From October 20–24, 2025, 63 states came together at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council to negotiate an international, legally binding instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises (also known as the “UN Treaty”). Since the adoption of Resolution 26/9 by the UN Human Rights Council in 2014, the intergovernmental working group mandated to draft such an agreement already has met eleven times.
The negotiations built on the progress made in the previous round of negotiations in December 2024 and are a key component in closing existing [...]
Governments in the global south pay significantly higher interest rates on loans and bonds than governments in the global north. This financial divide is a key cause of disparities in prosperity and development around the world. The price of money determines the extent to which a state can provide goods and services for its citizens like healthcare and education. It also determines how far necessary transformations, such as climate change adaptation, can be financed from domestic resources.
The issue has gained considerable prominence in development policy discourses in recent years and is also [...]
After two years of negotiations, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) officially came into force on July 25, 2024. From July 2027, it will require large companies to respect human rights and the en vironment throughout their supply chains and to draw up and implement climate plans in line with the Paris Cli mate Agreement. Although the directive has some gaps, for example with regard to the financial sector, it is an important milestone on the road to a sustainable global economy.
On February 26, 2025, however, the EU Commission proposed the so-called “Omnibus I [...]
By Celia Sudhoff
For several weeks now, Germany has been engaged in an intense debate about the welfare state. This was triggered by a statement made by Chancellor Merz of the governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) state party conference at the end of August: “We simply can no longer afford the system we have today.” Specifically, he wants to cut welfare payments and relieve the burden on the pension funds by making it more attractive to work into old age.
