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The document argues that the lack of transparency regarding beneficial owners—the individuals exercising ultimate effective control over fishing vessels and facilities—is a primary enabler of corruption and IUU fishing. It details how 'flags of convenience' (FoCs), shell companies, and opaque joint ventures allow bad actors to evade sanctions, launder money, and engage in human rights abuses. The author highlights specific cases, such as the 'Fishrot' scandal in Namibia and the use of Chinese processing facilities to hide North Korean labor. To address these issues, the briefing recommends that governments implement public beneficial ownership registries, verify disclosed data, and that major market states like the US, EU, and Japan make beneficial ownership transparency a condition for seafood import access.

The analysis reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the climate finance gap in developing countries, leading to domestic budget reallocations away from climate projects toward health and economic recovery. International climate finance has also decreased, with a higher reliance on loans that increase national debt burdens. The report highlights that climate-finance needs, estimated at $4.6 trillion based on a sample of NDCs, far exceed current flows, and that pandemic-related restrictions have delayed the approval and execution of critical climate projects.

The report examines how gender norms and power dynamics influence vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the ocean economy of SIDS and coastal LDCs. It highlights the undervalued roles of women in small-scale fisheries and tourism and analyzes how climate change, market shifts, and COVID-19 disproportionately affect women due to socio-economic structures. The document advocates for the systematic collection of sex-disaggregated data, the implementation of gender-transformative policies, and the alignment of international finance, such as Official Development Assistance (ODA) and climate risk insurance, with gender equality goals to enhance overall community resilience.

The document describes Cooling as a Service (CaaS) as a pay-per-service model that removes upfront costs for customers by having service providers own and maintain energy-efficient cooling equipment. It highlights the role of sale-leaseback arrangements with banks to scale financing and identifies Nigeria's ColdHubs as a practical application for solar-powered cold storage. The text also notes the importance of legal frameworks, national energy efficiency policies, and the potential for CaaS implementation in 21 countries that prioritized urban planning in their NDCs.

The ACT Fund is a mid-market greenfield infrastructure fund designed to overcome investment barriers in West Africa by combining technical assistance, equity, and subordinated debt. It utilizes a 'blended currency mechanism' to reduce financing friction during early project stages and provides structured exit solutions for international equity by refinancing projects with local-currency senior debt once they are operational. The fund targets an initial capitalization of USD 150 million for equity and USD 100 million for subordinated debt, with a primary focus on renewable energy before expanding into urban mobility, water, and waste systems.

The report examines gender inequality in the African maritime sector, highlighting that current frameworks often equate gender equality solely with women's inclusion. It advocates for an intersectional analysis—considering race, age, and class—to address the systemic exclusion of youth and other marginalised groups. The document reviews African Union maritime instruments, finds a lack of implementation and data, and provides examples of gender-sensitive initiatives in fisheries and coastal management.

The document analyzes the multidimensional relationship between China and West Africa, highlighting significant asymmetries in trade and foreign direct investment. It identifies health cooperation, economic recovery, regional integration, and debt restructuring as primary priorities for the FOCAC 8 summit. The author argues that West African nations should move beyond bilateral opportunism toward a strategic regional approach led by ECOWAS, incorporating non-state actors and civil society to address concerns over transparency, debt sustainability, and environmental impacts.

The document argues that while Africa views migration as a demographic and development issue, the European Union has increasingly adopted a securitised approach. It identifies four key entry points for strengthening the Africa-EU partnership: remittances, legal labour migration pathways, international protection, and voluntary returns and readmissions.

The document provides a comprehensive synthesis of the 2018 Global Sustainable Blue Economy Conference's Science and Research Symposium. It argues that a sustainable blue economy—defined as the productive and sustainable use of oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers—must be grounded in multidisciplinary science and public-private partnerships. Key focus areas include the sustainable extraction of deep-sea minerals, the mitigation of climate change through blue carbon ecosystems (mangroves, seagrasses, and seaweed), and the modernization of maritime transport through AI and robotics. The report emphasizes the need for capacity building in the Global South, particularly in Africa, and proposes the establishment of a Global Blue Economy Investment Facility to mobilize finance and technology transfer.

The report examines the AU's efforts to adapt counter-terrorism operations through the African Standby Force, the impact of COVID-19 on election observation, and the need for incumbents to step down during elections to ensure fairness. It also analyzes the tension between the principle of inviolable colonial borders and secessionist movements, such as in Ghana, and discusses the complexities of harmonizing a common African position in negotiations with the European Union.

The document examines Africa's response to COVID-19, highlighting the tension between implementing lockdowns to protect fragile health systems and the resulting economic risks due to high informality and poverty. It notes that while some countries adopted rapid mitigation strategies and leveraged experience from previous epidemics, systemic gaps in water access and health funding leave the continent vulnerable as infection rates accelerate.

Africa faces a significant ICT infrastructure deficit that hinders its development, requiring an estimated $3 billion annual additional investment. While the private sector has led deployment, challenges remain regarding rural access, high costs, and limited policy capacity. The document advocates for incentivising local providers, upgrading regulatory frameworks, and expanding the technical skills base to fully realise the benefits of digital transformation.

The MIGNEX Handbook Chapter 7 outlines the methodology for a large-scale survey of 12,500 young adults (aged 18-39) across 25 research areas in ten countries. It details a three-stage probability-proportional-to-size (PPS) cluster sampling strategy using satellite imagery and random walks to ensure representativeness. The guide specifies the use of Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) via SurveyCTO software to improve data quality and efficiency. It establishes rigorous protocols for research ethics, including oral informed consent, and defines a multi-layered quality assurance framework involving enumerators, fieldwork supervisors, and data managers. The document also provides a detailed survey instrument covering themes such as migration aspirations, livelihoods, health, and governance.

The statement argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for governments to focus all resources on public health, specifically the procurement of medical supplies, vaccines, and medicines. It calls for the immediate suspension of trade and investment negotiations at the WTO, bilateral, and regional levels, asserting that such activities divert critical resources and personnel. The authors highlight that intellectual property rules under the WTO's TRIPS agreement and free trade agreements may obstruct the affordability and accessibility of life-saving supplies. The document demands the removal of all trade barriers and unilateral sanctions that hinder medical procurement and urges a fundamental rethink of trade rules that encourage monopolies and limit healthcare access.

Friends of the Earth International and a broad coalition of global endorsers call for an immediate cessation of trade and investment treaty negotiations. They argue that governments, particularly in developing and least developed countries, lack the resources to engage in these negotiations while managing the COVID-19 health crisis. The statement demands that trade negotiators focus exclusively on removing obstacles, such as intellectual property rules and unilateral sanctions, that hinder access to affordable vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics.

The report examines the practice of incumbents stepping aside before presidential elections in Cabo Verde and Madagascar. It argues that while not a complete solution, this practice helps level the electoral playing field by denying incumbents direct control over state resources and security agencies during campaigns. The author suggests that for the practice to be effective, it must be supported by clear constitutional provisions, political will, and broader good governance reforms.

The report synthesizes the work of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs), including the CEDAW, CESCR, and CRC, on climate change. It details how these bodies use state reporting, communications procedures, and general comments to hold States accountable for human rights violations caused by climate change and insufficient mitigation efforts. Key findings emphasize the need for highest-ambition emissions cuts, the phasing out of fossil fuels, and the protection of vulnerable groups, including women, children, and Indigenous Peoples.

The document examines the AU's struggle to implement the 2014 Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, noting that only seven of 55 member states had ratified it by October 2019. It compares the AU's approach to the EU's role as a 'norm entrepreneur' through regulations like the GDPR and the Cybersecurity Act. The author highlights Mauritius as a continental best practice for holistic national cyber strategy and recommends that the AU adopt 'Agile Governance Principles', engage more with civil society, and establish a continental body similar to the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA).

The report details how the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) integrates gender equality into climate change obligations through General Recommendations, joint statements, and State reporting. It highlights the Committee's focus on disaster risk reduction, the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and girls, and the necessity of women's active participation in climate policy. The document analyzes CEDAW's Concluding Observations from 2008 to 2019, noting a high volume of recommendations for Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries, primarily focusing on adaptation and procedural rights, while also issuing specific mitigation demands regarding fossil fuel extraction and fracking.

The document outlines how the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) integrates climate change into its monitoring of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It details the Committee's use of General Comments, Joint Statements, and State reporting procedures to hold States accountable for climate-related impacts on rights such as health, food, and water. Key findings emphasize that States must implement emissions cuts reflecting the "highest possible ambition," regulate private actors to prevent climate harm, and ensure that high-income States provide climate finance to developing nations beyond existing official development assistance. The briefing also analyzes trends in the Committee's Concluding Observations from 2008 to 2019, noting a higher frequency of climate-related recommendations for developed countries and a strong focus on mitigation, adaptation, and international cooperation.