Last week marked my 4-year anniversary with UN Environment Programme! It has been a wonderful journey so far, at the Secretariats of the Convention on Migratory Species and the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and I am honored to have contributed to conserving #biodiversity and fighting #pollution

The world now has fewer democracies than autocracies for the first time in over 20 years. Approximately 72% of the world population now lives in autocratic states, the highest share since 1978. 247wallst.com/special-report…

Last book of 2025 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, by political scientist Michael Albertus, argues that throughout history land ownership determines whether a society is egalitarian, develops economically, and cares for the environment. It discusses cases from around the world. Check it out!

Environmental Rights for Future Generations by Bridget Lewis Presents a new theory and practice of international human rights law designed to protect the environmental rights of future generations. 📚 cup.org/43HC4rQ #environmentallaw

I love(d) teaching international law, but I don’t regret walking away! How do we, with straight faces, teach students that cardinal rules on territorial integrity, self-defence, use of force e.t.c. still hold meaning while all around us the ‘mighty’ violate them with impunity?

The US invasion of Venezuela and capture of Maduro raises some of the clearest violations of international law we’ve seen in decades! I've broken down the international law issues in this brief post: simplelaw.blog/p/the-us-captu…

Authoritarians often abuse electoral systems and institutional power to thwart majority will. But the basic principles of democracy — political participation, fundamental rights, and the rule of law — can take shape in more than one way, Michael Meyer-Resende argues.

A TIMELINE OF US POLICY IN LATIN AMERICA… Decades of theft, plunder, and exploitation.

The Trump doctrine: "When a strong state operates under the principle that war is just another extension of policy, it is tempted to operate a bit like a mob boss. Every interaction with a weaker nation is tinged in some way with the threat of force." trib.al/lGyICsx

The Right had a spectacular meltdown about Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration speech rejecting “rugged individualism” in favor of what he called the “warmth of collectivism.” But Mamdani is right that community is a value worth extolling.jacobin.com/2026/01/zohran…

We've made The Bolivarian Revolution by Simon Bolívar, featuring an introduction by Hugo Chávez, free to download. "Bolívar foresaw the threat of the US and described it with surprising clarity." versobooks.com/products/2093-…

The U.S. military operation in Venezuela undermines a fundamental principle of international law: States must not use force to pursue their territorial claims or political demands. Venezuelan society needs healing and the country’s future must be decided by its people.

Venezuela killed the US. Or rather, it revealed it was already dead. In the history of the US’s relation with Latin America, what just happened in Venezuela is hardly unique: the U.S. government has intervened to change governments in Latin America a total of 41 times

What has happened in Venezuela is a violation of international law and the UN Security Council must offer solutions to address this matter.

US military intervention in Venezuela violates the country’s sovereignty and the UN charter, while damaging the foundations of international security, making every country less safe. – UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk. ohchr.org/en/press-brief…

Venezuela turning over 50 million barrels of oil to Trump is not a major concession. That represents less than 0.01% of Venezuela’s oil reserves. The real story isn't a gift to Trump; it's Venezuela's unwavering priority: defending its sovereignty & dignity against all pressure.

steve Biko osur Dr Willy M Mutunga, Chief Justice, Kenya (2011-16) Of the 3 arms, it’s the judiciary that’s been pro-people/rights since 2010 despite the efforts of the Executive and Parliament, yet whenever a few JOs make questionable decisions, suddenly the entire judiciary is rotten. Some of us live under a rock of constant negativity🤦🏿‍♂️😮‍💨

ALIKO DANGOTE Open Letter to Africa “My Real Investment Wasn’t Cement, Sugar, or Oil — It Was My Daughters.” I’ve spent my life building industries. But factories can be copied. Deals can be replicated. Capital can be replaced. What cannot be replaced… is leadership. That’s why

The first decades following the Russian Revolution saw enormous changes in women’s social role, but early promises of liberation were soon stifled. The record of women’s struggle is among the revolution’s most precious legacies. jacobin.com/2026/01/soviet…

In the wake of the U.S. operation in Venezuela, all constraints on the exercise of state power are in jeopardy, write Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro. “A system of rules can survive some hypocrisy, but nihilism will bring it down.” foreignaffairs.com/united-states/…