Eradicating poverty has been a global priority since the founding of the United Nations. Thanks to international efforts, the number of people living in extreme poverty around the world has fallen by more than half over the last three decades: 1.9 billion in 1990 to 836 million in 2015, according to the MDG Report of 2015. Yet despite impressive progress, more remains to be done in terms of poverty reduction and levelling the playing field – both between and within countries....
If impact is so difficult to attribute to the MDGs, how should we monitor the progress of the SDGs? In March 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted 230 indicators to cover the 17 SDGs and their accompanying 169 targets. But given the limitations of and discussion surrounding impact attribution, should we want such a monitoring mechanism? Will it add any value?...
Around 168 million children worldwide are involved in child labour, according to recent ILO estimates. More than half of them, 85 million, are doing hazardous work. These numbers have fallen in recent years, but trends vary across regions, countries and sectors and the figures remain alarmingly high. In that context, impact evaluation can help policymakers to best target their interventions. Part-time PhD fellow Julia Brümmer explains the background to her research. … You just presented yo...
A joint post by Kristjana Sigurbjörnsdóttir, UNU-GEST and Ortrun Merkle, UNU-MERIT. On 19 June we mark the first anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Established in 2015 the day aims to “raise awareness of the need to end conflict-related sexual violence and urge the international community to stand in solidarity with the survivors of sexual violence around the world”. Sexualised violence continues to be rampant in many conflicts, p...
A Q&A with PhD Fellow Mira Bierbaum and Prof. Michael Cichon, co-authors of the report. What did we do? The right to social security is a human right. It is recognised in Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Social Protection Floors Recommendation No. 202 (R.202), unanimously adopted by 184 members of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in 2012, provided concrete content to this abstract right. A recent discussion paper by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung written by...
“To make UNSCR 1325 a reality we need to get out of our comfort zone” – the frank assessment of Marriët Schuurman, NATO Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) at the start of a UNU conference on inclusive peace and the future of WPS. Her words reflected a shared sense of urgency: of the need to make bold demands and drastic reforms in the struggle for inclusive peace....
Ahead of a recent UNICEF 'Tweetchat' on child social protection, Dr. Mindel van de Laar caught up with alumna Dr. Keetie Roelen, who now works for the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex in the UK. Here's what they had to say about the past, present and future of our global development work....
Civil wars disrupt many aspects of life and development, including the education of the next generation. Yet until now there has been very little research into the subject. We spoke with Dr. Silvia Consuelo Gómez Soler after her record-breaking defence on this topical issue — which is relevant worldwide. 1. Congratulations on your PhD defence! You focused on civil conflict and education, drawing lessons from Colombia. Why did you choose this topic? SG: Getting a better understanding of the...
“The one thing all children have in common is their rights. Every child has the right to survive and thrive, to be educated, to be free from violence and abuse, to participate and to be heard.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Universal Children’s Day, 20 November. Alan Kurdi was three when his body, lying face down on a Turkish beach, became one of the defining images of the recent “refugee crisis”. Like so many other Syrians caught up in the conflict between Islamic State...
A third of all humanity — around 2.4 billion people — have no access to adequate sanitation. Worldwide a billion people still defecate in the open. Poor sanitation increases the risk of disease and malnutrition, especially for women and children. Meanwhile, women and girls risk rape and abuse, because they have no toilet that offers privacy. World Toilet Day, held every 19 November, aims to raise awareness about the many people around the world who have no access to a toilet — ...