Guterres urges parties to find a way forward on next phase of Gaza ceasefire
1/3/2025: The six-week long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has ended with further negotiations between the sides still pending. The Secretary-General has called for a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages. During the period of the truce, thousands of trucks carrying life-saving assistance entered Gaza, reaching nearly every person in the Strip.
Source: UN News
UN Biodiversity COP16 finalises agreement on biodiversity finance
28/2/2025: Greenpeace welcomes the agreement in UN negotiations to develop a roadmap to 2030 for sourcing $700 billion of biodiversity finance. The first step seeks commitment to $20 billion per year of public funding from 2025. The US is not a party to the UN Convention ib Biological Diversity.
Source: Greenpeace International
US shutdown of HIV/Aids funding ‘could lead to 500,000 deaths in South Africa’
28/2/2025: Sweeping notices of termination of funding have been received by organisations working with HIV and Aids across Africa, with dire predictions of a rise in deaths as a result. Projects funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), founded by George W Bush in 2003, appear to be particularly affected.
Source: The Guardian
Critical global surveys fall casualty to US foreign aid gutting
28/2/2025: USAID staff responsible for funding global Demographic and Health Surveys have received notices of termination. These long established critical data sets cover HIV/AIDS, malaria, nutrition, family planning, maternal and child health, gender, and fertility through over 400 surveys in more than 90 countries.
Source: Devex
Debt service payments in poorest countries reach alarming levels
25/2/2025: The UN Development Programme is calling for the June International Conference on Financing for Development to consider a systemic debt relief initiative for the poorest countries. 17 countries now spend more than 20 percent of national revenue on interest payments, a threshold strongly linked to default risk.
Source: UN Development Programme
The Cali Fund: Financing for biodiversity conservation
25/2/2025: The text of a speech by the UN Assistant Secretary-General welcoming the foundation of the Cali Fund which aims to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits from Digital Sequence Information on genetic resources. It will compensate Indigenous communities whose genetic resources and traditional knowledge contribute to global scientific advancements.
Source: UN Environment Programme
UK will slash billions in aid spending to fund larger military
25/2/2025: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stunned members of his own Labour Party with the announcement that he will shift billions of pounds from overseas development to support a bigger military — despite a manifesto promise to increase aid spending from 0.5% back to 0.7% of gross national income.
Source: Devex
Why are thousands being culled from USAID?
25/2/2025: What was once a 10,000-person agency has been decimated. Thousands have been placed on administrative leave, and between 1,600 to 2,000 further staff members have been told they will be eliminated entirely. So who will remain at USAID?
Source: Devex
Absent US looms large over Human Rights Council
24/2/2025: US President Donald Trump has severed ties with the UN Human Rights Council, in stark contrast with former president Joe Biden’s efforts to re-engage the US in multilateral diplomacy. Last year, the US was the Human Rights Office’s largest donor, accounting for 13 per cent of voluntary donations.
Source: Geneva Solutions
Court says thousands of USAID staff can be put on leave
22/2/2025: A US federal judge has reversed a recent court order block on the Trump administration’s efforts to cut USAID’s staff. Over the last month, the agency’s 10,000 staff members have faced wave after wave of furloughs, terminations, and suspensions. Now it seems that these will continue.
Source: Devex