Abstract
The Global Social Policy (GSP) Digest was produced under the editorship of John Berten with support from Bielefeld University. It has been compiled by John Berten, Fabian Besche-Truthe, Julia Drubel, Veronika Knebusch, Sooahn Meier, Angelo Vito Panaro, Elena Samonova, Robin Schulze Waltrup, Milena Selivanov, Vicente Silva, Thales Speroni, and Fernanda Torres Villarrubia. Assistance in editing was provided by Jonas Leonhard. All websites referenced were accessible in November 2023. This edition of the Digest covers the period from June 2023 to September 2023.
Introduction
With the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) approaching, discussions around the unequal distribution of the escalating impacts of climate change abound, as highlighted by the various sections of this Digest. Vulnerable communities, often located in the Global South, bear the brunt of these consequences, despite bearing the least responsibility for its causes. 1 In principle, the loss and damage fund, expected to be launched at COP28, is supposed to work as a mechanism for addressing this injustice (see the section Environment and climate justice). It seeks to provide financial compensation to those nations and communities that have suffered irreversible losses and damages due to climate change, aiming to bridge the gap between the historical emitters of greenhouse gases and the communities that are now grappling with the consequences. This problem is compounded by the fact that poverty in the Global South, as current evidence indicates, is only slightly decreasing after the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic; thus, climate change aggravates already existing vulnerabilities (see the Redistribution section). It remains to be seen whether the loss and damage fund fulfills its ambitious goals. However, the ongoing debates concerning the establishment of such a fund, as well as the broader discussions regarding compensation and reparation payments for the disproportionate appropriation of the atmospheric commons by the Global North, show that addressing inequalities is a fundamental and inevitable element of actions against the climate crisis.
As the Migration section outlines, numbers of climate refugees from the Global South continue to grow, and legal protection for these refugees is limited. Even seemingly positive developments such as the increasing use of technology in education often go along with exacerbated inequalities—compounded by the fact that the raw materials produced for the hardware and its eventual disposal both take place predominantly in the Global South, leading to deteriorating health, working, and living conditions (see the Education section). But inequalities exacerbated or even created by the climate crisis do not only revolve around the North-South divide. As global protest movements such as Fridays for Future continue to point out, the climate crisis brings to light generational inequalities, signifying that older generations have lived at the expense of younger ones. While widely utilized as a powerful narrative for the need for action against the climate crisis, this generational imbalance has, however, not resulted in any legal recognition at the world-regional or global level—yet. As the Rights section of this Digest alludes to, this might change in the near future due to current legal proceedings at the European Court of Human Rights.
Within populations, lower-income groups are more heavily affected by climate change outcomes than wealthier ones, as transformation tends to be more costly for these groups and as they are more affected by many of its outcomes. For instance, the Regulation section indicates that workers are exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos fibers in building renovations made necessary by climate adaptation—but current regulation proposals seem insufficient to address this issue. It remains to be seen whether the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) new emphasis on ‘social justice’ under its new Director-General (see the Employment and work section) goes along with a ‘just transition’ framework that addresses the heightened risks of workers in countries more heavily affected by global warming, particularly those doing manual labor who are increasingly exposed to extreme heat that borders on being life-threatening. Finally, the climate crisis also exacerbates preexisting inequalities between men and women, as the latter are, for instance, subjected to gender-based violence (GBV) due to increased psychological and economic stress (see the Gender section).
While global discourses in social protection and health (see the associated sections) reflect this heightened attention to climate vulnerabilities and inequalities, the proposed measures often do not address the underlying issues—but only alleviate their consequences.
Global social policies
Redistribution
Recent data disclose a slow but uneven progress on global poverty reduction. The 2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), a measure of social deprivation and absolute poverty, jointly developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), reveals that the poverty level is now at 1.1 billion; this is a decline compared to the 1.2 billion poor people in 2022. Seventy-two of 81 countries experienced a significant reduction in multidimensional poverty during the last two decades. However, the incidence of poverty across countries and age groups, such as the proportion of people who live in multidimensional poverty, has widened, leading to higher levels of global inequality. Roughly 85% of poor people live in Sub-Saharan Africa (47.8%) and South Asia (34.9%), while the number of individuals living in poverty is considerably lower in Europe and Central Asia (0.2%), Latin America (3%), and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region (4.7%). Compared to the previous year, there has been an increase of 2% in the number of poor people living in the Global South. Even more worryingly, poverty has increased among the youngest. In 2023, 51% of individuals exposed to poverty and social deprivation are children; this constitutes an increase from 49% in 2022. Among these, the majority (306 million) live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Difficulties in access to high-quality health and education services remain a major concern for children living in poverty. 2
The intensity of poverty has also varied extensively across countries and groups, contributing to higher levels of global inequality. The average deprivation score among multidimensionally poor people has increased in low- and middle-income countries, while it has remained relatively stable in high-income countries. In 2023, 19 out of 22 countries with a deprivation score above 50% are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. 3 Moreover, of the 1.1 billion poor people, 485 million people (43.5%) are exposed to severe poverty, with a deprivation score ranging between 50% and 100%. 4 In short, this tells us that the proportion of poor people living in poor countries has increased, and material and social deprivation is nowadays more severe among the poorest. Together, these trends reveal that global inequality is on the rise.
In September 2023, the leaders of the G20 met in New Delhi and committed themselves to pursuing digital, ecological, and sustainable growth and promoting income, wealth, and gender equality. 5 The meeting has led to a discussion on how to tackle rising costs in commodity and energy prices. In fact, between July and September, there has been an increase in the sugar and cereal price indices, as shown by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index (FFPI). 6 The leaders agreed to incentivize new global value chains that would foster international trade, enhance the exchange of know-how between developed and developing countries, and increase foreign direct investments. Those measures are expected to increase the economic interrelationship among countries, thereby lowering trading costs and prices. In the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, the leaders underscore the importance of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) and of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) in reducing inequalities in low-income countries. They also reiterate their support to Africa through the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA). 7 The CwA is an initiative of the G20-Africa partnership, launched in 2017 and aimed at promoting private investment and industrialization in Africa. 8 However, as the Oxfam Inequality spokesperson, Max Lawson, points out, ‘By 2030, low and middle-income countries face a $27 trillion black hole to pay for climate-related loss and damages, measures to help adapt to climate impacts and to reduce emissions, along with their health, education and social protection needs. The G20 didn’t even pony up a fraction of this’. 9
Interestingly, in contrast with the G20 ambition to ‘tackle climate change by strengthening the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and its temperature goal’, 10 in July, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) revealed that the export of crude oil from OPEC countries increased by 8.8% in 2022, and both production and export levels are expected to rise in the next years due to growing oil and gas demand. 11
The meeting in New Delhi also re-ignited debates on the value of remittances as a sustainable path out of poverty for the poorest and most vulnerable groups in developing countries. As outlined by a World Bank Migration and Development Brief, remittance flows have grown in the last decade, but this growth is expected to decline in the near future. 12 Specifically, the 2023 Update to Leaders on progress toward the G20 Remittance Target shows that the flow of remittances from high-income to low- and middle-income countries increased by 8% in 2022 but declined to 1.4% in 2023. 13
Regulation
Wage growth lags behind productivity developments, the non-payment of wages remains a prevalent problem in the global economy, and dividends rise up to 13 times faster than pay. 14 While nominal wages picked up in 2021 and 2022, real wage growth has remained below inflation, which affects mainly low-income groups. At the same time, regulations of labor relations and business conduct are challenged by global unemployment and underemployment rates, rapid transformations (e.g., those arising from the climate crisis), increasing skill mismatches and skill shortages, as well as the complexities of global supply chains. Simultaneously, working poverty rates are increasing in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis with 214 million workers being affected by extreme poverty in 2022. 15
These multiple crises set the stage for the annual International Labour Conference (ILC). From 5 to 16 June 2023, the ILO held the ILC’s 111th session, during which governments’ and social partners’ representatives convened at the ILO in Geneva to establish the future policy directives of the ILO. Major issues under discussion were a just transition toward sustainable and inclusive economies, quality apprenticeships, and labor protection. In its second recurrent discussion on labor protection, the ILC considered a wide range of labor law developments worldwide. Minimum wage regulations have been increasingly adopted either as statutory law or negotiated as labor agreements by the social partners; however, they often still lack effective implementation. Regulations on the limitations of the use of temporary contracts have been introduced in a number of countries. 16 Nonetheless, workers are repeatedly employed temporarily or work in the informal sector. 17 Outsourcing labor is also still highly prevalent in global supply chains, carrying the risk of abusive labor relations. The ILC understands the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration), and international partnerships like the Global Alliance to Eradicate Forced Labour, Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and Child Labour (Alliance 8.7) as important instruments to promote decent work in global supply chains. 18
With a view to regulating labor relations worldwide and promoting decent work for all, the ILC adopted a new recommendation on quality apprenticeships. 19 The conference also adopted Convention 191 ‘Safe and Healthy Working Environment (Consequential Amendments)’. 20 This adoption was a consequence of a process initiated in the previous session of this conference (110th), in June 2022, when the ILO decided to incorporate ‘occupational health and safety’ into the organization’s framework of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. 21 In the post-pandemic context, the recognition of health and safety at work as a fundamental labor right implicated that countries would need to ratify key instruments and design national strategies to institutionalize and materialize this right in each country’s economy. 22 A year later, Convention 191 did not create a new standard as such but established that a long list of ILO Conventions should include the right to a safe working environment as a fundamental principle. Beyond the technicalities of this change, the main outcome is that the monitoring of instruments (e.g. the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006) will have a new focus on safety and health, which had not been included previously.
As part of the supervision of international labor standards, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) discussed 25 cases of non-compliant behavior. The individual cases covered discrimination, employment policies, forced labor, tripartite consultations, the Maritime Labour Convention, freedom of association and collective bargaining, minimum wage, labor inspections, and the worst forms of child labor. 23 A specific case regarding the supervision of international labor standards concerned Belarus. The continuing persecution and arbitrary arrests of union members led to a Commission of Inquiry (appointed under Art. 26 of the ILO Constitution) pertaining to the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) 24 and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98). 25 To secure compliance with the recommendations made, the governing body decided to initiate a procedure under Art. 33 of the ILO Constitution. 26 The proposed measures have been approved by the ILC and adopted in the form of a resolution. They include invitations to report, monitor, and re-evaluate established forms of cooperation with Belarus in the light of the report by the Commission of Inquiry, for example, with a special sitting of the CAS. 27 In the history of the ILO, the procedure under Art. 33 has been initiated only once before, namely in the case of Myanmar’s severe non-compliance with the prohibition of forced labor. 28
Considering a ‘just transition’ as ‘a common global purpose’, 29 the ILC focused on social dialogue as an important instrument to deal with challenges in times of transformation, like employment loss, decent work deficits, inequality, and sectoral or educational misalignments. 30 Therefore, promoting and implementing freedom of association and collective bargaining is a vital objective to realize decent work in contexts of ‘technological change and demographic shifts, displacement and migration, and persisting high levels of informality’. 31 The ILO is promoting just transition on the global agenda with a strong focus on labor as the hinge between social and ecological sustainability dimensions.
In contrast, the European Union’s (EU’s) international promotion of a just transition as part of its external relations still mainly focuses on climate and energy, neglecting overlaps with developmental policies and human rights. 32 A case in point is Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (European Union Deforestation Regulation, EUDR) adopted in June, despite its very specific relevance for the energy transition based on (non)woody biomass. The EUDR establishes a due diligence system to ensure that the consumption and production of six forest-risk commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya, and wood) are deforestation free. 33 Furthermore, legal initiatives are under way, for example, with a view to products produced through forced labor. 34 Nonetheless, in the EU’s external relations, questions of labor relations or an integrated socio-ecological perspective are either lacking or lagging behind.
However, regarding its regulation on workers’ protection, the EU is currently working toward improvements regarding the protection of workers from cancer-causing asbestos fibers. 35 In October, the EU Parliament approved the provisional agreement of the respective new directive, and the text will enter into force after the council’s approval. The initiative is embedded in the European Pillar of Social Rights (in particular, its principle 10 on the right to a healthy, safe, and well-adapted work environment). 36 Due to the envisioned renovation of buildings throughout Europe in the course of the European Green Deal, it is expected that an increasing number of workers will be exposed to asbestos; with already 4 to 7 million workers endangered by high levels of asbestos, this is an alarming development. Asbestos-caused cancer is the leading cause of workplace fatalities in the EU. Involved stakeholders, like the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), accordingly argue that the new regulation, implementing an exposure limit that is 50 times lower than the current one (2000 fibers/m2 vs 100,000 fibers/m2), comes too late to protect those who will renovate buildings as part of the European Green Deal. Unions, therefore, urge member states to implement these new exposure limits more quickly than agreed upon. 37
Regulations of labor relations and business conduct to protect workers and the environment, especially with a view to global supply chains and external trade relations, lack integration in view of the multiplicity of crises. They, further, suffer from difficult relationships from a North-South perspective, when the Global North impacts resource usage decisions in the producing regions in the Global South, for example, by regulating trade in forest-risk commodities (EUDR) without addressing pressing problems of overconsumption in the consuming regions. It remains to be seen how the global discourse on a just transition in view of the climate crisis further unfolds and whose ideas on global justice will come out on top.
Rights
Current developments in the field of human rights are marked by intense debates on climate change, global (in-)equality, sustainable development, and rights of marginalized groups and indigenous peoples. In September 2023, the European Court of Human Rights started an examination of a truly unique lawsuit. In the case Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and Others, six children from Portugal sued 27 members of the European Union along with the UK, Turkey, Norway, and Russia, arguing that their human rights are violated by the governments’ failures to mitigate climate change. In particular, the young people are of the opinion that governments of these countries fail to protect the right to life, the right to family, and the right to private life, and are unsuccessful in enforcing the prohibition of ill-treatment. 38 The claim was filed in 2020 and is now being examined by the Grand Jury of the European Court of Human Rights. Experts argue that this case can be a game changer as it translates climate change issues into the language of human rights violations. 39 If the court decides in favor of the young claimants, the states will be legally obliged to accelerate their climate change mitigation efforts.
The climate crisis was also discussed during the 53rd and the 54th sessions of the UN Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change reported that there was an increase in the number of people displaced due to climate change-induced disasters. At the same time, there are no special programs or treaties that would address the needs of this group. The Special Rapporteur argued that such displaced persons should be legally and procedurally distinguished from other refugees and called for the development of an optional protocol to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which would provide legal protection to climate refugees. 40
Another topic discussed in the Human Rights Council was the right to development. The necessity of the introduction of such a right has been debated for decades, and this July, an intergovernmental working group presented a draft of an international covenant on the right to development. This covenant, which will be legally binding if adopted, defines development as an inalienable right that ‘derives from the inherent dignity of all members of the human family’ 41 and calls for states to cooperate with each other to ensure its fulfillment and protection. The draft covenant addresses areas of international cooperation, such as a non-discriminatory multilateral trading system, an improvement of regulation of global financial markets, promoting transfer and dissemination of environmentally sound technologies, and the reduction of vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather events.
The right to development was also one of the topics of a report presented by the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women on a UN Human Rights Council session that took place on the 22nd of June. The report shows that the right to be free of poverty cannot be realized without eliminating GBV and ending the discrimination of women. The working group called for a new feminist rights-based approach to the economy that would draw attention to the responsibilities of states to address inequalities, support socio-economic and environmental justice, and allow for the meaningful participation of women and girls in conceptualizing, implementing, and monitoring socio-economic policies and strategies. 42
Similar topics were discussed by Mr. Obiora Chinedu Okafor, the Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity, who presented a revised draft of a new non-binding declaration on human rights and international solidarity. Such solidarity is understood as an ‘expression of unity by which peoples and individuals enjoy the benefits of a peaceful, just and equitable international order, secure their human rights and ensure sustainable development’. The draft declaration calls for states to cooperate with each other and with non-state actors and adopt legislative, administrative, budgetary, and other measures to implement this new right. 43
Despite these positive developments in the field of international human rights, the number of human rights violations against women, minorities, and other most vulnerable groups remains high. One of the topics of the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council was war crimes and violations against women’s rights. The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan expressed severe concerns about the increased violation of women’s rights in the country. 44 Other reports from such countries as Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, and Ethiopia also demonstrate a worrying trend, as the number of cases of sexual violence, mass killings of the civil population, and enforced disappearances is growing. Reports from Sudan show that hundreds of civilians have been killed, and over 5 million people have been displaced since the beginning of the conflict. 45 The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, submitted a report on the situation in Myanmar in which he addressed a serious deterioration of the human rights situation. According to him, there is an increase of atrocities by the Myanmar military against the civilian population, which includes airstrikes, mass killings, and burning of villages. The High Commissioner reported that, since the coup in February 2021, a minimum of 3.747 people have been killed by the military and its allies, while 23.747 have been arrested, and 19.377 are still being detained. 46
On the other hand, there is also some positive news in the field of the rights of indigenous peoples from Brazil. The Brazilian Supreme Court rejected the time restrictions on indigenous people’s claims to their ancestral land. This lawsuit was brought to Court by the state of Santa Catarina, which argued that indigenous peoples should not obtain land titles if they had not occupied the land on the adoption day of the current Brazilian Constitution, which is the 5th of October 1988. 47 The rejection of this argument by the Supreme Court is not only an important step toward the recognition of land rights of indigenous groups but also a significant positive development in the field of climate change, as demarcating indigenous territories is a barrier against deforestation in the Amazon. 48 Despite these successes, the problem of indigenous landownership has not been fully solved yet, as the Brazilian agribusiness lobby actively opposes it, and further actions of Congress, which tend to support this lobby, can follow. 49
International actors and social policy
Environment and climate justice
Climate debt, debt cancelation, and demands for compensation for loss and damage are receiving increasing attention in global policy circles.
A recent calculation by Fanning and Hickel, published in Nature Sustainability, suggests that countries, which exceed their carbon budgets, would need to pay compensation totaling US$192 trillion. This calculation is based on a scenario in which all countries achieve necessary net-zero emissions by 2050, and stay below 1.5°C of global warming. However, in that scenario, Global North countries still exceed their carbon budgets by three times based on their cumulative emissions. This means that countries in the Global South would need to sacrifice half of their fair share of carbon budgets, entitling them to compensation and reparation payments. 50
Cumulative emissions exceeding fair shares represent a form of appropriation of the atmospheric commons, often referred to as ‘climate debt’ or ‘climate colonialism’. 51 However, John Kerry, the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate in the United States (US), the country with the highest cumulative excess emissions, 52 declared that the US would ‘under no circumstances’ make reparation payments to developing countries. 53 COP28, which will take place in November and December in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will formalize the details of the loss and damage fund that was established during COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. 54
Furthermore, Oxfam has highlighted that the goal of developed countries to provide US$100 billion in climate finance annually from 2020 onwards to developing countries, agreed upon in 2009 during COP15, has not been met. Currently reported numbers stand at US$83.3 billion. However, Oxfam also criticizes this figure, stating that it is inflated due to generous accounting techniques and does not reflect the actual amount provided. According to Oxfam’s estimation, the genuine value of financial support specifically directed toward climate action is only in the range of US$21 billion to US$24.5 billion. In general, Oxfam criticizes the excessive reliance on loans, which only increases the debt burden of developing countries, as well as misleading accounting practices, and insufficient funding for adaptation. 55
The escalating debt burden is especially concerning since it presents evidence of a ‘debt fossil fuel trap’, as highlighted by a recent report from Debt Justice. This trap frequently obstructs the transition to clean energy and, in many cases, leads to developing countries becoming dependent on fossil fuel extraction while limiting their ability to implement environmental protection regulations. 56
Debt cancelation and the historical responsibility of Global North countries in driving climate change, while the Global South bears the brunt of its consequences, were also significant themes during the first-ever Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, resulting in the Nairobi Declaration. At this summit, African countries reminded the international community, and particularly the Global North, of the long-standing promise made 14 years ago at the Copenhagen conference to provide US$100 billion in annual climate finance. This commitment has yet to materialize, as discussed earlier. In addition, African countries are advocating for the establishment of a global carbon tax regime and are calling for debt relief initiatives across the continent. 57 The significance of debt and its role in hindering the transition to a low-carbon economy is further underscored by a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which was released during the Nairobi summit. According to the IEA, debt servicing costs in Africa are currently twice the amount of investment in clean energy across the continent. 58
In anticipation of the upcoming COP28 in the UAE, the United Nations has released its stocktaking report on the development of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the Paris Climate Agreement. The report emphasizes the need for significantly greater action to achieve the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Climate Agreement. According to the report, countries have to submit more ambitious NDCs, and global greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by 43% by 2030 and further by 60% by 2035, compared to 2019 levels, with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This also entails the imperative of reversing deforestation by 2030 and restoring natural ecosystems, as these have the capacity to absorb CO2 emissions. In addition, the report underscores the already discussed significance of increasing climate finance for developing countries. 59 Concerning the upcoming COP28, there is also growing skepticism regarding the increasing influence and presence of fossil fuel companies at COP28. For instance, Sultan al-Jaber will be leading the negotiations at COP28 in the UAE, while also serving as the head of the national oil company. Despite his rhetorical commitment to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels as part of COP28, major producers, including the UAE, have given approval to new drilling projects. 60
Gender
We are witnessing a fragile state of action for gender equality. The progress report on the gender-related sustainable development goals (SDGs) emphasizes that none of the indicators for SDG 5 are met. 61 According to the Global Gender Gap Report, the gender gap has closed by 0.3%. This is a small improvement, but no country has achieved full gender equality. The gap report assesses women participation and enjoyment of full rights across four areas: health (closed by 96%), education (closed by 95.2%), economic participation (closed by 60.1%), and political empowerment (closed by 22.1%). 62 The Social Institutions and Gender Index shows that almost half of women and girls reside in regions that are characterized by high or very high levels of discrimination in social institutions. While change is underway, intersectional action needs to be strengthened across the government, private, and civil society sectors. Discrimination remains highest within the family, where discriminatory social norms, practices, and laws lead to systemic and fundamental differences between women and men. Crises like COVID-19 or the climate crisis exacerbate challenges, while at the same time, they can be a chance to highlight the need to involve women in decision-making. 63
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and UN Women, the pandemic has not resulted in the adoption of policies promoting gender equality or environmental goals, as evidenced by the limited representation of women in decision-making roles and the insufficient response to GBV. 64 To improve responses to unexpected events, democratic resilience needs to be strengthened with resilience in public finance being key. 65 Within OECD countries and key partners, only 33% of recovery financing has been directed toward climate-friendly initiatives, with the majority of the 54 global measures addressing the gender-environmental nexus, primarily focusing on economic security, GBV, and unpaid care issues. 66 Integrating gender considerations into budget decision-making helped to reduce the gender gap in 23 of OECD countries in 2022. 67 Gender budgeting is increasingly implemented to strengthen inclusiveness, although most countries lag behind on accountability and impact assessments. 68 Only one quarter of OECD countries have comprehensive systems in place to track resources allocated to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Recommendations for governments include implementing policy frameworks, providing adequate resources for gender analysis in gender-responsive budgeting in public finance management systems, or improving transparency measures. 69 A newly published OECD toolkit aims to increase gender-responsiveness of public policy. Among others, it covers the areas of integrating gender considerations into various dimensions of public governance and supporting gender balance in all state institutions and structures at all levels. 70
Gender-responsive approaches to foreign policy accelerate progress for SDG 5. Recommendations include to analyze the impact of a feminist foreign policy in an intersectional manner and consider gender in all aspects of sustainable development. Climate and environmental policies should be included in the framework of a feminist foreign policy with broader efforts to improve gender equality and see girls and women as agents of change in climate action policies. 71 This is especially important since climate change has a tremendous effect on GBV. Climate change and extreme events can lead to a higher occurrence of GBV through increased psychological and economic stress factors. Especially people on the move are exposed to the absence of law enforcement and policing, reduced access to social and health services, and an exacerbation of underlying harmful social and gendered norms in emergencies. Recommendations to mitigate GBV in the context of climate change, especially in the Arab region, include to design, implement, and monitor climate-related policies and programs in a feminist and participatory way. 72
‘Women in leadership’ has been noted as a major area for the advancement of gender equality. As the UNDP’s Gender Social Norms Index clarifies: ‘When women become leaders, changes in social norms can go either toward greater acceptance of women’s leadership or toward a stronger backlash against women’. 73 This calls for creating decent working conditions, which includes tackling unpaid care and informal care as crucial means of addressing the gender pay gap. In OECD countries, as full-time working employees, women earn on average 88 cents to every dollar earned by a man. Access to accurate information is key to finding solutions to the gender pay gap; thus, identifying good reporting practices is necessary. This includes enforcement of reporting and regulation for gender-disaggregated pay statistics, including in small and medium enterprises. To facilitate the reporting, free and accessible tools must be provided to firms, and processes ought to be evaluated to identify good practices. 74
The state of domestic work demonstrates the need to invest in decent working conditions that take into account the unfair share of unpaid work borne by women as well as the precariousness of women-dominated sectors. A survey by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) highlights that the overshare of caregiving is borne by women and that both childcare and long-term care services are failing to meet carers’ needs. 75 Domestic work, dominated by informal work, is overall invisible in regulatory policymaking. Yet, globally, domestic workers make up for 4.5% of the total workforce, and 76.2% of domestic workers are women. Action in this area—by analyzing the gaps in labor and social security law, the drivers of informal employment, and the establishment, in collaboration with workers, of policy measures with monitoring mechanisms—would elevate gender equality among those most likely to be left behind otherwise. 76
Gender-based biases are prevalent across the globe, across all cultures and income levels among men and women. The Gender Social Norms Index shows that almost 90% of people have at least one bias against women. Almost half of the world’s population believes that men are better political leaders than women. Biases hinder women’s economic empowerment with income gaps being correlated more strongly with measures of gender social norms than with gaps in education. Ways to tackle these biases include policy interventions and institutional reforms as well as addressing biased gender social norms. 77 Gendered disinformation reinforces biases, prejudices, and structural as well as systemic barriers to gender equality. More than that, it is a strategy to silence women and gender-nonconforming persons, while portraying them as weak, incompetent, and not able to lead. There are significant knowledge and policy gaps. A ‘“gendered response” to online threats’ is needed that tackles the root causes of gendered disinformation and GBV. 78
In August, the president of the Spanish football federation sparked up a conversation about sexism in sports by kissing a female player after her team had won the FIFA World Cup final. 79 The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UN Women offer practical tools and propose areas for collaboration between policy makers and sports practitioners to address violence against girls and women in this highly masculine world. The lack of transparency and a profit orientation of the sector are considered drivers of GBV. 80 Men and masculinities also dominate humanitarian settings and policies, which has led to discussions largely oriented around issues of sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse. UN Women calls for examining and addressing the broader role of masculinities in humanitarian settings, going beyond heteronormativity and addressing harmful gender norms and gender inequalities. 81
More than 40 years ago, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted. A revised handbook provides guidance to parliamentarians to achieve a gender-sensitive parliament and promote, fulfill, and protect the human rights of girls and women as stated by the CEDAW Convention. 82 Meanwhile the adoption of an intersectional approach highlights specific issues. The Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls investigated how GBV, nationality laws, and statelessness hang together. 83 The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Asia and the Pacific Regional Office emphasize that it is crucial to recognize GBV experiences of women and girls with disabilities in GBV programming. While making up 18% of the female population globally, they are at a 1.5 times higher risk of experiencing violence and are two to four times more likely to experience intimate partner violence. 84 UN Women published eleven recommendations to address child marriage—a form of GBV—in a holistic and integrated manner. The organization includes evidence to showcase the consequences of child marriage, to reform and enact laws that end this practice, and build public support for a global minimum age of marriage of 18 years. 85
Regarding discrimination against LGBT communities, UN Special Rapporteurs issued a statement for the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia. They urged states to address stigmatization against LGBT individuals, while emphasizing the necessity of an intersectional approach to understanding structural inequalities that lead to violence and discrimination. 86 Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) has persistently voiced concerns over the plight of those who fight for the human rights of women and marginalized groups. The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders addressed the challenges that female human rights defenders face in conflict zones, post-conflict areas, and crisis situations. 87
It is worth highlighting some trends on the gender backlash that must be monitored and acted upon. A global trend is observed in the failure to prioritize SDG 5, as seen in the lack of data (44% of the data required to track the goal is missing) and in unequal access to sexual and reproductive health, unequal political representation, economic disparities, and a lack of legal protection. 88 Following a visit to Afghanistan, the Special Rapporteur of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) notes that this country is showcasing the most systematic, widespread, and all-encompassing attack on women’s and girls’ rights worldwide. States are called to counter the regulations and policy measures restricting women’s empowerment and freedom. In addition, the Special Rapporteur proposes widespread international legal condemnation and supports the limited activities of civil society organizations promoting gender equality in the country with long-term flexible funding. 89 This extreme case demonstrates that current trends show both strong action toward and against gender equality. International and governmental actors are urged to take more clear and decisive action to ensure the fulfillment of women’s rights.
Migration
In the last months, various international organizations highlighted the growing vulnerabilities faced by migrant communities. Vulnerabilities can be attributed to multiple factors, including legislative changes, armed conflicts, and the climate crisis. These elements disproportionately impair the human rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers—particularly women, children, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) voiced their concerns over how asylum seekers at international borders were treated. The agency analyzed the proposed amendment to Latvia’s State Borders Law, aimed at empowering the Cabinet of Ministers to swiftly enact a specialized regime in excessive illegal border crossings or attempts. The amendment also strengthens border surveillance and restricts movement, granting border guards greater authority to deter crossings. These changes critically compromise the rights of individuals seeking asylum and the principle of non-refoulement. 90 UNHCR also critically examined the US Department of Justice’s final rule, titled ‘Circumvention of Lawful Pathways’, alongside its proposed maritime applicability. The agency warned that the proposed changes could severely curtail asylum seekers’ ability to gain territorial access and protection upon sea arrival. 91 Similarly, OHCHR, in collaboration with UNHCR, raised alarms about the United Kingdom’s Illegal Immigration Bill. 92 The legislation significantly undermines human rights and the refugee protection system by denying asylum access to those arriving irregularly—even if they have transited through countries where they faced no persecution. Such individuals are barred from applying for refugee status or any human rights–based claim, irrespective of the urgency of their situation.
During the period covered by this report, key UN bodies expressed grave concerns over the surge in armed political violence, particularly in African nations, which is further compounded by the impact of climate change. Regarding Sudan, the UN Secretary-General emphasized the need to respect the principle of non-refoulement in asylum cases and called on all nations, especially neighboring ones, to admit asylum seekers without discrimination. 93 Concerning the Western Sahara, the UN Secretary-General called for a just and enduring political solution that enables the self-determination of its people. 94 Various UN committees examine this matter as part of a broader decolonization discussion. From a humanitarian angle on Palestine, a report outlined the severe challenges facing Palestinians—prolonged conflict, economic stagnation, trade limitations, and restricted resource access have all led to significant food insecurity, notably among pregnant women and children. The cumulative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukrainian conflict, and other stressors has weakened Palestinians’ purchasing power and disrupted access to necessities—a situation that will have uncertain ramifications in light of the current Israeli military actions. 95
The repercussions of the armed conflict in Ukraine, in terms of the rising number of refugees, the continual influx of migrants arriving in Europe, and the launch of the Azerbaijani offensive in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, have posed a series of unprecedented challenges. One of these challenges is clearly manifested in the realm of economic development, as detailed in the World Bank’s World Development Report on Migrants, Refugees, and Societies for the year 2023. In this context, host countries are urged to consider the adoption of entry policies, the establishment of both permanent and temporary migration pathways, the formulation of integration plans, and the review of their national social protection schemes. These measures would significantly enhance the capacity of countries to address substantial migratory flows, promote social inclusion, and foster improved economic and social outcomes. 96
Concerning non-discrimination, a panel of independent experts submitted a report to the UNGA evaluating the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Program. 97 The experts cited inadequate political will and limited resources at multiple governance levels as persistent barriers to equal participation, two decades after the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. In the same line, the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued the first draft of General Recommendation No. 37, focused on racial discrimination in health rights. 98 Simultaneously, OHCHR is developing a guide to clarify anti-discrimination standards, international treaties, and minority rights protections, including those of migrants and refugees. 99
As mentioned in the Rights section of this Digest, a report from the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change attended to legal protection gaps for climate refugees and recommended an optional protocol to the Refugee Convention to safeguard human rights of displaced people. 100 In another report, OHCHR highlighted the heightened risks for agricultural and forestry workers that arise due to changing weather patterns and global warming, which endangers livelihoods and compromises human rights. 101
On the protection of children, a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) emphasizes the relevance of accelerating the inclusion of refugee children in host nations to enhance the protection of their rights. 102 The Special Rapporteur on the Sale, Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Children presented a thematic study on child abuse in the travel and tourism sector, offering a nuanced analysis of the problematic trend of ‘voluntourism’. 103 Also, IOM unveiled a map highlighting protection measures for migrants with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics. 104
Employment and work
During the period under consideration, several significant developments shaped the landscape of global labor policy. First, the 111th Session of the ILC set forth a comprehensive policy agenda that would guide the ILO’s initiatives for the years ahead. In addition to this, another relevant event unfolded in the form of two influential publications on the influence of AI on the job market, in response to the advancing wave of automation and technological transformation.
Apart from adopting new labor standards (see the ‘Regulation’ section), the 111th session of the ILC saw the launch of the new ILO flagship initiative ‘A Global Coalition for Social Justice’. This program is expected to become the signature initiative of new ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo’s mandate for the next decade, after taking over this position from Guy Ryder (2012–2022). The renewed interest for social justice at the ILO was presented to the organization’s Governing Body in October 2022. On that occasion, Director-General Houngbo outlined the main focus of the initiative: In the post-pandemic context, the ILO’s main aim is to reduce poverty and inequality, which is on the rise due to the impact of COVID-19. 105 In general, the response from ILO partners (governments, employers, and workers) was positive: ‘constituents generally welcomed the Coalition as a means to promote the ILO’s agenda and values, strengthen policy coherence, and promote collaboration on social justice within the multilateral system and with other stakeholders’. Some details had to be discussed in the following year’s ILC (June 2023), especially in relation to the Coalition’s place in the ILO’s programming and budgeting for the next biennium (2024–2025). 106
In each ILC, the Director-General delivers a report that will inform the discussion and set the agenda for decision-making. In the June 2023 Conference, the Director-General’s report ‘Advancing social justice’ introduced the conceptual background of the initiative, as well as its implications in terms of global social and labor policy. The report reiterates that the ILO is the dedicated agency in the international community for the advancement of social justice, as established by the 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia, and expressed in four dimensions. The ILO’s new framework holds that social justice can be achieved through the expansion of universal human rights and capabilities, equal access to opportunities, managing just transitions, and establishing mechanisms that ensure a fair distribution of outcomes in society and in the global economy. 107
In a context of persistent injustices, the ILO has now proposed to focus on mobilizing labor policy strategies—enhancing the governance of work, the creation of decent jobs, and revitalizing labor market institutions—for social justice. Therefore, similar to the Social Protection Initiative in the 2010s, in this decade, the Global Coalition will aim to create synergies between international financial institutions and a range of stakeholders, first through advocacy and instances of dialogue, and second through knowledge-creation initiatives, such as flagship publications on the state of social justice on a global scale. The way in which these aims are operationalized will remain to be seen in the next year.
Another relevant event, perhaps less resonant, was the publication of the OECD Employment Outlook in July 2023. This version of the report focuses on AI and the job market, reinforcing the commitment the OECD has demonstrated in relation to debates on the future of work in recent years. The main argument of the outlook is that AI has not yet impacted job quantity—the demand for work—but it has increasingly become influential in terms of job quality. While empirical studies show that AI has been utilized to perform tedious or even threatening tasks in different occupations, it has also become more common for management purposes in OECD countries, posing new risks for workers in terms of autonomy and privacy. The OECD supports revitalizing collective bargaining and social dialogue to avoid conflict at work and reduce individual risks, as well as implementing AI principles and legislation to limit the use in organizational settings. 108 In a similar line, ILO researchers published a study in August 2023 about the labor impact of ‘generative AI’ (GenAI)—for example, chatbots and content-creation tools. This global analysis proposes that clerical work in the service economy—predominant in many high- and middle-income countries—will be augmented by generative AI, improving productivity instead of automating occupations. 109
Social protection
Social protection discourse continues to revolve around the topic of how to respond to crises, as outlined in recent issues of the Digest. While many of the documents published and events having taken place during the summer months of 2023 discuss the role of social protection in adapting to climate change and mitigating the consequences of ecological disasters, the persistence of economic, humanitarian, or security crises equally demands for a social protection response. Thus, many debates now revolve around social protection as a general measure against crises. Debates can be differentiated into two main strands: First, actors discuss the use of information and data as means of anticipating disasters or emergencies in social protection policymaking. Second, there has been a debate around the bolstering of resilience of individuals, households, and societies to mitigate the impact of crises.
The Climate Centre, part of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, has published a brief in which it argues for the need to foster more coherence between social protection and climate policies due to the connectedness of ecological challenges and persisting social problems. In line with the newly developing academic field of eco-social policymaking, the brief posits that social and ecological policies can and should be thought of as mutually beneficial. In particular, the brief recommends climate-sensitive targeting and coverage. This can be realized through new means of identification, relying on early warning signals of environmental crises and disasters. Funding of social protection schemes can also be guaranteed by embedding them in broader ecological frameworks of climate change adaptation and mitigation. 110
Interestingly, two of the main publications, which develop new knowledge on how to act in advance of disasters and emergencies gathering momentum, come from actors traditionally concerned with food security.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has published a brief on its current state of evidence concerning the integration of ‘remote sensing data such as satellite imagery’, or other data on climate developments, into social protection policymaking. According to the organization, these data can provide real-time information for targeting those groups and regions that can be considered most vulnerable. Through its Platform for Real-time Impact and Situation Monitoring (PRISM), which exists since 2016 and is already being used by several governments in the Global South, WFP provides an early warning instrument to detect potential climate emergencies before they fully unfold. 111
In a new report, FAO engages in mapping the options available to governments worldwide of how to integrate such ‘anticipatory action’ into social protection policymaking—in other words, how to act using social protection before climate shocks occur. Connecting targeting and distribution of cash transfers to forecasts, early warning systems, and other information on emerging risks, it is hoped, would ensure quick adaptability of those affected and their rapid recovery by strengthening the resilience of vulnerable groups. The report closes by summarizing practical experiences of such ‘shock-responsive social protection’ in Dominica, Guatemala, Nepal, and the Philippines. 112
On the topic of strengthening resilience through social protection systems, the World Bank contributed to the discussion by taking a closer look at the Central American Region and its experiences with shock-responsive social protection. Pushed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and now increasingly being discussed as a general crisis response measure, ‘shock-responsive’ or ‘adaptive’ social protection could dramatically shift the landscape of social protection. 113 The World Bank has also published a policy note on how social protection can shield individuals from shocks that endanger children’s later human capital outcomes. The note collects evidence on the relationship of cash transfers to nutritional outcomes, of conditional cash transfers to educational outcomes, and of contributory social protection to the protection of asset loss, arguing for the essential need of carefully contextualized design and implementation of social protection programs so that they can fulfill these functions of strengthening resilience effectively. 114
On a similar note, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) discusses so-called ‘cash-plus’ programs in the contexts of conflict, displacement, and climate shocks, which gain more and more popularity in these settings. Such programs provide cash transfers in addition to strengthening human capital, by offering various services such as skills training. As the article shows, cash-plus is thus part of the larger set of policies fostering resilience. Reviewing 97 programs in 16 countries, the authors find that cash-plus needs to tackle the (often structural) drivers of vulnerability, instead of simply addressing individual or household shortcomings, to become a better crisis response mechanism. While the article aims to contribute to evidence creation on these types of transfers, it, at the same time, acknowledges the need to do more research, since their effectiveness and sustainability are not yet sufficiently explored. 115
In an international symposium on ‘Improving synergies between social protection and public finance management’, the ILO, EU actors, UNICEF, and the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) demonstrate different ways of ensuring the sustainable design and financing of social protection schemes. The program, funded by the EU, began in October 2019 and ended in September 2023. Again, ‘resilience to shocks’ is one of the areas of concern, showing that using social protection as a crisis response—but also ensuring that social protection systems themselves are sufficiently safeguarded against these shocks—remains high on the global agenda. 116
While many events and publications thus revolved around crisis anticipation and resilience, another strand of global discourse on social protection addressed the impact of crises on the state of equality in the world.
As reported in previous sections, the ILO’s Director-General has announced the creation of a new ‘Global Coalition for Social Justice’, which aims at marrying ecological, economic, and social objectives, including social protection. 117 Thus, the ecological crisis and its social repercussions were also a key topic of this year’s ILC. The theme of ensuring social justice under conditions of environmental change continued into the ‘World of Work Summit’ (for both, see also the Employment and work section), which saw discussions on ‘social protection for just transitions’, among others. 118 Apart from eco-social issues, labor protection was also discussed, which, again, includes social protection in the form of employment-related schemes. 119
To tackle rising inequalities, a recurrent topic of discussion has been how to extend social protection to platform and gig workers who are notoriously not adequately covered by social protection schemes. The participants at the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ meeting on 21 July in India formulated a set of social protection policy priorities, including employment protection, safety, and health. However, the respective document does not go into too much detail on the actual implementation of this strategy.120,121 Another contribution to this topic comes from the World Bank, which published a report on online platform work. While the report does list a number of positive characteristics associated with this type of work, it does not shy away from criticizing the fact that worker protection in the field is limited—something, however, that gig workers share with large parts of the informal economy. Expanding social protection should, according to the report, be a key policy priority. 122
Similarly on inequalities but on a more global level, the UNDP, in a new Global Policy Network Brief, discusses the detrimental effects on world poverty resulting from crippling debt payments of low-income countries. The brief argues that pausing debt payments would permit these countries to spend the available resources on social protection for poverty reduction instead. The argument is underpinned by a simulation that calculates the poverty reduction effect of using freed-up resources for funding social protection schemes. According to the organization, ‘the total public external debt service is twice the amount required to eradicate poverty at $2.15 a day, and little more than 40 percent of the resources needed to eradicate poverty at $3.65 a day’, 123 delivering another powerful argument for rethinking the current debt regime.
Health
The COVID-19 pandemic was a striking reminder of the value of a resilient health system, which is crucial to provide essential health services to people in need. Since the world is undergoing multiple crises today, including climate change and armed conflicts that rapidly raise health-related needs, it is high time to leverage global efforts to build more resilient health systems. Reflecting the urgency of strengthening health systems, the UNGA’s 78th Session (20-23 September) and the G20 Health Ministers’ Communiqué (19 August) discussed three common agendas: Delivering Universal Health Coverage (UHC), enhancing practices of prevention and preparedness in health emergencies, and applying a comprehensive approach to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The current progress toward achieving UHC (SDG target 3.8) has, however, significantly stagnated and thus requires more intensive global commitment, including improving the use of digital health and integrating vulnerable groups’ perspectives.124, 125 The UNGA asserted that accelerating the speed of providing UHC to all is urgently needed, as the target is unlikely to be met with the current level of progress. This concern is based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) and World Bank’s warning in their global monitoring report that about 4.5 billion people were not covered by essential health services as of 2021 and that the increase in coverage rates has slowed since 2015. 126 Consequently, the UNGA set the goal to cover 1 billion additional people by 2025, with a view to covering all people by 2030. 127 As one of the global actions to achieve this goal, the G20 Health Ministers underlined the importance of digital health and health data modernization to facilitate the accessibility and equity of health services. 128 Along this line, the G20 Presidency and the WHO announced a new Global Initiative on Digital Health, which is expected to help advance national digital health transformation by providing technical assistance. 129 Also, both the UNGA and the G20 Communiqué stressed incorporating the voices of vulnerable groups into health systems and policies. This includes those living in small island developing countries, who suffer under the adverse impacts of climate change, and those left marginalized, including forced migrants and people with disabilities.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need to improve systems of prevention and preparedness in health emergencies.130, 131 The G20 Communiqué pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated inequities within and among countries and regions, particularly in access and distribution of vaccines. Similarly, while describing the pandemic as one of the greatest global challenges throughout the UN’s history, the UNGA urged for more equitable and timely access to medical countermeasures to public health emergencies, including vaccines, diagnostics, and other health products by, for instance, removing trade barriers, strengthening global supply chains, and diversifying manufacturing capacities across regions. As an effective investment is required to build capacity for prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR), especially in low- and middle-income countries, both UNGA and the G20 Health Ministers welcomed the Pandemic Fund’s first round of grants totaling US$338 million. In mid-July alone, over 75% of the grants were allocated for projects in low- and lower-middle-income countries. 132
Moreover, for building capacity for PPR, the UNGA and the G20 Communiqué endorsed a multisectoral collaboration by applying the One Health approach, which adheres to a coordinated and comprehensive management of animals, humans, and the environment. The One Health approach was highlighted especially because of the rising cases of zoonotic spillovers, consequently (re)emerging diseases, and aggravating effects of AMR during health emergencies. WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), FAO, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which signed a quadripartite agreement in 2022 to increase their collaboration through their Joint Plan of Action 2022–2026, also contributed to the discussion on the One Health approach and AMR. The document suggested five issue areas as research priorities, which include surveillance of AMR and socio-economic policies concerning AMR. 133 In addition, the OECD recently published a study recommending a more active policy approach against AMR by applying the One Health framework. This includes strengthening surveillance systems and scaling up research and development of new antibiotics. In this study, the OECD claims that the AMR pandemic is already ongoing, with one in five infections in OECD countries being resistant to antibiotic treatment. 134
Patient safety pertains to another important global health agenda between June and September 2023. A recent working article by the OECD emphasizes that the perspectives of patients, families, care providers, and communities contribute to making health systems safer and more people-centered, while pointing out that the COVID-19 pandemic frequently led to sacrifices of patient representation in health policy decision-making processes in favor of rapid responses. In the article, the OECD presents surveys conducted in 21 countries, which indicate that one in six patients reported safety incidents, and safety events tend not to be reported. Hence, the OECD recommends that countries should institutionalize patient engagement and, simultaneously, foster a patient safety culture to encourage more proactive communication and improve the quality of care in turn. 135 Likewise, in commemoration of World Patient Safety Day on 17 September, the WHO held a global conference, where it endorsed creating patient advisory councils as a communication mechanism and patient advocacy groups as a platform for collective action. 136
Education
On July 26, the 2023 version of the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report titled ‘Technology in education: A tool on whose terms?’ was launched. The report comes at a time when technological development vastly outpaces policymakers, educators, and educated alike. Yet, only half of countries globally work with some sort of defined digital skills standards; in most cases, this definition is done by non-state actors. Even in the richest countries, secondary school students barely use digital services for a prolonged time. One reason is that teachers often feel unprepared and lack confidence to teach with technology. In general, there is little robust evidence on technology’s added value in education. In fact, most evidence is funded and promoted by those companies trying to sell their products. What is known, according to the GEM report, is that digital technology should focus on the outcomes and not just the digital inputs. Producing learning videos might vastly outperform the sheer distribution of laptops. Hence, technology offers an ‘education lifeline’, for instance, for learners with disabilities. Distance learning helped a huge number of students during the COVID-19 pandemic to receive education. Thus, distance learning tools will probably play a major role in education delivery in countries affected by the climate crisis. 137 Insights from a study carried out after parts of Pakistan suffered from a huge flood in 2022 suggest that, while educational technology is hardly the most pressing issue in times of crises, it can still help affected communities from falling behind in education. Among other key factors, it is important to not roll out new technology ad hoc but to draw on the technology that already exists and is well-tested. This includes, for instance, WhatsApp, SMS, or other social media to share resources on pedagogy. 138 As an intermediate response, other available low-threshold technologies like radio and TV could be utilized to resume some sort of in-person teaching.
The SDG 4 Mid-Term Progress Review, published with the GEM, shows that the global out-of-school population decreased by 9 million since 2015. However, in Sub-Saharan Africa, it increased by 12 million. While there have been slight improvements in other targets, for instance, in completion rates, the globe is not on pace to reach its goals until 2030. One deterring factor is that the proportion of lower-income countries either in or at a high risk of debt distress rose from 27% to 58%. Aid to education, from 2015 to 2021, increased from US$13.7 billion to US$17.8 billion but, crucially, decreased by 7% from 2020 to 2021. In times where most lower-income countries would have needed additional financial room to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of aid allocated to education in aid budgets reached its lowest point since 2015, with only 9.8% dedicated to the sector in 2021. 139
Concerning target 4.7 on education for sustainable development, UNESCO is still struggling to find adequate indicators to measure progress. The aim is to introduce an indicator on prioritization and integration of green content in national curricular frameworks, and in the syllabuses of selected science and social science subjects, to measure the extent to which sustainability, climate change, and environmental themes are covered in primary and secondary education. The first full results are to be expected only in 2024. 140 Nonetheless, preliminary data show that countries have made great strides in mainstreaming climate change in the curricula at all levels of education through laws, policies, and education plans. 141 ‘However, only 39% of analyzed countries have a national law, policy, or strategy specifically focused on climate change education’. 142
Digitalization of education delivery concerns the global education world in ever greater intensity. In July, the OECD published a report on how governments can shape digital education to ensure its quality, equity, and efficiency. The report summarizes what has already been said in discussions on the digital transformation of education: It highlights how a holistic strategy starting from comprehensive financing to capacity building aids in ensuring that digital technologies are used to promote quality and equity. 143
UNESCO strikes a different tone. The organization examines the numerous adverse and unintended consequences of the widespread and rushed introduction of technology in education under the title ‘An Ed-tech Tragedy?’. This publication goes beyond describing how Ed-Tech increased existing inequalities. Rather, it offers more in-depth analysis into other ramifications. Among them is that learners being exposed to digital delivery of education were much less engaged and, in some cases, dropped out altogether. Education itself was narrowed and impoverished by being stripped of its ability for socialization, and technology stifled pedagogical possibilities. Another, under-researched aspect is the environmental toll that the boom of Ed-tech had. Rising energy needs for running technologies can, if not covered by renewables, lead to rising CO2 emissions. Crucially, the production of Ed-tech hardware adds substantially to the increase in energy consumption. Also, what is ‘Ed-tech for some, means mines and landfills for others’. UNESCO alludes here to the fact that most Ed-tech is predominantly consumed in the Global North, while the production of raw materials and the disposal of worn-out hardware are mostly done in the Global South, endangering human health and contributing to global inequalities. 144
In September, as a response to rapid developments in artificial intelligence, UNESCO published the first-ever global Guidance on Generative AI in Education and Research. The absence of national regulations on generative AI in most countries leaves educational institutions largely unprepared to deal with these tools properly. Based on a humanistic vision, the guidance proposes to mandate the protection of data privacy and to set an age limit for conversations with generative AI platforms. 145
A new joint report by the World Bank, UNESCO, and the ILO offers guidance to policymakers in low- and middle-income countries on how to design better formal technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems. Advances in students’ attendance and completion rates of lower educational levels can cause an exponential increase in the number of TVET students in the future. Authors from the three organizations see significant risks attached to expanding the systems as they are right now. ‘Because of a broken link between TVET systems and labor markets in low- and middle-income countries (. . .), TVET cannot deliver on its promise’. Trends associated with globalization, technological progress, demographic transformation, and the climate crisis will affect both skills demand and the distribution of economic opportunities, and thus probably exacerbate the need for an efficient vocational education system. However, to achieve that, TVET’s reputation as a second-tier education needs to be overcome. 146
Finally, an OECD publication from July asks the question ‘Who Really Cares about Using Education Research in Policy and Practice?’. The publication is intended to provide analyses on how systemic and organizational capacities for thoughtful engagement with research can be built into policy and practice. Indeed, the OECD’s data suggest that some systems lack a broader political will to use and consistently fund research. Hence, the OECD urges policymakers to build a culture of research engagement. 147