Democracy weakened as press freedom hits 50-year low
11/9/2025: The Global State of Democracy report for 2025 reveals a global trend of democracy under threat, with 54 per cent of countries falling in at least one key indicator in 2024. Freedom of the press suffered its most far-reaching fall in 50 years.
Source: International IDEA
Risk averse investors undermine Africa’s clean energy goals
10/9/2025: The World Bank estimates that around 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity. Ambitious targets for new renewable energy capacity by 2030 are struggling over lack of investment capital.
Source: Climate Home News
Global military spending undermines development goals, says UN Secretary General
10/9/2025: Global military spending has been on the rise for more than 20 years, and in 2024 it surged across all five global regions to reach a record high. A new report by the UN Secretary-General encourages countries to prioritize diplomacy and multilateralism to protect global security - and avoid diversion of financial resources away from the Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: Inter Press Service
Trends noted at the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum
10/9/2025: The first gathering of African food systems experts since the US government withdrew most of its foreign aid funding ended with promising indications that the continent is trying to stimulate its own agricultural production with locally sourced financing
Source: Devex
UN human rights chief denounces “glorification of violence”
10/9/2025: Mr Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has warned that the long-established rules of war “are being shredded”, with virtually no accountability, coupled with a troubling erosion of international law. He reaffirmed that human rights are a beacon of hope in the search for a better world.
Source: Third World Network
Uganda welcomes refugees despite diminishing funds
9/9/2025: Since the start of 2025, an average of 600 people, mostly from Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been arriving in Uganda each day. The East African country currently hosts nearly 2 million refugees, over half of them children. Resources are stretched with crowded schools, inadequate shelter, and limited access to food and health care.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
Israeli displacement order on entire Gaza City defies international law
9/9/2025: Israel’s intent to displace around 1 million civilians, half of whom are living in famine, is impossible and illegal, according to Oxfam, while the Israeli military continued to flatten Gaza City building by building. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly prohibits an occupying power from deporting or forcibly transferring members of the occupied civilian population.
Source: Oxfam International
No progress in Afghanistan without women’s freedom
8/9/2025: In recent weeks, the walls of the Afghan capital have been plastered with government reminders about its strict interpretation of Islamic rule, replacing colourful murals promoting women’s rights. After four years of Taliban rule women continue to live with fear, deprivation, and many restrictions.
Source: Inter Press Service
Anti-gay law shocks community in Burkina Faso
6/9/2025: Burkina Faso’s minister of justice and human rights has amended a law in order to impose a prison sentence of 2-5 years for those who “promote homosexuality”. The amendment is seen by many as part of a wider push across Africa to promote what are called “family values”, but which oppose abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
Source: The Guardian
Momentum grows for new Treaty on Right to Education
5/9/2025: The existing Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees free primary education but stops short of requiring governments to deliver free secondary or early childhood education. A recent gathering of 92 countries has launched an intensive round of consultations to address these gaps.
Source: Human Rights Watch