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The briefing argues for a mandatory product-based due diligence framework for Forest and Ecosystem Risk Commodities (FERCs) and their derivatives. It recommends that the regulation cover not only forests but all natural ecosystems and human rights violations, specifically the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The authors call for equivalent obligations for financial institutions, a robust enforcement mechanism including criminal penalties and access to EU courts for harmed third parties, and accompanying measures to support producer countries and reform EU consumption patterns.

The report examines the crisis of missing persons in Africa, documenting nearly 44,000 cases through the ICRC as of 2020. It identifies armed conflict, other situations of violence, and migration as primary drivers, noting that men and children are disproportionately affected. Families face severe psychosocial trauma, economic hardship, and legal hurdles due to a lack of domestic frameworks for declaring absence. The document advocates for the establishment of national information bureaus, improved medico-legal capacity for body identification, and the integration of missing persons into transitional justice processes.

The document examines how rangers can be both perpetrators and victims of corruption, driven by economic insecurity, weak governance, and social pressures. It highlights findings from the 'Life on the Frontline' survey, noting that low pay and late salary payments incentivize corrupt acts. The brief argues for a systemic approach to anti-corruption, recommending professionalization, independent oversight, and improved ranger well-being to protect biodiversity and human rights.

Natural Justice submits a series of proposed amendments to the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act No. 47 of 2013. The organization argues for a 'human-rights approach to conservation' and the inclusion of 'access to information' and 'access to justice' as guiding principles. Key recommendations include establishing an external auditing authority for the wildlife service to prevent abuse of licensing powers, ensuring the inclusion of socially excluded groups (such as women, youth, and indigenous communities) in County Wildlife Conservation and Compensation Committees, and requiring that the declaration of protected areas incorporate local community traditional knowledge. The submission also highlights the need to protect wildlife migratory corridors from state-led and private development projects and calls for clearer guidelines on bioprospecting and the monitoring of offenses within private conservation systems.

The report finds that the 60 largest global banks provided $3.8 trillion in fossil fuel financing from 2016 to 2020. Despite a 9% drop in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, financing levels remained higher than in 2016. JPMorgan Chase is identified as the world's worst fossil fuel banker, with $317 billion provided over the five-year period. The analysis highlights a significant gap between banks' 'net zero by 2050' pledges and their continued funding of fossil fuel expansion, particularly in sectors like LNG, offshore oil and gas, and coal. The report also details the human rights and environmental impacts of specific projects, such as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and the Line 3 pipeline, and argues that current bank policies are insufficient to align with the 1.5C goal of the Paris Agreement.

The document argues that conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has historically been overlooked in peace talks but must be integrated into every phase of the peace process. It emphasizes broadening the lens of victims to include men and boys, who face significant social stigma and service gaps. The briefing provides specific recommendations for early-stage agreements, ceasefire negotiations, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), Security Sector Reform (SSR), and transitional justice, highlighting the need for accountability, gender-sensitive security indicators, and recognition for children born of wartime sexual violence.

The briefing outlines 25 policy recommendations for governments to address gender inequalities in the mining sector. It focuses on legislative reforms, institutional capacity building, fair land acquisition, gender-responsive impact assessments, community development, and the protection of women's safety and security. The goal is to ensure women's equal participation in the workforce and their fair share of the sector's economic and social benefits.

The briefing argues that mining activities disproportionately affect men and women differently, often leaving women with minimal benefits and higher exposure to environmental and social risks. It proposes 25 specific actions for governments across five key areas: legislation, institutional strengthening, land acquisition, impact assessments, and community development. Key recommendations include implementing gender-disaggregated data collection, creating national action plans for gender equality in mining, ensuring equitable compensation for land expropriation, and integrating gender-sensitive criteria into Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs). The document also emphasizes the need for fiscal incentives for companies promoting gender equality and the protection of women from gender-based violence in mining communities.

This briefing outlines 25 policy options for governments to address gender inequalities in the mining sector. It argues that mining operations disproportionately impact women and that current laws often fail to recognize women as active participants. The recommendations cover integrating human rights standards into legislation, implementing gender-disaggregated data collection, ensuring equitable land compensation, and protecting women from gender-based violence (GBV). It emphasizes the need for gender-responsive environmental and social impact assessments and the inclusion of women in decision-making processes and supply chains.

The report evaluates Botswana's governance across 12 thematic areas, including human rights, separation of powers, and sustainable development. While acknowledging Botswana's global reputation for stability and economic management, it highlights systemic failures such as high gender-based violence, a lack of true separation between the Executive and Parliament, and significant economic inequality. It recommends structural reforms to the electoral system, the decentralisation of public services, and the establishment of a National Human Rights Institution to ensure more inclusive and accountable governance.

The workshop served as a platform for youth working groups to validate a report on governance in South Africa, covering themes from institutional planning and political participation to climate change and economic empowerment. Government and APRM representatives emphasized the importance of integrating youth voices into the national review process, particularly given high youth unemployment rates. The working groups identified systemic failures in policy implementation, a lack of youth representation in political parties, and the need for a 'green, intersectional and just' future to address climate change and its compounding effects on other social issues.

The statement highlights a landmark legal victory where Nigerian farmers obtained reparations from Shell in a Dutch court after thirteen years of litigation. It uses this case to argue that the current legal process is too slow and that the European Union should implement a mandatory 'corporate due diligence' law to ensure European companies are held accountable for human rights and environmental abuses committed abroad.

A statement by Donald Pols of Friends of the Earth regarding a 2021 Dutch court victory for Nigerian farmers against Shell, highlighting the 13-year legal struggle and the need for EU-wide corporate due diligence legislation to ensure parent company liability for overseas environmental damage.

A statement by Donald Pols of Friends of the Earth celebrating a Dutch court victory where Shell was held liable for oil spills in Nigeria's Niger Delta, while criticizing the thirteen-year duration of the legal process and calling for EU-wide corporate due diligence legislation.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has requested that Nicaragua implement precautionary measures to protect Olman Salazar Umanor, a member of the National Environmental Movement Against Industrial Mining (MONAFMI) and Coordinator of the Santa Cruz de la India Community Movement, and his nuclear family due to serious risks to their life and personal integrity. The Commission condemned the increasing harassment of human rights defenders and government opponents in Nicaragua and demanded that the state initiate an investigation into the situation and report back on the implementation of protective measures within 15 days.

The document examines the critical materials required for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), highlighting the risks associated with concentrated mineral reserves and the environmental and human rights impacts of mining. It argues that while BEVs significantly reduce life cycle global warming emissions compared to gasoline vehicles, scaling their production requires a transition toward a circular economy. The author emphasizes that widespread recycling could meet 30% to 40% of the US material demand for passenger BEVs by 2035. The text identifies significant barriers to this transition, including a lack of recycling infrastructure—with fewer than a dozen global facilities—and a lack of comprehensive regulatory frameworks. It recommends policy actions such as setting recycled content targets, standardizing battery labeling, and enforcing international labor and environmental standards for mining.

The brief contends that the IFC's commercial activities are fundamentally linked to its environmental and social (E&S) due diligence, and that granting the IFC immunity from lawsuits regarding project harms creates an 'accountability gap'. The authors argue that the risk of litigation would not 'chill' financing but would instead incentivize the IFC to improve its E&S compliance and grievance mechanisms. They provide data suggesting that only a small fraction of IFC projects result in formal complaints, countering the 'floodgates' argument used to justify immunity.

The document highlights the role of the soya industry in driving deforestation in Brazil's Amazon and Cerrado regions, noting that tropical deforestation accounts for approximately 8% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions. It identifies the 'ABCD group' (ADM, Bunge, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus) as key traders failing to prevent deforestation due to a lack of cut-off dates, standardized clauses, and traceability. The author urges financial institutions to require traders to implement a cut-off date no later than January 1, 2020, establish full traceability and independent monitoring, and respect indigenous human rights, threatening the suspension of financial services for non-compliance by January 1, 2022.

The January 6 Capitol attacks damaged the United States' reputation as a democratic leader, prompting various nations to reconsider their reliance on U.S. leadership. While the UK sees an opportunity for a values-based partnership under Joe Biden, Brazil's President Bolsonaro has aligned himself with Trumpism, potentially hindering cooperation on climate change. South Africa views the events as a cautionary tale regarding democratic fragility and a reinforcement of U.S. racial inequality. Turkey expects a return to predictable diplomacy but notes the need for humility in U.S. human rights advocacy. India and other Quad members may pursue more autonomous regional initiatives to counter authoritarianism, specifically from China, due to perceived U.S. domestic dysfunction.

The report advocates for the establishment of a UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change to address the holistic impact of the climate crisis on human rights. Based on consultations with 157 participants across 55 countries, it argues that a dedicated mandate would ensure consistency in how the Human Rights Council addresses climate change, increase accountability for state and non-state actors, and protect vulnerable groups, including Indigenous Peoples and environmental defenders. The document outlines regional priorities—such as addressing climate debt in Africa and climate displacement in Asia and the Pacific—and emphasizes the need for the role to be supported by sufficient financial resources and political will from Member States.