Vetoing humanity: How a few powerful nations hijacked global peace

Marc CohenConflict, Governance, Research

Marc J. Cohen, Amy Croome and Elise Nalbandian introduce a new Oxfam report that sets out how the veto power of a few countries at the UN Security Council has been catastrophic for humanity. Ahead of next week’s landmark Summit of the Future, they demand four changes to reform a UN system that is simply no longer up to the challenge of maintaining international peace and security.

‘I would expect more trust’: five things holding back LGBTQIA+ led organisations in the Ukraine response

Charlotte GreenerHumanitarian, Research, Rights

LGBTQIA+ organisations responding to the crisis in Ukraine need  better support from international donors, including more flexible funding and support to boost the visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community. Charlotte Greener shares insights from conversations with two LGBTQIA+ groups working in Ukraine and neighbouring Poland.

How much does it cost to stop a cycle of violence in South Sudan? It’s less than you might think…

Sylvia BrownConflict, Fragile contexts, Innovation

What’s the biggest barrier to community-led peacebuilding in South Sudan? Often, it’s simply that volunteer peacebuilders can’t get the transport they need to reach the warring parties. In a blog for the International Day for Living Together in Peace, Sylvia Brown explains how an investment of just $28,000 can calm an inter-community conflict – and protect lives and livelihoods.

The men are gone – but the patriarchy remains: the struggles of women left behind in Syria’s ‘no-man land’

Dania KarehFragile contexts, Gender, Women's Economic Empowerment

Years of conflict have led to thousands of men dying or being pushed away. Now, says Dania Kareh, the women who remain face a huge challenge as stubborn social, economic and educational barriers frustrate their efforts to build decent lives for their families.

Four ways to build youth activism for peace: insights from one UK student’s campaigning on Yemen

Yasmin TurnerActive citizenship, Humanitarian, Influencing

Oxfam campaigner Yasmin Turner on how she is working to draw attention to the crisis in Yemen and pressure the UK government to stop the British arms sales fuelling the conflict – from hosting a photographic exhibition to writing to her local MP.

What do refugees from across Africa want to tell the global forum?

Abbas KigoziEvents, Participation and Leadership, Refugees and IDPs

Abbas Kigozi, Robert Hakiza and JeanPaul Kasika on priorities of refugees in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and Malawi that need to be heard at this week’s gathering in Geneva – including access to basic services, secure legal status and protection against forced returns.

The unfolding water catastrophe in Gaza

Bushra KhalidiConflict, Emergencies, Water

The current crisis comes on top of a long-standing struggle for water in Gaza – and demonstrates again how access to clean water is often one of the first casualties of conflict. Bushra Khalidi and Awssan Kamal set out six ways the destruction and obstruction of water supplies is having devastating short- and long-term impacts on civilians.

The rush for clean-energy minerals risks fuelling conflict in the Sahel – and that has to be on the climate agenda

Mohamadou Fadel DiopClimate Change, Conflict, Events

Mohamadou Fadel Diop on why climate negotiations such as the upcoming COP28 must pay attention to how the energy transition may drive further conflict and instability in West and Central Africa.

The messy realities of governance in conflict-affected areas: six dilemmas for development practice

Katrina BarnesConflict, Governance, Research

Development projects too often assume there is a simple structure of local governance. But innovative research based on people in Mozambique, Myanmar, and Pakistan writing diaries reveals how in fact their lives are governed by many competing informal and formal actors. Katrina Barnes of Oxfam and Colin Anderson of the Institute of Development Studies on key dilemmas this complexity raises for practitioners