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Despite growing awareness, the global regulation of facial recognition technology (FRT) remains fragmented, much like the governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). International initiatives from the United Nations (UN), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and World Economic Forum (WEF) provide guiding principles but fall short of enforceable standards. On 27 July 2025, UN tech chief Doreen Bogdan-Martin warned that the world urgently needs a global approach to AI regulation, as fragmented efforts risk deepening inequalities. 
This policy brief explores how FRT challenges existing governance frameworks due to its rapid development, complexity and ethical implications. Our research shows that delays in regulation are not only caused by the rapid pace of technological change but also by whose voices are included in the debate. In FRT debates, early warnings from civil society about privacy and rights were sidelined until echoed by governments and major tech firms. This lack of representation, as much as the rapid pace of innovation, helps explain why regulation so often lags behind public concerns. To better govern FRT, the policy brief proposes an adaptive and inclusive model that balances flexibility with democratic legitimacy. Adaptive governance, marked
by decentralised decision-making, iterative policy learning, and responsiveness, helps address the uncertainties and evolving risks of narrow AI applications like FRT. Inclusivity is equally critical in legitimising FRT governance. 
We propose three policy recommendations to national regulators, multilateral bodies and regional policymakers for future AI governance: (1) require transparent labelling of AI systems, 
(2) reframe AI as a societal issue, not just a security tool, and (3) embed civil society in AI governance forums. Taken together, these actions would promote a more proactive, equitable and context-sensitive framework for regulating AI globally. These recommendations are particularly timely ahead of the AI Impact Summit, scheduled for February 2026 in Delhi, which will bring global policymakers together to shape an international vision for AI governance that includes FRT.

 

Despite growing awareness, the global regulation of facial recognition technology (FRT) remains fragmented, much like the governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). International initiatives from the United Nations (UN), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and World Economic Forum (WEF) provide guiding principles but fall short of enforceable standards. On 27 July 2025, UN tech chief Doreen Bogdan-Martin warned that the world urgently needs a global approach to AI regulation, as fragmented efforts risk deepening inequalities. 
This policy brief explores how FRT challenges existing governance frameworks due to its rapid development, complexity and ethical implications. Our research shows that delays in regulation are not only caused by the rapid pace of technological change but also by whose voices are included in the debate. In FRT debates, early warnings from civil society about privacy and rights were sidelined until echoed by governments and major tech firms. This lack of representation, as much as the rapid pace of innovation, helps explain why regulation so often lags behind public concerns. To better govern FRT, the policy brief proposes an adaptive and inclusive model that balances flexibility with democratic legitimacy. Adaptive governance, marked
by decentralised decision-making, iterative policy learning, and responsiveness, helps address the uncertainties and evolving risks of narrow AI applications like FRT. Inclusivity is equally critical in legitimising FRT governance. 
We propose three policy recommendations to national regulators, multilateral bodies and regional policymakers for future AI governance: (1) require transparent labelling of AI systems, 
(2) reframe AI as a societal issue, not just a security tool, and (3) embed civil society in AI governance forums. Taken together, these actions would promote a more proactive, equitable and context-sensitive framework for regulating AI globally. These recommendations are particularly timely ahead of the AI Impact Summit, scheduled for February 2026 in Delhi, which will bring global policymakers together to shape an international vision for AI governance that includes FRT.

 

Written by Alina-Alexandra Georgescu.

Access to culture is a fundamental human right according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: cultural rights are indispensable for the dignity and the free development of the personality, and ‘everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, [and] to enjoy the arts’. Despite this legal underpinning, not everyone in the EU has equal access to culture. People with disabilities, and people living in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas, face a complex set of barriers to participation in cultural life: financial, physical, digital, legal and psychological.

Culture plays a vital role in fostering a European sense of belonging and social cohesion. It enhances Europe’s resilience for safeguarding democracy, particularly in today’s increasingly polarised societies. Therefore, barriers to participation in culture should be eliminated. Various studies have identified barriers to accessing culture for people with disabilities and those living in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas, and made recommendations on how such barriers can be removed. The EU has taken various measures to promote participation in culture, together with funding programmes for people with disabilities and people living in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas.

The ambitious framework placing culture at the centre of EU policies, the new Culture Compass for Europe, should ensure that culture becomes more accessible. The European Parliament has played a crucial role in advancing discussions on equal and obstacle-free access to cultural participation for all EU citizens. It has pointed out that any kind of barriers to full participation by individuals and communities in culture impede the development of truly democratic and inclusive societies.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Access to culture for people with disabilities and people living in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

In today’s edition: EU leaders meet in Copenhagen for an informal European Council to discuss Ukraine and defence, the Commission and Parliament clash in Brussels over the ‘omnibus’ package to cut red tape, and Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan complicates Europe’s debate on sanctions against Israel

Fin de cavale pour Sunday Kotin, un ressortissant béninois, activement recherché par la police pour crimes graves au Bénin !

En fuite depuis plusieurs mois pour des faits de crimes graves au Bénin, Sunday Kotin a été interpellé à Idi Iroko, dans l'État d'Ogun, par les services d'Interpol Nigeria.

L'opération a eu lieu sur la base de renseignements ciblés. L'annonce a été faite le 28 septembre par la police nigériane sur le réseau X (ex-Twitter).

Le sieur Sunday Kotin est accusé de crimes graves au Bénin, notamment de banditisme armé, trafic de drogue, contrebande d'armes et de munitions. Il serait également impliqué dans des vols de bétail à grande échelle.

Ses complices présumés, au nombre de sept, ont déjà été jugés par les tribunaux béninois. Lui, avait trouvé refuge au Nigeria pour échapper à la justice.

Après son arrestation, il a été interrogé sur ses activités criminelles transnationales. Il a ensuite été remis officiellement aux autorités béninoises, à Cotonou.

L'Inspecteur général de la police nigériane a salué le travail de ses équipes. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun a réaffirmé l'engagement du Nigeria à ne pas servir de sanctuaire aux criminels en fuite. L'officier de la police nigériane a également promis de renforcer la coopération internationale en matière de sécurité et de justice.

M. M.

Marinel Ubaldo, climate activist from the Philippines, speaks at a Climate Week event hosted by Oxfam in New York City. Credit: Karelia Pallan/Oxfam

By Marinel Ubaldo
NEW YORK, Oct 1 2025 (IPS)

I was 16 years old when Super-Typhoon Haiyan tore through my community in Eastern Samar in the Philippines. It remains one of the deadliest storms in history, killing more than 6,000 people and displacing millions. My community lost everything: Loved ones, family homes and land, our ways to earn a living and rebuild, and our sense of safety all vanished overnight.

That storm did not happen in a vacuum. Fossil fuel companies have exacerbated the climate crisis, and with it, the destructive power and frequency of natural disasters. The fossil fuel companies, however, did not pay for the damage – instead they have raked in record profits, while it was our families, our government, and international donors who bore the costs.

That experience shaped my life.

Since Haiyan, I have worked with survivors, youth, and frontline communities across the Philippines and beyond. I have seen up close how climate disasters strip away homes, food security, and dignity.

I have also seen how fossil fuel corporations continue to rake in record profits while we pay the price. That is why I’ve joined campaigns like Make Rich Polluters Pay. Because what we are demanding is not charity – it is justice and accountability.

The science is clear: fossil fuel companies are responsible for around 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. They have known for decades that burning oil, gas, and coal would destabilize the climate, yet they still choose to deceive the public and delay action. Today, their profits remain astronomical. In 2022 alone, fossil fuel companies made nearly $600 billion in after-tax profits.

Our demand is simple: tax these polluters for the damages they have caused, and channel those revenues to the communities least responsible yet hit hardest by the climate crisis. Such a tax would not only correct a historic injustice, but also mobilize desperately needed resources for adaptation, loss and damage compensation, and a just energy transition.

And it is not only fossil fuel companies that must be held accountable. Oxfam research has found that the richest 1% percent of humanity contribute more to climate breakdown than the poorest two-thirds combined.

A wealth tax on millionaires and billionaires, alongside a permanent polluter profits tax, could raise trillions each year to fund renewable energy, support farmers facing drought, and relieve the crushing debt burdens of countries like mine.

It’s important to note that this is not just an activist demand. A recent survey commissioned by Oxfam and Greenpeace, conducted across 13 countries covering nearly half the world’s population, show overwhelming support for taxing fossil fuel companies. Some key takeaways include:

• 81% of people support taxing fossil fuel companies – oil, gas, and coal – to pay for climate damages.
• 66% of people say oil and gas companies, not ordinary workers, should cover the costs of disasters.
• 86% of respondents want the revenues directed to communities most impacted by the climate crisis.
• 75% of respondents say frequent flyers, business-class travelers, and private jet users should pay more tax.
• And critically, 77% of people say they would be more likely to vote for political candidates who prioritize taxing polluters and the super-rich.

Even in the United States, with a climate denier in the White House, there is broad and bipartisan support: 75% of people surveyed support taxing oil and gas companies for climate damages – including 63% of Republicans.

In my own country, the Philippines, support is even higher: 84% back taxing fossil fuel companies. For us, the reason is clear. We know what it means to lose everything in a storm while watching corporations grow richer from the fuels that heat our planet.

And momentum for action is building. Last week, nearly 40 former heads of state and government – including former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former presidents Mary Robinson (Ireland), Vicente Fox (Mexico), and Carlos Alvarado (Costa Rica), among many others – issued an open letter urging governments to adopt permanent polluter profit taxes.

They argue that fossil fuel companies must contribute their fair share to finance the global energy transition and support those most at risk.

Oxfam analysis shows that a polluter profits tax on oil, gas, and coal companies could raise up to $400 billion in its first year alone. That is enough to provide major support for renewable energy expansion, climate adaptation, and relief for countries drowning in debt.

We also know this approach is feasible. During the 2022 oil price crisis, several governments implemented windfall taxes. In the United States, states like Vermont and New York have passed legislation requiring fossil fuel companies to pay into funds that support adaptation and disaster response. These examples prove that taxing polluters is possible and popular.

As world leaders return home after this year’s UN General Assembly to prepare for upcoming G20 talks in South Africa and COP30 in Brazil, the question before them is not whether this is possible. It is whether they will listen to scientists, to the public, to former presidents and prime ministers, and to frontline voices like mine.

For me, and for millions already living in the heart of this crisis, the call is clear: it is past time to make polluters pay.

Marinel Ubaldo is a climate activist from the Philippines who advocates for climate justice, and is a founding partner, of Oxfam’s “Make Rich Polluters Pay” campaign.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Blaming Democrats and threatening sweeping job cuts, President Trump faces a partial government shutdown as Congress fails to reach a funding deal

Panos Ruci, le père d'une victime de la catastrophe ferroviaire de février 2023, est en grève de la faim. Il réclame que des examens toxicologiques pour déterminer les causes de sa mort de son fils, et « pour tous les enfants qui ont perdu la vie » dans cet accident qui a fait 57 morts.

- Articles / Grèce, Courrier des Balkans, Une - Diaporama, Défense, police et justice, Personnalités, Trains Balkans, Une - Diaporama - En premier

Le général Nebojša Pavković, condamné pour des crimes de guerre au Kosovo, a bénéficié d'une libération anticipée pour « raisons de santé ». Les autorités serbes ont chaleureusement accueilli « un héros qui a combattu pour la Serbie ».

- Articles / Une - Diaporama, Kosovo, Serbie, Courrier des Balkans, Défense, police et justice, Relations régionales, Criminels de guerre

Le général Nebojša Pavković, condamné pour des crimes de guerre au Kosovo, a bénéficié d'une libération anticipée pour « raisons de santé ». Les autorités serbes ont chaleureusement accueilli « un héros qui a combattu pour la Serbie ».

- Articles / Une - Diaporama, Kosovo, Serbie, Courrier des Balkans, Défense, police et justice, Relations régionales, Criminels de guerre

Le général Nebojša Pavković, condamné pour des crimes de guerre au Kosovo, a bénéficié d'une libération anticipée pour « raisons de santé ». Les autorités serbes ont chaleureusement accueilli « un héros qui a combattu pour la Serbie ».

- Articles / Une - Diaporama, Kosovo, Serbie, Courrier des Balkans, Défense, police et justice, Relations régionales, Criminels de guerre

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