Foreign Policy Brief #216 | Ibra Castro | September 8, 2025
Genocide in Gaza
Relatives of people killed by Israeli fire while they were waiting to receive humanitarian aid mourn outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Last week the world’s leading genocide scholars, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), passed resolution stating that the legal criteria have been met to establish that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Genocide was codified in a 1948 convention in response to the immense crimes of the Holocaust and defined as acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” Along with the IAGS, many other major international organizations such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, along with Israeli rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, have released statements and findings that genocide is being committed in Gaza. Israel is also currently facing a separate genocide accusation in its case at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
The confirmed death toll in Gaza stands at above 60,000 people, though the number is likely much higher. Bombing of civilian infrastructure, the targeting of aid workers and seekers and now starvation continue to claim lives. The IAGS resolution calls on Israel to “immediately cease all acts that constitute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza, including deliberate attacks against and killing of civilians including children; starvation; deprivation of humanitarian aid, water, fuel, and other items essential to the survival of the population; sexual and reproductive violence; and forced displacement of the population.”
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Centre in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. SUO TAKEKUMA/Pool via REUTERS
Last week the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit saw the leaders of China, Russia and India meet in Tianjin China, presenting a united front in the face of tensions with the West and particularly with the United States. China and Russia presented their vision of a new international order at the summit and advocated for increased international cooperation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first meeting on Chinese soil in seven years. The leaders of the world’s two most populous nations, pledged to resolve their differences at the summit, their attempt to renew ties comes just days after Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods for its purchase of Russian energy exports.
Founded in 2001 and seen as an alternative power structure to most US-led international institutions, the 10 member SCO includes much of Central Asia, Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Belarus, with more than a dozen permanent dialogue partner countries, including Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Qatar, and Turkiye. President Xi also called for the creation of a new SCO development bank, a move that would be a major step towards the bloc’s strongest members’ aspiration of developing an alternative payment system that circumvents the US dollar and the power of US sanctions.
Nationwide anti-government protests in Indonesia
A protester walks with an Indonesian flag in front of the looted police headquarters building in Surabaya, Indonesia, on August 31, 2025 [Juni Kriswanto/AFP]
Indonesia’s largest wave of protests in years comes as economic and political frustration have been brewing and reached a tipping point after a government proposal to a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah or $3,000 for lawmakers. That extra monthly payment to lawmakers is more than 10 times the national average minimum wage. The subsequent protests which started peacefully with students and civil society groups turned violent after an armored police vehicle hit and killed rideshare motorbike driver, Affan Kurniawan, during a clash between police and protesters in Jakarta. His death triggered more protests into the weekend, spreading to other major cities across the country. The Indonesia National Police have arrested thousands of people across the country, including in the capital Jakarta. At a recent press conference at the presidential palace, Indonesian President Prabowo announced that Indonesia’s political parties had reached a consensus to reduce lawmakers’ benefits and the protests have been paused for the time being.
Mexico lifts millions out of poverty
Pedestrians walk on the Zocalo in the Historic Center of Mexico City, Aug. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco, File)
In a recent report by Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI, the national statistics and geography institute) between 2018 and 2024, poverty in Mexico fell from roughly 42% to 29% of the population. More than 13 million people were lifted out of poverty during the six-year term of her predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as “AMLO” and the Morena, left wing party. In 2018, Mexico’s minimum daily wage was 88.36 pesos or $4.70 and among the lowest in Latin America. Now it’s 278.80 pesos per day or $14.9, more than three times higher. Additionally, it is now constitutionally decreed that the minimum wage must rise above the rate of inflation. By 2026 the government is aiming for a further increase in minimum wage to 314.60 pesos per day.
Other programs implemented by Sheinbaum’s government include the universal pensions for all men over 65 years old and women over 60 years old, house-to-house free healthcare for elderly and vulnerable citizens, universal scholarships for all public school students, cash transfers to people with disabilities, cash transfers to working single mothers, transfers to farmers for planting trees, financial credit to medium and small agricultural producers, and more. The policies have proven wildly popular with Sheinbaum approval rating at above 70% in polls after eleven months in office.