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Human trafficking continues to be a significant security challenge in the West African sub-region, ranking as the third most profitable illegal activity after arms and drug trafficking. Despite various institutional efforts to combat the widespread illicit trafficking, these measures primarily address symptoms rather than the underlying causes. This paper explores the factors that make individuals susceptible to engaging in illegal acts and evaluates the effectiveness of ECOWAS’s institutional mechanisms in combating trafficking in persons by criminally inclined individuals across member states. This is a qualitative study with data from in-depth interviews. Purposive and snowballing sampling methods were used to select 20 participants. Interview insights were analysed using functionalism and neofunctionalism, emphasising the role of economic integration in managing social crimes. The findings reveal that socioeconomic factors significantly drive the ongoing rise of human trafficking across the region. The paper concludes that ECOWAS institutional frameworks remain ineffective until regional ideals on favourable economic policies are collectively embraced.

The definitive book on Obama's historic nuclear deal with Iran from the author of the Foreign Affairs Best Book on the Middle East in 2012This timely book focuses on President Obama's deeply considered strategy toward Iran's nuclear program and reveals how the historic agreement of 2015 broke the persistent stalemate in negotiations that had blocked earlier efforts. The deal accomplished two major feats in one stroke: it averted the threat of war with Iran and prevented the possibility of an Iranian nuclear bomb. Trita Parsi, a Middle East foreign policy expert who advised the Obama White House throughout the talks and had access to decision-makers and diplomats on the U.S. and Iranian sides alike, examines every facet of a triumph that could become as important and consequential as Nixon's rapprochement with China. Drawing from more than seventy-five in-depth interviews with key decision-makers, including Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, this is the first authoritative account of President Obama's signature foreign policy achievement.

The people of Lebanon have suffered from decades of religious violence and terrorism. However, strategies for countering terrorism and violent extremism in Lebanon have been significantly obstructed by political divisions due to an exclusive security-driven approach. The unanimous adoption by the Lebanese Government of a “National Strategy for Preventing Violent Extremism” in 2018 has been viewed by many as a manifestation of the desire of political leaders to finally address the root causes of violence in the Land of the Cedars. This article seeks to show that this might be a mistaken perception as there persists a profound resistance from the political establishment to make the changes necessary to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism more effectively.

The African Union Language Plan of Action for Africa requires African Union Member States to adopt clearly defined language policies which liberate Africans from undue reliance on ex-colonial languages as the official languages, in favour of the gradual take-over of African languages. This article examines the progress made by Zimbabwe in the implementation of the thrusts of the Plan. Data from observations and document analysis show that not much has been done in implementing the Plan. There is no clearly defined national language policy. English is the most predominantly used language in all high function domains. African languages are still relegated to the periphery. Shona and Ndebele, alongside English, are thwarting and subduing the use and development of other local languages and their speakers. This violates the speakers’ rights. Zimbabwe must urgently implement the four resolutions of the June 2022 National Indaba in order to implement the provisions of the Plan.

A key challenge in climate change adaptation in developing countries as a whole, and to handling global change in particular, is to link local adaptation needs on the one hand, with national adaptation initiatives on the other, so that vulnerable households and communities can directly benefit. This study assesses the impact of the Nepal government’s efforts to promote its Local Adaptation Plan of Action (LAPA) and its applicability to other least developed countries (LDCs). Based on data gathered from two field studies in Nepal, the research shows that the Nepal’s LAPA has succeeded in mobilizing local institutions and community groups in adaptation planning and recognizing their role in adaptation. However, the LAPA approach and implementation have been constrained by sociostructural and governance barriers that have failed to successfully integrate local adaptation needs in local planning and increase the adaptive capacity of vulnerable households. This paper describes the mechanisms of suitable governance strategies for climate change adaptation specific to Nepal and other LDCs. It also argues the need to adopt an adaptive comanagement approach, where the government and all stakeholders identify common local- and national-level mainstreaming strategy for knowledge management, resource mobilization, and institutional development, ultimately using adaptation as a tool to handle global change.

Recent policy initiatives on One Health Approach focus almost exclusively on surveillance, information sharing and zoonotic risk prediction, rather than reflect the notion of Oneness and the international solidarity approach that should go with it. The One Health narrative is increasingly acquiring the contours of a powerful technological biosurveillance agenda, quite distant from the much-needed holistic approach towards health, far removed from an authentic health promotion or disease prevention agenda. While the One Health Approach can utilize international legal principles such as common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) or access and benefit sharing (ABS) to promote access to resources for pandemic prevention and response in developing countries, including for climate action, social protection, and universal healthcare, such international legal principles or regimes are barely to be seen invoked and implemented in international arrangements. Through the lenses of the pandemic, the article examines the role of the One Health Joint Plan of Action by the Quadripartite (the four UN agencies involved, i.e.: WHO, FAO, WOAH, UNEP), the definition of One Health provided by the One Health High Level Expert Panel and other contributions, as well as the role of the World Bank Operational Frameworks and Projects in unfolding this skewed understanding of One Health that promotes surveillance on priority basis. Finally, the article examines the ongoing negotiations at the World Health Organization for a legally binding instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response and how these seek to legitimize this distorted understanding.

We examined the consistency of national nutrition strategies and action plans (NNS) focusing on maternal, infant, and young child nutrition in Southeast Asia with regional and international recommendations. Between July and December 2017, we identified and extracted information on context, objectives, interventions, indicators, strategies, and coordination mechanisms from the most recent NNS in nine Southeast Asian countries. All NNS described context, objectives, and the following interventions: antenatal care, micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy, breastfeeding promotion, improved complementary feeding, nutrition in emergencies, and food fortification or dietary diversity. Micronutrient supplementation for young children was included in eight NNS; breastfeeding promotion during pregnancy and support at birth in seven; and school feeding, deworming, and treatment of severe acute malnutrition in six. All NNS contained programme monitoring and evaluation plans with measurable indicators and targets. Not all NNS covered wasting, exclusive breastfeeding, low birthweight, and childhood overweight. Strategies for achieving NNS goals and objectives were health system strengthening (nine), social and behaviour change communication (nine), targeting vulnerable groups (eight), and social or community mobilization (four). All addressed involvement, roles and responsibilities, and collaboration mechanisms among sectors and stakeholders. There was a delay in releasing NNS in Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. In conclusion, although Southeast Asian NNS have similarities in structure and contents, some interventions and indicators vary by country and do not consistently align with regional and international recommendations. A database with regularly updated information on NNS components would facilitate cross‐checking completeness within a country, comparison across countries, and knowledge sharing and learning.

The African Financial Architecture holds the potential of enabling the countries of the continent to exercise their right to development. From helping to overcome a history of lop-sided dependence to providing a framework and primary resources for African countries to better master their development priorities, the proposed Architecture could become an important game changer in the African regional integration project, and the continent’s relationship with the international order. However, to fulfil its promise, and especially in order not to simply become a glorified clone of international financial institutions, it is imperative that the politics of a continental rebirth that underpinned the initial framing and adoption of the Architecture is urgently rediscovered and fully embraced. For, in the end, the quest to build an African Financial Architecture is primarily about reshuffling relations of power between Africa and the contemporary global economic order in order to enhance the prospects of continental socio-economic transformation.

Background The World Health Organization developed the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as a priority because of the increasing threat posed to human health, animal health and agriculture. Countries around the world have been encouraged to develop their own National Action Plans (NAPs) to help combat AMR. The objective of this review was to assess the content of the NAPs and determine alignment with the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance using a policy analysis approach. Body National Action Plans were accessed from the WHO Library and systematically analysed using a policy analysis approach for actors, process, context and content. Information was assessed using a ‘traffic light’ system to determine agreeance with the five WHO Global Action Plans objectives. A total of 78 NAPs (70 WHO approved, eight not approved) from the five global regions were analysed. National action plans which provided more information regarding the consultative process and the current situation regarding AMR allowed greater insight to capabilities of the country. Despite the availability of guidelines to inform the development of the plans, there were many differences between plans with the content of information provided. High income countries indicated greater progression with objectives achievement while low and middle-income countries presented the need for human and financial resources. Conclusion The national action plans provide an overview of activities underway to combat AMR globally. This analysis reveals how disconnected the process has been and how little information is being gathered globally.