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This policy paper provides a critical examination of international commitments on women's land rights, evaluating progress and persistent challenges. It scrutinizes commitments made through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Generation Equality Forum (GEF) Action Coalitions, revealing a substantial disconnect between ambitions and implementation., Ce document d’orientation révèle l’urgence d’un changement transformateur pour garantir des droits fonciers équitables aux femmes et aux communautés marginalisées. En formulant des recommandations pour un large éventail de parties prenantes et en analysant les facteurs macroéconomiques à travers un prisme féministe, nous souhaitons stimuler le dialogue et contribuer à un avenir plus équitable et durable pour tou·tes.

This briefing paper argues that austerity measures are a form of gender-based violence against women, girls and non-binary people, and lays out clear examples of how fiscal consolidation affects them. Its core argument is that ending austerity must be a priority. The policies that deliver austerity’s deadly consequences can no longer be marketed as the ‘logical’ and ‘inevitable’ economic options that they have been for decades, and certainly not by any government that claims a commitment to gender equality or ending gender-based violence. Austerity takes away from those who need it most, while ignoring common-sense ways to improve both revenue and prosperity. The paper goes on to share feminist economic alternatives offer pathways that can protect the Majority World from completely avoidable suffering., Ce document d’information explique que les mesures d’austérité sont une forme de violence basée sur le genre à l’encontre des femmes, des filles et des personnes non binaires, et présente des exemples clairs de la manière dont la consolidation fiscale les affecte. Son principal propos : mettre un terme à l’austérité doit être une priorité. Les politiques d’austérité aux conséquences mortelles ne peuvent plus être présentées comme les options économiques « logiques » et « inévitables » qu’elles ont été pendant des décennies, et certainement pas par un État qui prétend s’engager en faveur de l’égalité de genre ou de la fin des violences basées sur le genre. L’austérité dépouille celles et ceux dont les besoins sont les plus criants, tout en tournant le dos aux moyens de bon sens qui permettraient d’améliorer les revenus et la prospérité. Les alternatives économiques féministes offrent des voies susceptibles de protéger le monde majoritaire10 d’une souffrance totalement évitable.

In 2009, high-income countries committed in the Copenhagen Accords to mobilize US$100 billion a year by 2020 in climate finance for low- and middle-income countries. Oxfam reported on the progress of this commitment in 2016, 2018 and 2020. This year’s report finds that high-income countries have not only failed to deliver on their commitment, but also – as in previous years – generous accounting practices have allowed them to overstate the level of support they have actually provided. Moreover, much of the finance has been provided as loans, which means that it risks increasing the debt burden of the countries it is supposed to help., This paper calls on high-income countries to accelerate the mobilization and provision of climate finance, and to make up the shortfall from previous years, in a way that is equitable and just. High-income countries must provide finance that is transparent, with genuine accountability mechanisms, and that allows for far more local ownership and responsiveness to the needs of communities it is intended to reach. People on the frontlines of the climate crisis must have the funding they were promised for adaptation and mitigation, and to address the loss and damage they are already experiencing as a result of climate impacts., En 2009, les pays à revenu élevé se sont engagés par le biais de l’Accord de Copenhague à mobiliser 100 milliards de dollars par an avant 2020 dans le cadre du financement climat pour les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire. Oxfam a rendu compte de la progression dans la réalisation de cet engagement en 2016, 2018 et 2020. Cette dernière édition du rapport révèle que les pays à revenu élevé ont non seulement manqué à leur engagement, mais ils ont, au cours des années précédentes, recouru à des pratiques comptables généreuses leur ayant permis de surestimer le niveau de soutien qu’ils apportent en réalité. De plus, une grande partie des financements ont été fournis sous forme de prêts, au risque d’augmenter le poids de la dette des pays qu’ils sont censés aider., Ce rapport appelle les pays à revenu élevé à accélérer la mobilisation et la fourniture des financements climat ainsi qu’à compenser les lacunes des années précédentes, de manière équitable et juste. Les pays à revenu élevé doivent fournir des financements transparents, s’articulant autour de véritables mécanismes de redevabilité, pour une plus grande appropriation locale et une bien meilleure réactivité aux besoins des communautés visées. Les populations se trouvant en première ligne de la crise climatique doivent impérativement recevoir le financement promis afin de faire face à l’adaptation et à l’atténuation et compenser les pertes et dommages découlant déjà des impacts climatiques.

Indigenous peoples have long asserted and defended their rights and customary land tenures against the unlawful enclosure of their territories. Yet, despite normative recognition of the right to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC)—and public commitments by major multinational companies, international financial institutions, and global banks to apply the standard of consent—power imbalances continue to undermine the quality of agreements being reached., Negotiating Consent distills lessons from Oxfam’s work defending community consent in Peru. Drawing on research published by Oxfam partners in Peru—Cooperacción, Organización Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas (ONAMIAP) and Pueblos Indígenas Amazónicas Unidas en Defensa de Sus Territorios (PUINAMUDT), which have published research examining the politics and practices of the implementation of this law—it seeks to contribute to collective thinking around ways to improve the implementation of FPIC processes, processes that are manifestly political., With land inequality worsening, land grabbing continuing unabated, and basic environmental and social protections being rolled back, upholding the standard of consent is more important than ever. It is time companies, investors, and others look beyond paper commitments and take the steps necessary to ensure quality agreements are reached with Indigenous peoples and are maintained across the life of projects.

As 2020 draws to a close, the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating. Without urgent action, global poverty and inequality will deepen dramatically. Hundreds of millions of people have already lost their jobs, gone further into debt or skipped meals for months. Research by Oxfam and Development Pathways shows that over 2 billion people have had no support from their governments in their time of need. Our analysis shows that none of the social protection support to those who are unemployed, elderly people, children and families provided in low- and middle-income countries has been adequate to meet basic needs. 41% of that government support was only a one-off payment and almost all government support has now stopped., Decades of social policy focused on tiny levels of means-tested support have left most countries completely unprepared for the COVID-19 economic crisis. Yet, countries such as South Africa and Bolivia have shown that a universal approach to social protection is affordable, and that it has a profound impact on reducing inequality and protecting those who need it most., In addition to the full paper and executive summary, an Excel file with the data analysed by Oxfam and Development Pathways is available to download on this page, along with an annex on the crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2011, Somalia experienced a devastating famine that killed over a quarter of a million people. Afterwards, leaders in the region made a commitment to end drought emergencies by 2022. The international community sought to ensure that there would be no repeat of the failures that led to famine. Next time, the world would heed the warnings and act early to avoid the crisis. But despite various warnings and alarms over the past two years, the commitment to anticipatory action has proven half-hearted. We are once again responding too late and with too little to avert the crisis., In this follow-up to their 2012 briefing A Dangerous Delay, Oxfam and Save the Children, supported by the Jameel Observatory, examine what has changed and what has not in the humanitarian system since 2011. They explain how it must evolve in order to enable and fully fund anticipatory action. With the climate crisis set to deepen, the current system must change quickly in order to meet the challenges we face in the years ahead., En 2011, la Somalie a connu une famine particulièrement dévastatrice, qui a coûté la vie à plus de 250 000 personnes. À son terme, les dirigeant·es de la région se sont engagé·es à mettre un terme aux situations d’urgence liées à la sécheresse avant 2022. La communauté internationale voulait s’assurer que les erreurs qui ont conduit à la famine ne se répéteraient pas. La prochaine fois, le monde tiendrait compte des mises en garde et agirait avant l’heure pour éviter ce genre de crise. Pourtant, même si la sonnette d’alarme a été tirée à plusieurs reprises ces deux dernières années, les initiatives visant à tenir cette promesse restent timorées. Une fois de plus, nous réagissons trop tard et avec trop peu de moyens pour éviter la crise., Dans cette suite apportée au document d’information Un retard dangereux publié en 2012, Oxfam et Save the Children se sont associées à l’Observatoire Jameel pour passer en revue ce qui a changé ou non dans le système humanitaire depuis 2011. Elles expliquent les évolutions nécessaires pour financer entièrement l’action anticipée et la favoriser. La crise climatique étant amenée à s’aggraver, le système doit évoluer rapidement si nous voulons faire face aux défis qui se profilent au cours des prochaines années.

The wealth of the world's 10 richest men has doubled since the pandemic began. The incomes of 99% of humanity are worse off because of COVID-19. Widening economic, gender, and racial inequalities—as well as the inequality that exists between countries—are tearing our world apart. This is not by chance, but choice: “economic violence” is perpetrated when structural policy choices are made for the richest and most powerful people. This causes direct harm to us all, and to the poorest people, women and girls, and racialized groups most. Inequality contributes to the death of at least one person every four seconds. But we can radically redesign our economies to be centered on equality. We can claw back extreme wealth through progressive taxation; invest in powerful, proven inequality-busting public measures; and boldly shift power in the economy and society. If we are courageous, and listen to the movements demanding change, we can create an economy in which nobody lives in poverty, nor with unimaginable billionaire wealth—in which inequality no longer kills., Depuis le début de la pandémie, la fortune des dix hommes les plus riches au monde a doublé. 99 % de l’humanité a des revenus moins importants que prévu à cause de la COVID-19. L’augmentation des inégalités économiques, de race et de genre, ainsi que les inégalités entre pays, fragmentent notre monde. Ceci n’est pas le fruit du hasard, mais de décisions politiques délibérées : une « violence économique » s’opère lorsque les choix de politiques structurelles sont faits pour les personnes les plus riches et les plus puissantes. Ces choix nous affectent toutes et tous, en particulier les personnes les plus pauvres, les femmes et les filles et les groupes racisés. Les inégalités contribuent à la mort d’au moins une personne toutes les quatre secondes. Mais nous pouvons repenser nos économies de façon radicale afin de faire de l’égalité notre priorité. Nous pouvons nous attaquer à la concentration extrême des richesses grâce à une fiscalité progressive ; investir dans des mesures publiques luttant contre les inégalités et repenser la distribution du pouvoir dans l’économie et la société. Si nous agissons avec courage et que nous écoutons les mouvements appelant au changement, nous pourrons construire une économie dans laquelle personne ne vit dans la pauvreté alors même qu’une autre personne peut amasser des milliards, une économie dans laquelle les inégalités ne tuent plus.

Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a global pandemic existing in all social groups across the globe, yet it has largely been ignored in the COVID-19 response and recovery plans., It is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified GBV, including domestic violence and intimate partner violence amongst other forms of violations, but the investments in GBV prevention and response are dramatically inadequate, with just 0.0002% of the overall COVID-19 response funding opportunities going into it. Barriers to achieving gender justice, such as harmful social norms, continue to exist, but progress made since the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign show that there are solutions, and feminist activism has been a driving force for progress on eliminating gender-based violence., Les violences basées sur le genre (VBG) constituent une autre pandémie qui touche tous les groupes sociaux, dans le monde entier. Elles ont pourtant été en grande partie omises des plans de réponse à la COVID-19 et des plans de reprise., Il est évident que la pandémie de COVID-19 a intensifié les VBG, dont les violences domestiques et les violences au sein du couple, mais les investissements dédiés à la prévention des VBG et à la réponse à ces violences se sont révélés profondément inadaptés, ne représentant que 0,0002 % des fonds consacrés à la réponse au coronavirus. Les obstacles à la justice de genre, et notamment les normes sociales toxiques, persistent, mais les progrès réalisés depuis le lancement de la campagne de 16 jours d’action contre les violences basées sur le genre prouvent que des solutions existent, et que l’activisme féministe peut conduire à l’élimination des violences basées sur le genre

The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to lead to an increase in inequality in almost every country at once, the first time this has happened since records began. The virus has exposed, fed off and increased existing inequalities of wealth, gender and race. Over two million people have died, and hundreds of millions of people are being forced into poverty while many of the richest – individuals and corporations – are thriving. Billionaire fortunes returned to their pre-pandemic highs in just nine months, while recovery for the world’s poorest people could take over a decade. The crisis has exposed our collective frailty and the inability of our deeply unequal economy to work for all. Yet it has also shown us the vital importance of government action to protect our health and livelihoods. Transformative policies that seemed unthinkable before the crisis have suddenly been shown to be possible. There can be no return to where we were before. Instead, citizens and governments must act on the urgency to create a more equal and sustainable world., La pandémie de coronavirus pourrait aggraver les inégalités dans la quasitotalité des pays de la planète simultanément, une première depuis que ce type de données est consigné. Le virus a mis au jour et amplifié les inégalités de richesse, les inégalités de genre et les inégalités raciales existantes, tout en s’en nourrissant. Plus de deux millions de personnes ont perdu la vie, et des centaines de millions de personnes basculent dans la pauvreté alors que bon nombre des entreprises et des particuliers les plus riches prospèrent. Les milliardaires ont retrouvé le niveau de richesse qui était le leur avant la pandémie en seulement neuf mois, alors qu’il faudra plus de dix ans aux personnes les plus pauvres pour se relever des impacts économiques du coronavirus. La crise a mis au jour notre fragilité collective, ainsi que l’incapacité de notre économie profondément inégale à œuvrer dans l’intérêt de toutes et tous. Elle nous a également démontré l’importance cruciale de l’intervention des gouvernements dans la protection de notre santé et de nos moyens de subsistance. Des politiques transformatrices qui semblaient inenvisageables avant la crise se sont soudain révélées possibles. Le retour au monde d’avant n’est pas une option. Au lieu de cela, les citoyen-ne-s et les gouvernements doivent se mobiliser autour de l’urgence de créer un monde plus égalitaire et plus durable

The worsening inequality crisis triggered by COVID-19 is fuelled by an economic model that has allowed some of the world’s largest corporations to funnel billions of dollars in profits to shareholders giving yet another windfall to the world’s top billionaires, a small group of mostly white men. At the same time, it has left low wage workers and women to pay the price of the pandemic without social or financial protection. Since the onset of the pandemic, large corporations have put profits before workers’ safety, pushed costs down the supply chain and used their political influence to shape policy responses. COVID-19 should be the catalyst for radically reining in corporate power, restructuring business models with purpose and rewarding all those that work with profits, creating an economy for all.

Economic inequality is out of control. In 2019, the world’s billionaires, only 2,153 people, had more wealth than 4.6 billion people., This great divide is based on a flawed and sexist economic system that values the wealth of the privileged few, mostly men, more than the billions of hours of the most essential work – the unpaid and underpaid care work done primarily by women and girls around the world. Tending to others, cooking, cleaning and fetching water and firewood are essential daily tasks for the wellbeing of societies, communities and the functioning of the economy. The heavy and unequal responsibility of care work perpetuates gender and economic inequalities., This has to change. Governments around the world must act now to build a human economy that is feminist and values what truly matters to society, rather than fuelling an endless pursuit of profit and wealth. Investing in national care systems to address the disproportionate responsibility for care work done by women and girls and introducing progressive taxation, including taxing wealth and legislating in favour of carers, are possible and crucial first steps., Time to Care online report summary, Learn more about the WE-Care programme, Les inégalités économiques échappent à tout contrôle. En 2019, les milliardaires du monde entier, c’est à dire seulement 2 153 personnes, se partageaient plus de richesses que 4,6 milliards de personnes. Ce clivage profond s’appuie sur un système économique sexiste et injuste qui valorise davantage la richesse d’une minorité privilégiée, constituée d’hommes principalement, plutôt que les milliards d’heures de travail de soin – non rémunéré ou peu rémunéré - des femmes et des filles dans le monde. Prendre soin des autres, cuisiner, nettoyer, aller chercher de l’eau et du bois de chauffage sont des tâches essentielles au bien-être des sociétés et des communautés ainsi qu’au bon fonctionnement d’une économie. La responsabilité lourde et inégale du travail de soin perpétue les inégalités économiques et de genre., Il est temps que cela change. Les gouvernements du monde entier doivent agir maintenant afin de construire une économie centrée sur l’humain qui défend des valeurs féministes et valorise ce qui est réellement important pour la société, plutôt que d’alimenter une course sans fin au profit et à la richesse. Des solutions existent et il y a urgence à les mettre en place : investir dans des systèmes de soin afin de répartir plus équitablement le travail de soin effectué aujourd’hui par les femmes et les filles et mettre en place une fiscalité plus juste et progress.

A good-quality public education is liberating for individuals. It can also be an equalizer within society. This report shows the unparalleled power of public education to tackle growing inequality and bring us closer together. To achieve this, education must be both of good quality and equitable; it should be free, universal, adequately funded, with well-supported teachers, and accountable public oversight. Fairer taxation of the wealthiest can help pay for it.

Recent decades have seen a dramatic rise in extreme economic inequality. Those at the top of the income scale have received a disproportionate share of the gains of global growth., This risks further entrenching gender inequality and funnelling the gains from women's labour to those already at the top. Too often women are in low paid, insecure work, carrying out the majority of unpaid care work without access to public services, made worse by the same processes driving extreme economic inequality., This paper sets out why efforts to tackle economic and gender inequality must go hand in hand. Drawing on research from around the world and the experiences of women in developing countries, it presents recommendations for governments and corporations to address the obstacles to full economic equality women still face.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) used to make international headlines for the conflict that has flared up repeatedly over the past 20 years. When the M23 rebel group was defeated in November 2013, there seemed to be a shift away from these repeated cycles of violence. The country appeared to be turning a corner into a post-conflict phase. However, new research presented in this briefing paper shows that citizens continue to experience widespread exploitation. In many areas they are still vulnerable to brutal violence from armed groups and in some cases from government, including the police, army and local officials. The challenge – how to consolidate the authority of the state, in a way that serves its people and ensures a lasting peace – remains a huge but vital priority.

Across G20 countries and beyond, women are paid less than men, do most of the unpaid labour, are over-represented in part-time work, and are discriminated against in the household, in markets and in institutions. In 2012 in the Los Cabos Declaration, G20 leaders committed to tackling the barriers to women’s full economic and social participation and to expanding opportunities for women in their countries., Oxfam and the Heinrich Böll Foundation support this commitment, and this paper calls on the G20 to assess its agenda and act on its commitments to women’s rights and gender equality. During the Australian presidency, the G20 has the chance to make good its promises for truly inclusive growth – working to make women more resilient to economic crises through gender-sensitive economic growth and gender-equal employment policies.

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.

A new international emphasis on building resilience offers real promise to allow the poorest women and men to cope with, and ultimately thrive, in the face of shocks, stresses, and uncertainty. But only if risk is more equally shared globally and across societies - this will require a major shift in our approach to poverty reduction and fundamentally challenging the inequality that exposes poor people to far more risk than the rich., In this paper, Oxfam calls on governments and aid agencies to tackle the politics and power at the heart of the increasing effects of climate change, rising inequality and people’s vulnerability to disasters. Major external risks are increasing faster than attempts to reduce them. Since 1970, the number of people exposed to floods and cyclones has doubled. And it’s not just disasters: 100 million people have fallen into poverty just because they have to pay for health care. Many of these risks are actively dumped on poor people, with women facing an overwhelming burden because of their social, political and economic status.

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.

Women’s economic empowerment could reduce poverty for everyone. In order to achieve it, we need to first fix the current broken economic model which is undermining gender equality and causing extreme economic inequality. The neoliberal model has made it harder for women to have better quality and better paid jobs, address inequality in unpaid care work, and women’s influence and decision making power is constrained. To achieve women’s economic empowerment, we need a human economy that works for women and men alike, and for everyone, not just the richest 1%.

Women’s rights have been held up as one of the most tangible gains of the international intervention in Afghanistan. Yet, despite 13 years of promises from the international community that women’s rights are a high priority, these gains remain fragile and are at an increasing risk of erosion., Behind Closed Doors looks back over the timeline of past peace negotiations, and analyzes the victories and defeats for women’s rights since 2001. Thirteen years on, Afghan women fear a rollback of their rights in a political climate that is full of uncertainties., With the West partly disengaging from Afghanistan and peace talks with the Taliban expected to gain momentum, the international community and the new Afghan government must stand by their promises and include women fully in negotiations on the future of Afghanistan.

Only 1 per cent of the Afghan National Police is female. Although female police are vital for Afghan women to be able to report crimes and access desperately-needed justice, few women in Afghanistan will ever encounter one. Further action is urgently needed to recruit, train, retain and protect Afghan female police officers. This is critical for upholding the rights of Afghan women and girls and can contribute to sustainable peace and development efforts in Afghanistan.

The rush to invest in farmland in Africa is having an immediate impact on women’s land-use options, on their livelihoods, on food availability and the cost of living, and, ultimately, on women’s access to land for food production. These are only the economic impacts. Women’s knowledge, socio-cultural relationship with the land, and stewardship of nature are also under threat. Too often ignored, rural women’s voices and perspectives need to be heeded urgently if a robust rural economy and food for all are to be guaranteed.

Over the past century, powerful food and beverage companies have enjoyed unprecedented commercial success. But these companies have grown prosperous while the millions who supply the land, labor and water needed for their products face increased hardship. Now, a rapidly changing environment, affected communities and an increasingly savvy consumer base are pushing the industry to rethink ‘business as usual’., In this report, Oxfam assesses the social and environmental policies of the world’s ten largest food and beverage companies and calls on them to take the critical next steps to create a just food system., Find out more and take action at www.behindthebrands.org

Ten years on from the start of the western intervention in Afghanistan, Afghan women are facing an uncertain future. Women have strived for, and made important gains, since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, including in political participation and access to education, but these gains are fragile and reversible. As security deteriorates across the country, violence against women is also on the rise. Both the Afghan and US governments are attempting to engage in parallel talks with the Taliban to reach a political solution to the conflict before the international military forces withdraw by the end of 2014. The assassination of the government’s top peace broker, former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, in September 2011 underscores how difficult peace and reconciliation will be to achieve in Afghanistan. There are no short cuts to peace in Afghanistan. The only way forward is a transparent and inclusive peace process which involves representatives from all parts of Afghan society, including women. The more that women feel involved in and committed to a political settlement which safeguards their rights, the more likely they are, within their families and communities, to promote changes in attitude and genuine reconciliation - essential for a lasting peace. Western leaders have a responsibility toward Afghan women, not least because protection of women’s rights was sold as a positive outcome of the international intervention in October 2001. In this report – ‘A Place at the Table: Safeguarding women’s rights in Afghanistan’, co-authored with well-known Afghan academic Orzala Ashraf Nemat, Oxfam warns that women’s hard won gains are fragile and could slip away. It stresses that women could face a dangerous future after 2014, if the US, UK, and the Afghan government sideline them in the search for peace. At the 10th anniversary of the intervention, Oxfam calls on world leaders not to sacrifice the hard-won gains that Afghan women have made.

Policy makers lament women’s vulnerability to HIV infection, yet for 15 years they have failed to utilise a technology which can help women to protect and empower themselves. The female condom is the only female-initiated method which provides protection from HIV infection; it also prevents unwanted pregnancy. Studies have shown it is acceptable to users, increases the proportion of protected sex acts, and is cost-effective when provided in addition to male condoms. Yet most women cannot access female condoms. New female-initiated technologies such as microbicides will not be available for many years. Female condoms exist now; the push for universal access to them should begin now.

In 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 to uphold women’s rights in conflict and their roles in peace and security. Despite signs of progress, the impact on women’s lives and roles worldwide has been sporadic. This briefing argues that 15 years on, the UN and Member States should use a formal review of the Women, Peace and Security agenda as a crucial opportunity to address key gaps. New commitments should focus on women’s participation, preventing conflict and gender-based violence, monitoring and implementation, and financing.

Climate change is the single greatest threat to development - making the battle to overcome poverty ever harder and more expensive. Finance is urgently needed to help vulnerable communities adapt to a changing climate. Last year the World Bank estimated the costs of adaptation in poor countries were $75-100bn per year if global warming was kept to 2 C. The non-binding pledges from rich countries to cut emissions offered since Copenhagen would steer a course towards a catastrophic 4 C.