Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)
The Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate relating to driven grouse shooting.
John Lamont MP has been asked by the Committee to open the debate. The Government will send a Minister to respond.
Read the petition:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700036
Find petitions you agree with, and sign them: https://petition.parliament.uk/
What are petition debates?
Petition debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions, and put their concerns to Government Ministers.
Petition debates don’t end with a vote to implement the request of a petition. This means that MPs will not vote on the issues raised in the petition at the end of the debate.
The Petitions Committee can only schedule debates on petitions to parliament started on petition.parliament.uk
Find out more about how petition debates work: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/content/194347/how-petitions-debates-work/
Stay up-to-date
Follow the Committee on Twitter for real-time updates on its work: https://www.twitter.com/hocpetitions
In Gaza, UNDSS enables safe movement for UN and NGO personnel through high-risk areas. This video captures a recent NGO convoy to North Gaza, showcasing the coordination and security behind every mission.
Women have made remarkable strides in political representation in the past decade, making up 35.5% of local government officials, 33% of parliamentarians, 24.4% of ministers and 15.5% of heads of state. Yet political power remains out of reach for a disproportionate number of women.
How can this persistent gap be tackled?
This is the full audio from a panel discussion from the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting on 22 January, 2025.
Watch it here: https://www.weforum.org/meetings/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2025/sessions/towards-parity-in-power/
Read the Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2025/
Speakers:
Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief, The National
Catherine De Bolle, Executive Director, Europol
François Valérian, Chair, Transparency International
Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico
Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts (http://wef.ch/podcasts) :
The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development takes place in Sevilla, Spain, from 30 June until 3 July 2025. It address urgent financing challenges threatening the success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In her opening speech of the conference, European Commission President von der Leyen stresses the crucial role of the European Union as the leading aid donor in the world.
Read her full speech here: https://europa.eu/!4TkyQq
Watch on the Audiovisual Portal of the European Commission:
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Today at 11:30 CET, we will announce the results of our strategy assessment.
At 13:00 CET / 12:00 noon Lisbon time, President Christine Lagarde and Chief Economist Philip R. Lane will answer questions from journalists in a press conference.
Opening remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the Opening of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development FFD4 (Sevilla, Spain).
"Your Majesties,
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
I thank the Government and people of Spain for welcoming us to Sevilla for this important conference.
For decades, the mission of sustainable development has united countries large and small, developed and developing.
Together, we achieved progress.
Reducing global poverty and hunger.
Saving lives with stronger health care systems.
Getting more children into school.
Expanding opportunities for women and girls.
And strengthening social safety nets.
But today, development and its great enabler — international cooperation — are facing massive headwinds.
We are living in a world where trust is fraying and multilateralism is strained.
A world with a slowing economy, rising trade tensions, and decimated aid budgets.
A world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts.
The link between peace and development is clear.
Nine of the ten countries with the lowest Human Development Indicators are currently in a state of conflict.
Excellencies,
Financing is the engine of development.
And right now, this engine is sputtering.
As we meet, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — our global promise to transform our world for a better, fairer future — is in danger.
Two-thirds of the Sustainable Development Goals targets are lagging.
Achieving them requires an investment of more than $4 trillion a year.
But this is not just a crisis of numbers.
It’s a crisis of people.
Of families going hungry.
Of children going unvaccinated.
Of girls forced to drop out of school.
We are here in Sevilla to change course.
To repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment at the scale and speed required.
And to restore a measure of fairness and justice for all.
Excellencies,
The Sevilla Commitment document is a global promise to fix how the world supports countries as they climb the development ladder.
I see three areas of action.
First — we must get resources flowing. Fast.
Countries must lead by mobilizing domestic resources and investing in areas of greatest impact: schools, health care, social protection, decent work, and renewable energy.
Unlocking these investments requires strengthening tax systems, and tackling illicit financial flows and tax evasion.
And helping developing countries dedicate a greater share of their tax revenues to the systems people need.
The Sevilla Commitment’s call on developed countries to double their aid dedicated to domestic resource mobilization can support this.
Multilateral and national development banks must unite to finance major investments.
This includes tripling the lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks — and rechanneling Special Drawing Rights that can unlock lending capacity and help developing countries boost investment.
We also need innovative financing solutions to unlock private capital.
Solutions that mitigate currency risks;
That combine public and private finance more effectively, and ensure the risks and rewards of development projects are shared by both the public and private sectors;
And that ensure financial regulations assess risk appropriately and support investments in frontier markets.
Second — we must fix the global debt system which is unsustainable, unfair and unaffordable.
With annual debt service at $1.4 trillion, countries need — and deserve — a system that lowers borrowing costs, enables fair and timely debt-restructuring, and prevents debt crises in the first place.
The Sevilla Commitment lays the groundwork:
By creating a single debt registry for transparency, and promoting responsible lending and borrowing;
By lowering the cost of capital through debt swaps and debt management support;
And through debt service pauses in times of emergency.
And third — we must increase the participation of developing countries in the institutions of the global financial architecture. The present major shareholders have a role to play recognizing the importance of correcting injustices and adapting to a changing world.
A new borrowers forum will give voice to borrowers for fairer debt resolution and can foster transparency, shared learning and coordinated debt action.
And we need a fairer global tax system shaped by all, not just a few.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
This conference is not about charity.
It’s about restoring justice and lives of dignity.
This conference is not about money.
It’s about investing in the future we want to build, together.
Thank you all for being part of this important and ambitious effort".
