The President of the UAE, a country in the Middle East, discussing climate change at COP27

As the United Nations COP27 Climate Change Conference closed Sunday, Egypt, this year’s host, hailed the agreements brokered there as a success. But there continues to be a gap between the climate-change commitments most countries in the Middle East and North Africa have formally expressed and their actual behavior.

Sanaa Seif protests for the release of her brother, jailed Egyptian pro-democracy and human rights activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, in Egypt at COP27 in 2022

The U.N. COP27 Climate Change Summit has entered its final week, but the agenda for the remainder of the conference threatens to be overshadowed by concerns over Egypt’s poor human rights record, especially because of the restrictions Egyptian authorities have placed on the participation of civil society groups at the summit.

Far-right Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to journalists outside of the Likud Party headquarters after meeting with Nov. 1 poll winner Benjamin Netanyahu about forming a government, in Tel Aviv, Israel

Israel’s fifth parliamentary election in four years secured a dramatic political comeback for former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is set to form a government that will include the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism. The coalition already threatens to undermine Israel’s partnerships with Gulf States and the U.S.

Iraq's new prime minister, who has complicated relations with Iran

Iraq’s parliament approved a new government last week, bringing an end to the year-long political deadlock that followed the country’s 2021 parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani will head the new government, backed by a coalition dominated by parties representing Iran-backed Shiite militias.