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World Day of Social Justice: Renewed Efforts Needed

In Being a World Citizen, Current Events, Human Development, Human Rights, NGOs, Nonviolence, Peacebuilding, Social Rights, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, United Nations on February 20, 2026 at 7:00 AM

By René Wadlow

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly by Resolution 62/10 set February 20 of each year as the World Day of Social Justice. Today, as Citizens of the World, we can highlight world-wide gains in education, the reduction of extreme poverty, and the reduction of child labor.

Nevertheless, there are strong threats to social justice with inaction and apathy toward human misery. There is famine in parts of the world, armed conflicts, and uprooted and displaced populations.

The UN system is called upon to respond to these very diversified situations, often involving provisions of crucial direct aid to people in deep distress. At the national level, there is a need to place social justice at the core of policy making and to provide universal social protection.

Resolution 62/10 of the UN General Assembly

A particular aspect of the lack of social protection is the fate of small rural farmers. There is an increasing amount of rural productive land that is falling under the control of urban elites, sometimes urban elites in other countries. Land ownership inevitably involves the distribution of power within a society. One answer to why the rural poor stay poor is that they are rarely well organized. The least powerful among the rural poor – the tenant farmers, the landless laborers, the members of tribal societies – are the least well organized, the most easily divided and blocked.

Thus, there is a need for renewed efforts for social justice carried out by persons with a long-range holistic vision able to see trends and the links between different social situations. There is a need for long-term cooperation among universities, religious groups, and Nongovernmental Organizations. The World Day of Social Justice is a time for a rededication for positive action.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Of related interest: Celebrating Social Justice: The People’s Revolution is On the March (February 22, 2015)

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Child Soldiers in Colombia: Action Needed

In Being a World Citizen, Children's Rights, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, Latin America, NGOs, Nonviolence, Peacebuilding, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations on February 18, 2026 at 8:00 AM

By René Wadlow

The Association of World Citizens (AWC) has worked actively in the United Nations (UN) human rights bodies against the use of child soldiers in armed conflicts. The Association has also made direct Appeals to governments and militias that use child soldiers.

During the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1985) tens of thousands of Iranian youth, tied into groups to prevent their escape, threw themselves onto barbed wire or walked straight into Iraqi mine fields and faced machine gun fire. In at least twenty-one armed conflicts in different parts of the world, child soldiers have been used.

(C) International Crisis Group

February 12 has been set by the UN General Assembly as the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers. Thus, the Association of World Citizens along with the International Crisis Group with its headquarters in Belgium focused on the use of youth by militias, often involved in the drug trade, in Colombia where youth are forced into militias. There had been in 2016 a ceasefire agreement between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the largest of the armed groups active in the country. This agreement has led many of those in the FARC ranks to be integrated into civil society. However, smaller armed groups have continued to be active. They are often involved in the drug trade as a way to finance their activities.

Thus, strong social action is needed, especially in those parts of the country inhabited by indigenous populations. Events in Venezuela also have an impact on Colombia and thus merit watching closely.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

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USA-Iran Tensions Increase: Negotiations Needed

In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Democracy, Middle East & North Africa, NGOs, Nonviolence, Peacebuilding, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United States on January 30, 2026 at 12:10 PM

By René Wadlow

A new phase of tensions between the USA and the Islamic Republic of Iran is unfolding, shaped by external military pressure from the USA and internal, political, and economic instability within Iran. Iranian security forces’ lethal response to demonstrations with civilian deaths and mass arrests has further eroded public trust in the Iranian leadership.

United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump has announced that an armada led by the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln is moving toward Iran. The U.S. Air Force has reported that its exercises across the Middle East indicates its readiness and escalation dominance. Tehran can retaliate with missile strikes – alone or through proxies – against U.S. bases in the Middle East. The situation is unstable and thus vulnerable to accidents and miscalculations.

(C) BBC News

It is said that indirect mediation efforts are being undertaken by diplomats from Türkiye, Egypt, and Qatar. The next few days may be crucial. Nongovernmental organizations may have a role to play in encouraging negotiations in good faith.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

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