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March 2016 marks five years of upheaval and conflict in Syria – conflict that has reduced lives to shadows and cities to rubble. The Syrian government and its allies, as well as armed opposition and extremist groups, bear the primary and direct responsibility for the horrific reality that Syria’s civilians face on this grim anniversary. They have targeted civilians, laid siege to cities and towns and denied access to life-saving assistance., This paper examines what the UN Security Council demands happen in Syria; the situation since March 2015, and significant actions by the Permanent Members of the UNSC. In the first months of 2016 and at time of drafting this paper, some progress has been made in securing greater humanitarian access to those in besieged areas and a cessation of hostilities in parts of the country which has resulted in a significant decrease in civilian casualties. These are important steps that should be recognised and built on, but they remain fragile and limited in the context of the overall deterioration experienced by civilians inside Syria over the last horrendous year of violence.

New estimates show that just eight men own the same wealth as the poorest half of the world. As growth benefits the richest, the rest of society - especially the poorest - suffers. The very design of our economies and the principles of our economics have taken us to this extreme, unsustainable and unjust point. Our economy must stop excessively rewarding those at the top and start working for all people. Accountable and visionary governments Businesses that work in the interests of workers and producers A valued environment Women's rights A strong system of fair taxation, Are central to this more human economy., The sources and methodology behind the headline facts in this paper are explained in the separate methodology note.

The ‘EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa’ (the EUTF for Africa) is the financial instrument at the forefront of the EU’s attempts to integrate migration politics, foreign policy and partnerships for development., Our review of all the project proposals funded by the EUTF for Africa and the circumstances surrounding their adoption expose a new and worrying trajectory for development aid that is more closely linked with donors’ migration policies, particularly stopping irregular migration. This poses a risk to development actors’ ability to contribute to poverty and inequality reduction.

In September 2015, world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)––an ambitious new agenda to eliminate poverty and achieve a sustainable world by 2030. The role of aid in achieving the SDGs, in which national accountability and ownership are paramount, should not be underestimated., As the world marks one year since the signing of the Sustainable Development Agenda, Oxfam has outlined a new vision for the role of development aid. This paper sets out how more effective aid can support poor people to become active citizens, while also supporting effective and accountable governments to plot their own path to achieving the SDGs., This vision of aid enables countries to take ownership of the development process. It overcomes barriers to accountability, participation, and decision making, thereby strengthening the citizen-state compact. While economic growth is crucial for development, trickle-down economics does not work by default for the poorest and most marginalized, and we cannot rely on the momentum of economic growth to achieve the SDGs.

The Paris Agreement marked a major breakthrough in support for climate action from many parts of the business community, including from key actors in the food and beverage sector. But despite significant progress, much work remains both to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to support the millions of people already hit by climate change., As one of the sectors that is at highest risk of being affected by climate change, responsible for a giant emissions footprint and reliant on millions of small-scale farmers and agricultural workers in the regions most vulnerable to climate change, the food and beverage sector should lead the next generation of post-Paris corporate climate commitments., This paper presents new data commissioned from the research consultancy CE Delft on the greenhouse gas emissions footprints and water scarcity footprints of major food commodities. The data demonstrate the vital role the food and beverage industry can and must play in turning the Paris Agreement into a springboard for the stronger climate action needed., You can use our interactive data tool to explore the greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity footprints and production levels for 17 different food commodities.

Our economy is broken, with hundreds of millions of people living in extreme poverty while huge rewards go to those at the very top., The number of billionaires has doubled since the financial crisis and their fortunes grow by $2.5bn a day, yet the super-rich and corporations are paying lower rates of tax than they have in decades. The human costs – children without teachers, clinics without medicines – are huge. Piecemeal private services punish poor people and privilege elites. Women suffer the most, and are left to fill the gaps in public services with many hours of unpaid care., We need to transform our economies to deliver universal health, education and other public services. To make this possible, the richest people and corporations should pay their fair share of tax. This will drive a dramatic reduction in the gap between rich and poor and between women and men., Check out the interactive online version of the report., Notre économie est défaillante : des centaines de millions de personnes vivent dans l’extrême pauvreté alors que d’immenses richesses sont concentrées dans les mains d’une minorité., Le nombre de milliardaires a doublé depuis la crise financière et leur fortune augmente chaque jour de 2,5 milliards de dollars. Or, les élites fortunées et les grandes entreprises bénéficient des taux d’imposition les plus bas de ces dernières décennies. Les coûts humains (des enfants sans enseignant-e-s, des cliniques sans médicaments) sont considérables et ce sont les plus pauvres qui en payent le prix. Les femmes en souffrent particulièrement, contraintes de combler des services publics insuffisants par de nombreuses heures de travail de soin non rémunéré., Nous devons transformer nos économies pour garantir l’universalité de l’accès à la santé, à l’éducation et à d’autres services publics. Pour cela, les entreprises et les plus riches doivent payer leur juste part d'impôts. Cela permettra de réduire considérablement l’écart entre les riches et les pauvres et entre les femmes et les hommes.

In Ventimiglia, near the border between Italy and France, refugees and other migrants are living rough, without access to the most basic services. Women, men and children are ‘pushed’ out of the Italian asylum system, which often fails to meet their most basic needs for safety, information and education. Across the border, the French police meet children with abuse, and send them back to Italy in violation of French and EU law. Stranded, hundreds of people are unable to seek even basic support.

Last year saw the biggest increase in billionaires in history, one more every two days. This huge increase could have ended global extreme poverty seven times over. 82% of all wealth created in the last year went to the top 1%, and nothing went to the bottom 50%., Dangerous, poorly paid work for the many is supporting extreme wealth for the few. Women are in the worst work, and almost all the super-rich are men. Governments must create a more equal society by prioritizing ordinary workers and small-scale food producers instead of the rich and powerful.

The world of tax havens is a murky place. In Europe, only one sector is required to publicly report its profits and tax on a country-by-country basis – the banking sector, as a result of regulation following the financial crisis. Since 2015 all banks based in the European Union have been obliged to report on their operations in this way. This report showcases research by Oxfam that uses this new transparency data in depth for the first time to illustrate the extent to which the top 20 EU banks are using tax havens, and in which ways., The urgent need now is to extend public country-by-country reporting to all sectors of the economy. If tax transparency is extended to all sectors, it will be easier for governments to clamp down on tax dodging and to repatriate lost tax revenues that could be used to fight inequality through investment in healthcare, education, social protection and job creation.

Collecting tax is one of the key means by which governments are able to address poverty and inequality. But big business is dodging tax on an industrial scale, depriving governments across the globe of the money they need to address poverty and invest in healthcare, education and jobs. This report exposes the world’s worst corporate tax havens – extreme examples of a destructive race to the bottom on corporate tax which has seen governments across the globe slash corporate tax bills in an attempt to attract business. It calls on governments to work together to put a stop to this before it is too late.

There is overwhelming evidence of the harm caused by the European Union’s current bioenergy policy to people in developing countries, to the climate and to Europe’s own sustainable development. The policy is on a collision course with the Paris climate agreement and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals., This briefing follows the trail of destruction left by the policy on three continents. It assesses the extraordinary lobbying ‘firepower’ and powerful network of influence at the disposal of the European biofuel industry and its allies, which is blocking reform. In the past year alone, actors in the biofuel value chain – from feedstock growers to biofuel producers – spent over €14m and hired nearly 400 lobbyists. Biofuel producers spend as much on EU influencing as the tobacco lobby. EU decision makers must free themselves from the stranglehold of powerful corporate groups – and choose genuinely sustainable and renewable energy to meet their 2030 climate and energy goals.