Open Society Foundations

09/25/2026

Seven months into the U.S. war on Iran, fighting has widened and the consequences have spread far beyond Iran’s borders.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, rising insecurity in the Red Sea, and pressure on energy markets are felt in the Gulf, Lebanon, Syria, and the Horn of Africa. Violence in the Black Sea restricting grain exports and a strengthening El Niño are further compounding food insecurity in already vulnerable communities.

In response, a new multilateral system is emerging with the rising influence of an expanding group of middle powers, including ones in the Gulf and Africa, who are advancing new approaches to security.

Discussions at UNGA 81 called on the international community to address the war’s compounding shocks and repercussions.

09/25/2026

09/24/2026

09/23/2026

Too often, the human rights movement has preferred rights in the negative: no to torture, no to censorship, no to detention without trial. But there must also be an affirmation of something positive—a vision of what could be.

As global decisionmakers gather in New York for UNGA 81, Open Society hosted events exploring new ideas and perspectives on the opportunity to reimagine the future of human rights.

It isn’t about weakening universal protections already secured in law, but about enriching them and rebalancing the scales for future generations. Economic, social, and environmental rights need to be placed alongside civil and political rights—they are conditions that make freedoms real.

The future of human rights must be rooted in dignity, freedom, and opportunity for all.

09/22/2026

The current multilateral world order has struggled against the double standards of great powers, who have stripped multilateral institutions of their influence, shaped the rules to their advantage, and follow them only when it suits.

Today at UNGA 81, Open Society hosted conversations with municipal government officials, civil society and philanthropy leaders, policymakers, and more to tackle some of the central questions facing the international system.

A new model of multilateralism is emerging as new coalitions of middle powers and countries of the Global South come together around demands for shared prosperity and sovereignty. Discussions focused on exercising their leadership in regional security, international financial reform, and rights reform, and advancing local models of peace, public safety, and reconstruction shaped by communities.

A multilateral system built on minimal states has left governments with little room to respond to people’s needs; when states are able to deliver at home, they have more of a voice abroad.

We’re working to support a shift in multilateral systems from instruments of fiscal discipline and constraints on public policy to enablers of a more just, equitable, and prosperous future for all.

09/16/2026

UNGA 81 presents an opportunity to bring forward new ideas and perspectives for a changing world.

The norms and institutions that once bound our multilateral world order are fraying. But a new multilateralism is emerging, a constellation of states, civil society, and social movements coming together around demands for shared prosperity and sovereignty.

The unraveling of the rules-based world order has also meant that traditional human rights advocacy approaches have become far less useful. But approaches closer to the ground are rising in influence, including regional protection systems such as Latin America and the Caribbean’s Escazú Agreement, the first treaty anywhere to include provisions protecting environmental defenders.

These changes present an opportunity to reinforce public ownership of human rights and reimagine them to meet the moment. It’s time to build a multilateralism that reflects the realities of the new world order but remains grounded in dignity, equity, and opportunity for all.

09/15/2026

“We want a new form of social contract where the citizens determine what democracy should deliver for them. And not politicians determining what the citizens deserve to get.”

Open Society’s Chukwuemeka Eze talks about how democracy is not just about creating elections or procedure—it needs to create tangible results and make a meaningful difference in people’s everyday lives.

Open Society is supporting initiatives that expand civic and political space at the local, national, and regional levels.

09/11/2026

09/11/2026

Twenty-five years ago on September 11, America changed forever. Open Society’s Laleh Ispahani remembers it as a horrific tragedy in which thousands died but also reflects on what came next: increased surveillance, torture, trampled free speech, and discrimination against Muslim Americans. The government sacrificed constitutional rights for the “War on Terror.”

Laleh, who joined the ACLU around this time to tackle these abuses, worried about the ominous impacts of the post–9/11 years. No government builds the tools to crack down on rights and then gives them up. When a new leader is looking for authority, the tools are there, tested in practice, normalized in public opinion, and codified in law.

This is what we’re witnessing as the Trump administration directs the tools of the “War on Terror” at a broader swath of the population while silencing political dissent, targeting free speech and free press, increasing surveillance, and deporting immigrants.

Open Society is supporting organizations that protect rights and freedoms, defend democracy, and counter discrimination, including against Muslim Americans, through research, education, and fostering interfaith solidarity. That solidarity is important because a neighbor’s problem can soon become our own.

Read Laleh’s full piece in The Contrarian through the link in the comments.

#911