Policy Papers

Many governments and companies are adopting net zero climate targets as they recognize the urgency of the climate crisis. Without clear definition, however, these targets risk being reliant on using vast swathes of land in low-income countries to capture carbon emissions, allowing the biggest emitters to avoid making significant cuts in their own emissions.

A year and a half since the Covid-19 pandemic began, deaths from hunger are outpacing the virus. The worst is still yet to come unless governments urgently tackle food insecurity and its root causes head on. We need action to create fairer, more resilient and sustainable ways of feeding the world.

On August 4, 2020, Lebanon was ravaged by a disastrous blast in Beirut’s port, resulting in over 200 deaths and 6500 injuries, and causing massive destruction. Oxfam conducted a research study aiming at understanding the impact of the series of crises on the livelihoods and wellbeing of queer individuals.

Given the tremendous financing needs, Oxfam supports a strong IDA20 replenishment. We are calling for a robust policy package that is appropriately ambitious for the next three years, aimed at propelling IDA countries forward towards a just economy after COVID-19 that is more equal and inclusive.

This report looks at what it is like to be a young person alone and seeking safety in Europe. It paints a difficult situation with many shortcomings but also some promising practices. The main finding is there is no legal framework or specific support schemes for unaccompanied minors entering adulthood. This leaves many young people to fall through the gaps.

Scientists have delivered multiple safe and effective vaccines, but pharmaceutical corporations and governments are still failing to make enough doses and facilitate their distribution everywhere. Vaccines could indeed get us back to our lives and our global economy going again, but only if they are accessible to everyone, everywhere, as soon as possible. 

Six years after the establishment of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism, people in Gaza continue to live on the brink of disaster as a result of 13 years of the Israeli blockade. The water, sanitation and health sector remains significantly damaged, with Gaza facing the complete collapse of its wastewater treatment system.

From 2013 to 2016, Oxfam's Behind the Brands campaign called on the world’s 10 biggest food and beverage companies to adopt stronger social and environmental sourcing policies. Now we assess whether the companies have taken meaningful steps to implement the commitments they made in response to the campaign. 

The worldwide Enough Campaign aims to challenge and change the social acceptance and prevalence of violence against women and girls and gender-based violence by addressing the social norms that justify and perpetuate abuse and gender inequality. Covering the first three years of the campaign, this report documents and assesses progress and results.

The coronavirus crisis has exposed our collective frailty and the inability of our deeply unequal economy to work for all. Yet it has also shown us the vital importance of government action to protect our health and livelihoods, and to create a more equal and sustainable world.