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This research paper examines the commercial tax evasion component of illicit financial flows (IFFs) in five African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Zambia, and Egypt. It clarifies the distinctions between transfer pricing, abusive transfer pricing, trade mispricing, and trade-based money laundering (TBML), while estimating the scale of these flows using IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS) and a developed TBML model. The authors highlight significant data anomalies in international trade databases and advocate for the implementation of the Unique Consignment Reference (UCR) to improve accuracy and curb illicit outflows.

This fact sheet by Friends of the Earth International advocates for a legally binding UN treaty to regulate transnational corporations (TNCs) and end their impunity regarding human rights, environmental, and labor violations. It highlights specific cases in Latin America, Africa, and Asia where corporate power and investment treaties have been used to bypass national laws or obstruct justice for affected communities.

This World Resources Institute working paper analyzes the alignment between the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted under the Paris Agreement and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. By mapping climate actions across 92 INDCs, the authors demonstrate that climate policies often generate mutual benefits for sustainable development, though these synergies are frequently unrecognized or uncoordinated at the national level due to institutional silos.

The August 2016 Peace & Security Council Report details the outcomes of the 27th AU Summit in Kigali, focusing on the deadlock in electing a new AU Commission chairperson, a historic agreement on AU self-financing, and the AU's strained relationship with the International Criminal Court (ICC). It also analyzes the security crises in South Sudan, Libya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies assesses the maritime security landscape in Togo as of August 2016. It details the country's progress in reducing piracy since 2012, the challenges facing its fisheries sector and port infrastructure, and the structural reforms implemented to coordinate state action at sea. The document also discusses the significance of the African Union's Extraordinary Summit on Maritime Security, Safety and Development scheduled to be hosted in Lomé.

The July 2016 Peace & Security Council Report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the 27th AU Summit in Kigali, the election of the African Union Commission (AUC) leadership, the limited powers of the AUC chairperson, and the Peace and Security Council's (PSC) engagement with various African conflicts, including the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and crises in Burundi and the DRC.

This policy briefing examines the challenges of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, highlighting the gap between the perceived prevalence of 'petro-piracy' and the actual data on maritime crime. The author argues that underreporting and a lack of specific legal frameworks hinder evidence-based policymaking and effective prosecution. The document identifies the October 2016 African Union summit in Lomé, Togo, as a critical opportunity to establish a legally binding charter to define maritime crimes and standardize reporting requirements.

A statement by Friends of the Earth International marking the 5th anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, arguing that these principles have failed to stop corporate impunity or provide access to justice, and advocating for a binding UN treaty on business and human rights.

This research paper examines the role of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in advancing South Africa's developmental agenda and its strategic focus on the African continent. It analyzes the alignment between South Africa's normative goal of African primacy and its actual resource allocation, noting that while budgets face restrictions, strategic investment in African missions remains a priority to support economic diplomacy and the National Development Plan.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the state of youth policy in Africa, drawing on African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Country Review Reports. It argues that while youth policies are becoming more common, they are often hindered by poor design, inadequate data, and weak state implementation capacity. The author emphasizes the need for evidence-based strategies and partnerships with non-state actors to effectively integrate young people into developmental agendas.

This policy brief describes the outcomes of two workshops held during the 2016 SIPRI Forum on Security and Development. The workshops used two contrasting climate scenarios—Radical Emissions Reduction (RER) and High-end Climate Change (HCC)—to analyze risks to security, development, and the implementation of four specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): food security (SDG 2), gender equality (SDG 5), clean energy (SDG 7), and inequality (SDG 10).

This research paper analyzes the state of constitutionalism and civil liberties across Africa by examining African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Country Review Reports for 12 countries. It categorizes these nations based on Freedom House rankings and identifies systemic challenges to freedom, including executive dominance and securitization.

This briefing note examines the gendered impacts of petroleum and kerosene subsidy reform in Nigeria. It argues that without targeted compensation, reform may disproportionately harm women by increasing living costs, increasing reliance on biomass fuels (which impacts respiratory health), and reducing economic opportunities. The authors recommend a 'precautionary principle' to design compensation policies that specifically benefit women and suggest using subsidy savings to improve clean energy access.

This document introduces a project by Financial Sector Deepening Africa and Creative Metier to improve financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa by enhancing leadership capacity through executive coaching. It notes that while the region's financial sector has grown rapidly, formal financial account ownership remained low at 34% as of 2014.

This case study describes a partnership between the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the telecommunications company MTN to develop a security and intelligence system for operations in volatile markets.

This guidance paper, published by FSD Africa in January 2016, details 'Stage 3' of the Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system. It focuses on 'Step 7: Developing a credible narrative,' providing a framework for Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) programmes to synthesize evidence, test their Theory of Change (ToC), and articulate their contribution to systemic financial sector changes and poverty reduction.

This guidance paper, the seventh chapter of a larger series by FSD Africa, outlines how Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) programmes can embed an Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system into their operations. It argues that traditional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in isolation cannot capture the complex interactions between evolving programmes and dynamic market contexts, necessitating a system that integrates results measurement into every stage of the programme cycle, from strategy development to independent evaluation.

This guidance paper, published by FSD Africa in January 2016, details the first stage of implementing an Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system for Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) programmes. It focuses on establishing a clear purpose through the development of evaluable Theories of Change (ToC) and the formulation of strategic impact measurement questions to track systemic change and poverty reduction.

This guidance paper, published by FSD Africa in January 2016, outlines a framework for Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) programmes to develop an Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system. It specifically focuses on Stage 2a of the IOM process: measuring what change has happened. The document provides a methodology for moving beyond traditional project-level monitoring toward capturing systemic market changes, combining bottom-up project data with top-down sector tracking to bridge the evidence gap between direct outputs and long-term financial inclusion outcomes.

This guidance paper, published by FSD Africa in January 2016, provides a framework for Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) programmes to assess why changes occur in the financial sector and the extent to which their interventions contributed to those changes. It focuses on Stage 2b of the Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system, detailing methods for assessing causality and establishing a research agenda to bridge knowledge gaps in financial sector development and poverty reduction.