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The April 2021 Peace & Security Council Report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the operational challenges of the newly merged African Union Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) department, the diplomatic deadlock over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and governance crises in Senegal, Benin, Cameroon, and Chad.

This research paper examines the struggle of Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states to meet the 2001 Abuja Declaration's pledge to allocate 15% of national budgets to healthcare. It argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted critical systemic gaps and provides an impetus for innovative financing strategies to overcome economic decline and aid dependency.

The March 2021 Peace & Security Council Report by the Institute for Security Studies examines several critical security and financial challenges facing the African Union (AU), including the Ethiopia–Sudan border dispute, the insurgency in Mozambique, the AU's financial dependence on external partners, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) impasse, and the transition of AMISOM in Somalia.

This briefing paper by the Forest Declaration Assessment examines how the global transition to low-carbon technologies increases the demand for minerals, thereby posing a significant threat to forest ecosystems, particularly Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) in the Amazon and Congo Basin.

This report synthesises 50 'Voices from the Frontline' stories from June 2020 to October 2021, documenting how local communities in Asia and the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean coped with the compounding effects of Covid-19, climate change, and socioeconomic vulnerability. It examines these experiences through the lens of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting grassroots resilience and the need for external actors to support locally-led solutions.

This annex to the 2021 NYDF Goal 7 Progress Report provides technical and economic mitigation potential estimates for forest-related activities, analyzes the ambition of forest targets in National Determined Contributions (NDCs), and estimates the global finance needs and public finance flows for forest mitigation.

This policy brief examines the African Union's iDove initiative, a youth-led platform designed to prevent violent extremism (PVE) through intra/interfaith dialogue. It analyzes the initiative's sustainability and adaptability in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the shift toward virtual engagement and the need for greater integration into continental policy frameworks.

The African Environmental Defenders Fund (AED Fund), launched in 2019 by Natural Justice and the International Land Coalition, provides emergency financial assistance to land and environmental defenders across Africa facing imminent threats. Between March 2020 and October 2021, the fund processed 45 applications, approving 27 for support including legal representation, relocation, and medical aid. The report highlights a significant volume of applications from Uganda and a particular vulnerability of female defenders to gender-based violence.

This policy brief explores green growth financing mechanisms to support Africa's economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that the 'twin COVID–climate crisis' provides an opportunity to 'build back better' by integrating sustainable investment into stimulus packages, leveraging private capital through green bonds, and reforming fiscal and financial regulations to increase climate resilience.

President Felix Tshisekedi consolidated power in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2020 by dismantling his coalition with former President Joseph Kabila's FCC. Through the strategic appointment of constitutional court judges, the removal of key FCC figures from the National Assembly and state enterprises, and the imprisonment of rival Vital Kamerhe, Tshisekedi effectively ended the FCC's dominance to seek a new parliamentary majority.

This document provides guidelines for a call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) issued by the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and GEF’s Challenge Program for Adaptation Innovation. The initiative seeks to identify and scale innovative financial mechanisms that support private sector resilience solutions in Fragile and Conflict-Prone Least Developed Countries.

This November 2020 report assesses progress toward Goal 7 of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF), which focuses on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation within the framework of a post-2020 global climate agreement. While the goal of including forests in the global agreement was considered met with the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the report identifies significant barriers to the operationalization of REDD+ and a lack of quantifiable detail in many Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The Goal 9 assessment evaluates progress toward rewarding countries and jurisdictions that reduce forest emissions through public policies, results-based finance, and private-sector sourcing. As of 2020, nearly USD 4.7 billion in results-based finance has been committed since 2010, with disbursements increasing to over USD 260 million annually in recent years. The report also highlights the role of carbon markets, which have channeled USD 2.5 billion to forest projects over 20 years, and the emergence of domestic compliance schemes that allow forest carbon credits.

The FSD Africa Impact Report documents the organization's efforts since 2012 to reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa by strengthening financial markets. It details achievements in financial inclusion, capital market development, and institutional capacity building, while outlining a strategic shift toward 'FSD 2.0' to focus on jobs, basic services, and sustainable futures in response to challenges like Covid-19 and climate change.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines community-level approaches to preventing violent extremism in Uganda, focusing on the roles of community resilience and dialogue. It argues for a shift from specific counter-terrorism programmes to broader development and governance interventions that reduce vulnerability to radicalisation.

This research paper argues that addressing instability and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the wider Great Lakes region requires a strong regional political process and a shift in international approach toward non-democratic governments in the area.

This policy brief examines the implications of large-scale electric vehicle (EV) adoption for the mining sectors of Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states. It argues that while the region possesses vast reserves of EV-related minerals and metals (EVMM), it primarily exports raw materials. The author advocates for regional cooperation, the establishment of a public-private EVMM working group and coalition, and the adoption of a circular economy approach to ensure a just mining transition and the development of local value chains.

The briefing argues that addressing instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the wider Great Lakes region requires a regionally rooted political process that targets illegal resource exploitation and shifts international support toward sustainable democratic institutions rather than regime stability.

This policy brief examines the risk of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) claims against governments arising from national investment laws, particularly in the context of emergency COVID-19 measures. It highlights how domestic laws providing consent to international arbitration can expose states to costly claims and suggests mitigation strategies.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the risk of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) claims based on national investment laws, particularly in the context of government emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights how domestic laws can provide a legal basis for international arbitration, potentially bypassing national courts and exposing states to significant financial liabilities.