What is the United Nations for?
Israel’s assault on Gaza has shown, once again, that the UN Security Council is ineffective when it comes to preventing wars and protecting the human rights of all people.
11 Articles by:
Rasna Warah
Rasna Warah is a Kenyan writer and journalist. In a previous incarnation, she was an editor at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). She has published two books on Somalia: War Crimes (2014) and Mogadishu Then and Now (2012).
Without much sorrow
Queen Elizabeth’s failure to even acknowledge or issue an apology for Britain’s colonial legacy, explains why many Kenyans did not mourn her death.
A disturbing story
In this interview with Rasna Warah, journalist Michela Wrong debunks the myth of Rwanda as a model developmental state and a poster child for Western aid.
The reluctant scientist
The late Tanzanian president, John Pombe Magufuli, was initially lauded for his no-nonsense approach to corruption. But the cracks began to appear within months of his presidency.
A female Secretary-General will not change how the UN works
Women say it is their turn to lead the United Nations. But can a female head of the UN change the organization’s work culture and correct the power imbalances among UN member states?
The death of cities
Cities will continue to exist and grow despite the coronavirus crisis because of the distinctly human need for social interaction, physical contact, and collaboration.
How Indian cinema shaped East Africa’s urban culture
The 60s, 70s, and 80s are often described as the Golden Age of Indian cinema and Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu had a large number of cinemas devoted to showing films made in Bombay.
Food crimes
Why the World Food Program doesn’t deserve the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.
The linguistic famine
The burial of African languages by Africans themselves has ensured our total immersion into colonial culture.
Nothing to write home about
For all the PR, Kenya does not pose a serious threat to the five veto-holding permanent members on the UN Security Council.
The undeclared war in Somalia
The United States’ military operations in Somalia are not well known because they’e carried out secretly or via proxies. COVID-19 hasn’t slowed them down.