Voices & Views

In various parts of the world, LGBTIQ people experience serious rights violations and abuses. As of today, 70 States continue to criminalise same-sex consensual relationships. The COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated such discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ people. The EU integrates LGBTIQ equality in its external policies by funding interventions and working with international and local partners around the world, including India.

Plus d'un an après son déclenchement, la pandémie de coronavirus continue de préoccuper la communauté internationale. Les journalistes et les médias ont été au cœur de cette pandémie pour informer leurs différents publics. Entre le risque d'exposition à la maladie et l'impossibilité de couverture médiatique sur le terrain, ainsi que les pressions psychologiques et économiques, les professionnels ont déployé des efforts d’imagination pour trouver des moyens ingénieux de faire leur travail. Ces expériences doivent être capitalisées pour le présent et l'avenir.

Autour de la Méditerranée, une jeune génération développe des moyens durables pour aborder les défis économiques, en consolidant les coopérations. Le programme Dialogue Méditerranéen pour les Droits et l’Égalité a lancé l'initiative Innovateurs méditerranéens pour la solidarité pour soutenir des projets dans les pays arabes du pourtour méditerranéen.

Small, local conservation organisations in high-biodiversity areas are among nature’s most powerful allies; this is mainly due to their knowledge of and influence over the environment. However, in most cases, these organisations lack sufficient funding to achieve their full potential. The EU and five other donors to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund are resourcing grants and technical assistance to enable long-term local conservation leadership and to nurture sustainable development.

While the origins of COVID-19 are still unknown, most explanations point to an animal source. Although the transmission of diseases from animals to humans is not uncommon, this pandemic has intensified the debate on the widespread consumption of wild meat. The EU is co-funding a major international initiative to improve wildlife conservation and food security.

Structural change is needed to overcome the unbalanced relationship of humankind with nature. The COVID-19 crisis has emphasized an urgent need to examine our footprint on ecosystems and avoid future pandemics of zoonotic origin. Solutions exist. The EU is funding numerous projects with integrated approaches which benefit both people and nature.

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The COVID-19 crisis has hit the Albanian economy severely, with a sharp decrease in tax revenue, an upsurge in debt, and loss of jobs. While still supporting the country’s recovery from the 2019 earthquake, the European Delegation (EUD) to Albania has mobilised its staff and financial resources to respond to the health crisis. Acting on both fronts, the long-lasting collaboration between the EUD and the Albanian Ministry of Finance and Economy has proved essential in planning and achieving short and long-term results.

Parliaments worldwide have had to adapt to the challenges created by the COVID-19 crisis. Digital responses have been proposed to keep democratic processes and political debates alive. INTER PARES, the EU´s first global parliamentary strengthening project, is collecting and sharing best practices on how to reinforce parliamentary democracy.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are at the very heart of the European Union values, guiding practice both within and beyond its borders. DG DEVCO has an active, enthusiastic network of Gender Focal Persons (GFPs) who work to mainstream gender, both at headquarter and EU Delegations level. They ensure that gender issues are included in all actions, to advance EU commitments to gender equality as well as the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The EU’s Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) Programme funds projects across the European Union. The 10 latest projects were launched in July 2020. They focus primarily on empowering and engaging young people in actions for positive social change and global development. But how can activism and inspirational learning take place in lockdown?

In 2017, several European Union Delegations were asked to operationalise the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus to better navigate fragility, address roots of conflicts and adopt a new development approach. Three years later, Capacity4dev met with the Delegations in Nigeria and Myanmar to collect their experiences.