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The document analyzes the surge of foreign direct investment in African farmland and water, often termed 'land grabbing', highlighting the systemic lack of transparency and the violation of local land rights. It identifies three types of investors—food-insecure states, agribusinesses, and financial speculators—and examines the legal frameworks that often prioritize investor protections over community rights. The report advocates for a parliamentary role in ensuring social inclusion, promoting inclusive business models, and implementing the Maputo Declaration's agricultural goals. It concludes with a draft resolution calling for a moratorium on large-scale land acquisitions until a proper governance framework is established.

The document details the outcomes of a July 2011 seminar on foreign investment in African arable land and water. It identifies the drivers of 'land grabbing'—including biofuel demand and food insecurity in Gulf and Asian states—and analyzes the negative impacts on rural populations, particularly women. The report highlights a systemic lack of transparency in investment contracts and the weakness of national land laws, which often allow governments to allocate land despite existing community use. It proposes a parliamentary roadmap focusing on legislative oversight, the requirement of free, prior, and informed consent, and the potential for a moratorium on large-scale land acquisitions until robust governance frameworks are established.

The document details the outcomes of a July 2011 seminar on 'land grabs' in Africa, highlighting how large-scale foreign investments often undermine local land rights, water access, and gender equality. It argues that current investment models frequently lack transparency and fail to deliver promised socio-economic benefits. The report calls for a temporary moratorium on large-scale land acquisitions, the adoption of the Maputo Declaration's 10% budget allocation for agriculture, and a stronger role for parliamentarians in overseeing contracts and protecting community rights.

The project transformed local leaders into advocates for the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV) through capacity-building workshops and community-led advocacy campaigns. Key achievements include a significant increase in HIV status disclosure rates from 48% to 93% and the reduction of discriminatory practices in hospitals and housing. The initiative successfully engaged diverse stakeholders, including religious leaders and 'prayer camp' prophets, to foster a climate of acceptance and support for PLHIV.

The document examines the surge of foreign investment in African agricultural land and water, driven by demand for food and biofuels. It highlights systemic failures in governance, including the disregard for local land rights, lack of community consultation, and the absence of environmental impact assessments. It argues that the current legal landscape—dominated by investor-centric international treaties and contracts—often undermines local food security and environmental protection. The briefing urges parliamentarians to demand transparency, access to investment contracts, and a role in the ratification and monitoring of these deals to ensure sustainable development and the protection of vulnerable populations, particularly women.

The document argues that the IFC's draft Sustainability Framework fails to adequately protect human rights, noting that references to human rights were removed from previous drafts. The signatories call for mandatory human rights due diligence for both the IFC and its clients, alignment with the UN 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' framework, and specific safeguards regarding water rights, gender impacts, forced evictions, and environmental damage.

The research establishes a baseline for sustainable development (SD) among 1,551 tenth grade students in Manitoba using three composite indexes. Findings indicate that while students possess relatively high knowledge (mean 2.12) and favourable attitudes (mean 2.14) toward SD, their actual supportive behaviours are less pronounced (mean 2.83). Regression analysis reveals that knowledge and attitudes only explain 21% of the variation in sustainable behaviours, with attitudes being a more influential predictor than knowledge. The study highlights a particular strength in students' support for gender equality and environmental protection, but notes confusion regarding the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.

The document argues that the IFC's shift toward an "outcomes-based" approach has reduced its accountability and oversight, leading to inadequate risk identification and poor development outcomes. It calls for a return to more stringent, verifiable requirements, particularly regarding the rights of indigenous peoples, climate change mitigation, and transparency in financial intermediary lending.

The document outlines systemic failures in the IFC's environmental and social due diligence, highlighting an overreliance on unverified client data and inadequate project categorization. It calls for the explicit integration of international human rights standards, including the right to free, prior and informed consent for indigenous peoples, and a strategic shift away from fossil fuel investments toward renewable energy. The authors also criticize the 'loophole' created by financial intermediaries and demand greater transparency in extractive industry contracts.

The executive summary examines how trade liberalization in South America has affected women across rural and urban labor markets. It identifies a 'feminization' of export jobs characterized by low security and a 'glass ceiling' where women are replaced by men during technological upgrades. While female activity rates and human capital have increased, trade liberalization led to skill mismatches and higher unemployment for women compared to men. Despite these challenges, the document notes that Latin American women have overall better access to education, health, and political participation at the start of the 21st century.

The report argues that trade liberalization in Southeast Asia often marginalizes women because policy-makers incorrectly view macro-economics and trade instruments as gender-neutral. While liberalization can create new employment and income opportunities, poor women remain particularly vulnerable. The document identifies five areas of gender divergence: job segregation, the paid/unpaid labour divide, household resource distribution, access to state redistribution, and financial market credit. It recommends that ASEAN and member states conduct gender-oriented reviews of trade initiatives, provide access to social safety nets, and invest in capacity building to eradicate discrimination and enable women to benefit from economic openness.

The report examines how trade liberalization in Southern Africa has produced mixed results for women, often exacerbating inequalities due to a focus on market-based criteria that ignore societal imbalances. It highlights that women dominate the informal economy in sub-Saharan Africa, where they face significant national, institutional, and legal hurdles. The document argues that regional trading arrangements (RTAs) are better suited to women's needs than large export markets and recommends that RTAs formally address informal cross-border trade through supportive institutional measures and a standardized yardstick for gender sensitivity.

The paper argues that trade policies are often gender-blind and can reduce the policy space for states to implement pro-gender development strategies. It highlights the critical role of the informal economy, where approximately 70% of traders in sub-Saharan Africa are women, and suggests that regional trade agreements (RTAs) are better suited to women's needs than large global markets. The authors identify institutional and legal hurdles—rather than social traditions—as the primary obstacles to women's business growth. The document recommends the adoption of a 'gender perspective' in trade analysis and the creation of a gender-sensitivity yardstick for RTAs to ensure that trade liberalization does not exacerbate existing inequalities, particularly in the agricultural sector.

The report examines how trade liberalization in Southeast Asia affects women across the manufacturing, agricultural, and services sectors. It argues that trade policies are typically 'gender blind,' ignoring the asymmetric impacts on women due to existing social and economic inequalities. While liberalization has created some employment opportunities, it has also led to wage gaps, poor working conditions, and increased vulnerability for poor women. The document concludes that women's participation in high-level policymaking has not translated into gender-sensitive trade policies and recommends putting women at the center of trade analysis and providing social safety nets.

The document examines the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in supporting and holding national governments accountable for climate change adaptation, particularly in developing countries. It argues that while CSOs are effective in emergency disaster response, their most significant contribution lies in addressing long-term climatic risks by bridging the gap between grassroots communities and decision-makers. Using research from seven countries, including Cambodia, the authors highlight a trend toward top-down fund management that often excludes CSOs and rural populations. The paper recommends that governments establish formal spaces for CSO participation, such as national networks or oversight boards, and implement minimum standards for consultation to ensure climate finance reaches the most vulnerable.

The document reports that pastoral communities in Ethiopia's Borana and Somali zones are facing unprecedented climate variability, including increasing temperatures and drought frequency, which are rendering traditional coping strategies ineffective. It identifies significant barriers to adaptation, such as land degradation, resource conflicts, and limited access to information and financial services. The brief recommends that the Ethiopian government protect pastoral land, improve weather information sharing, and enhance social safety nets. It advises civil society to integrate climate projections into programming and leverage traditional knowledge, while urging international donors to provide funding flexibility for climate emergencies.

The paper examines socio-economic challenges in Algeria, Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa. It highlights systemic issues such as poverty, gender inequality, and poor infrastructure, while noting that a lack of reliable data and political will often hinder the implementation of solutions. The author argues that many visible problems are offshoots of unstable economies and historical political dysfunction.

The report argues that EU consumption and trade policies drive the expansion of monoculture tree plantations in the Global South, which disproportionately harms women by destroying their livelihoods, health, and cultural identities. Through case studies in Nigeria (rubber), Papua New Guinea (oil palm), and Brazil (eucalyptus), the document details the loss of food sovereignty, the erosion of traditional medicinal knowledge, and the increase in gender-based violence and economic dependency. It highlights that while these projects are often framed as 'development,' they frequently result in land theft and environmental degradation. The report concludes by documenting the emergence of women-led resistance movements fighting for land return and food sovereignty.

The document examines governance in Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Algeria, South Africa, and Benin, identifying a systemic gap between constitutional intentions and practical implementation. The author argues that a lack of 'constitutionalism' leads to executive dominance, weakened legislatures, and compromised judicial independence. Key areas of concern include the manipulation of electoral systems, systemic corruption, marginalization of women and children, and land ownership conflicts. The paper concludes that while the APRM is an effective early-warning system, its impact is limited because member states often ignore its recommendations.

The report details the development of survey instruments to measure sustainable development (SD) literacy among Manitoban adults and students. Findings indicate that while general knowledge and positive attitudes toward SD are high, they do not strongly translate into sustainable behaviours. For adults, favourable attitudes and general education levels were the strongest predictors of sustainable behaviour, whereas for students, gender and attitudes were more influential. The authors conclude that current survey items lack sufficient discriminating power to serve as definitive standardized tests, but provide a baseline for future monitoring of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).