its latest, long-awaited report. The challenge it presents to all of us is huge. By Monica Araya and Carlos Manuel Rodriguez

Does human nature exist? The answer has implications for anyone concerned about ethics. In an era defined by amoral political leadership and eroding social values, thinking about the essence of humanity has never been more important....Views on human nature affect views on ethics. And today, our ethics are a mess. By Massimo Pigliucci.