Despite a major theme of the post-2015 consultations being the need to better integrate environmental and development targets, the largest aid groups rarely mention the significant barriers to pursuing these quite different goals simultaneously.

Late last night I was at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to attend a crucial gathering of Ambassadors and embassy officials from dozens of different nations. A few short weeks ago, the United Nations agreed to adopt the world's first international arms trade treaty. This treaty has the potential to stem the flow of weapons to conflicts; conflicts where thousands of people are killed, injured, raped, and forced to flee from their homes.

This week Darfur 10 - a campaign led by a coalition of NGO's including Waging Peace - petitioned the British government to help stop the violence. It is a clear reminder that although we should remember the hundreds of thousands who have already lost their lives, the international community must be reminded of those still suffering the consequences of this decade long conflict.

Some places almost never get the attention they deserve. One of these is the Democratic Republic of Congo. A vast country of some 80 million people, at the heart of Africa. It has struggled since independence in 1960 with a poor colonial legacy, cold war manipulations, venal and incompetent governments, and a succession of wars.

The UK will not stand on the sidelines while millions suffer from this entirely preventable and treatable disease. It's time for the international community to come together yet again and keep up their commitments. We need another decade of action against malaria. The prize could be another million lives saved.

The numbers say it all: 154 states voted for the Treaty and only thre voted against - Iran, Syria and North Korea - the same three that blocked the adoption of the Treaty by consensus at the end of last week's Diplomatic Conference.

On Thursday night in New York, one by one they lined up to try and destroy 20 years of hard work. First Iran, then North Korea and then Syria. This was supposed to be the moment the United Nations took a truly historic step and adopted an Arms Trade Treaty. But instead of a moment of history, I witnessed a moment of cynical opportunism.

Many Syrians I spoke to on a recent visit to Syria hold the UN partially responsible for the deaths of 70, 000 lives in the unfolding humanitarian disaster that is wracking the country. There is an impression that the UN is propping up the regime by working and delivering aid via the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC).

Last week, I was one of 28 scientists, and a handful of social scientists, invited by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs to discuss science and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), successors to the Millennium Development Goals.

Sri Lanka is a test case for reform of the Commonwealth, intended to produce a renewed commitment to rule of law, democracy and human rights. It looks as if the 54-nation body is already failing dismally.

In November last year, UN member states voted overwhelmingly in favour of finalising a global Arms Trade Treaty in March 2013. The creation of such a treaty could significantly reduce the armed violence caused by weapons falling into the hands of criminals, insurgents and human rights abusers.