Publications

Report on the seventh session of the UN open-ended intergovernmental working group on a legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (“treaty”)

From October 25-29, 2021, the UN open-ended intergovernmental working group on the elaboration of a legally binding instrument on Business and Human Rights met for the seventh time at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva. Two developments provided a new dynamic compared to previous sessions. For the first time since the intergovernmental working group’s establishment in 2014, the United States and Japan participated in its meeting. Germany expressed its views for the first time. In addition, the [...]

GPW Briefing #34

By Elena Marmo


Following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) embarked on an effort to harmonize UN Development System (UNDS) activities with the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs as well as system-wide pressure for greater country ownership of in-country activities. This briefing examines how the UNDS is addressing its current funding challenges with a focus on the UN Fund for Children (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women [...]

UN Monitor #29

Against the backdrop of COVID-19’s ongoing impact on economies and societies worldwide, the United Nations is bringing the lens of COVID-19 recovery to its High level meetings. September saw the launch of the UN Secretary-General’s ‘Our Common Agenda on 12 September’, the opening of the UN General Debate on 14 September and a series of High-level meetings ranging from sustainable development to nuclear disarmament.

Exiting the COVID-19 crisis via a historic cash injection?

On August 23 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) performed the long desired payout of special drawing rights (SDRs) to the tune of 650 billion US dollars. Especially for countries of the Global South, the SDRs are a welcome cash injection. Unlike the EU and the USA with their economic recovery programs worth trillions, developing countries have so far only been able to mobilize few financial resources to cope with the impacts of the crisis, and for this reason too [...]

UN Monitor #28

By Elena Marmo

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) began its 76th session in September 2021 with a series of High-level meetings—in both hybrid and in-person formats—under the theme of 'Building Resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations'. As the UN Decade of Action progresses, efforts to secure human, economic, and environmental health are vital. During the UNGA High-level week and throughout the [...]

Statement of the Treaty Alliance Germany on the Third Revised Draft for a legally binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights („Third Revised Draft“)

In 2014, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (UN) mandated an intergovernmental working group to draft an international treaty for the protection of human rights in the global economy. Since then, the intergovernmental working group, which consists of governments, representatives of civil societies and business, has been meeting annually to negotiate the current status of the draft. The third revised draft constitutes the basis for negotiations during the seventh meeting of the working group from October 25 to [...]

Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2021 - Briefing

The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has ignited eagerness in some circles for new binding instruments in the global health arena. This is an unexpected development, in many ways: health policy arrangements are mostly grounded on soft norms, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has adopted binding agreements only twice in its 76 years of history. Nicoletta Dentico describes in her paper the background of the proposal for a Pandemic Treaty currently discussed in the WHO and discloses the actors and their [...]

Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2021

Time to overcome contradictions and hypocrisy in the COVID-19 crisis

Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis have greatly exacerbated national and global inequalities. Blatant examples are the unfair distribution of care work, relying mainly on women and poorly remunerated if at all, and the global disparity in the distribution of vaccines.

So far more than 60 percent of people in high-income countries have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but less than 2 percent [...]

UN Monitor #27

By the GPW team

With preparations underway for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) being held in 23-27 January 2022, the co-chairs of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom), have convened two consultations with CSOs, one on 20 May and one on 28 July.

Healthy people, healthy animals and a healthy environment worldwide with the One Health approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically demonstrated just how close the link is between humans, animals, and the environment, and has highlighted and aggravated existing challenges. The destruction of natural habitats and displacement of species, trade in wild animals, resource-intensive lifestyles and conditions, non-sustainable food systems and, in particular, industrial agriculture and intensive livestock farming are the causes of the emergence of zoonoses as well as numerous other communicable and non-communicable, chronic diseases.

The One Health approach focuses precisely on such [...]