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The launch of the Women and Youth in Democracy (WYDE) | Women’s Leadership Initiative, funded by the European Union and learn more about its implementation through the project "Advancing Women’s Political Participation and Decision-Making through Social Norms Change, Networking and Global Advocacy.”

Join International IDEA and the SDG16 Data Initiative in the virtual launch of their 2023 report: ‘A “Bold New Agenda” is falling short: the perils and promises of SDG16’.

From the climate emergency to conflict and widespread human rights violations, continued food and energy insecurity, increasing division and political polarization, and a growing disillusionment with institutions to deliver on promises made in 2015, we are in the midst of intersecting and often overwhelming crises. However, solutions do exist and champions for them persist. 

Halfway to the 2030 Agenda and with an eye to the SDG Summit, this side-event brings together stakeholders from across the SDG16+ community to take stock of progress towards SDG16+ and share in lessons learned and strategic approaches for strengthened implementation going forward.  As such, it will also look to key opportunities for mobilization leading into the SDG Summit in September 2023 and beyond, drawing upon recent and upcoming research by the SDG16+ community (including the TAP N

SDG16 Data Initiative 2023 at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)

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On April 15th, 2023, tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) turned into fighting, escalating into a severe armed conflict that has engulfed the country in what risks turning into a large-scale civil war. The warring factions took power together through a military coup on October 25th, 2021, which upended a fragile democratic transition that started after the removal of long-time ruler Omar Al-Bashir.

International IDEA is an intergovernmental organization with 34 member states, dedicated to strengthening and advancing democracy around the world. Since 2003, International IDEA has had Permanent Observer Representation at the UN General Assembly.

International IDEA invites you to the prelaunch of the Inclusion Portal on 13 March 2023, 13:15-14:30 EST, at the United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room A, Conference Building, New York.

The Gender Cohort Co-leads Sweden, Romania, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) and International IDEA invites you to the side event Gender Equality as a Prerequisite for Democracy, on 9 March 2023, 15:00-16:15 EST, at the United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room B, Conference Building, New York.

The prioritisation of technology in enhancing gender equality is enshrined in Sustainable Development Goal 5. Although digital technologies are regarded as a tool to enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment global data shows there are glaring disparities in access, use, affordability, knowledge and more.

On the eve of the second anniversary of the illegal coup in Myanmar, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and International IDEA will co-host the launch of the Special Rapporteur’s latest conference room paper, Illegal and Illegitimate: Examining the Myanmar Military’s Claim as the Government of Myanmar and the International Response. 

Every 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women reminds us that gender-based violence remains one of the most pervasive and devastating human rights violations globally. It affects women in every region, social group and political system.

Thirty years ago, the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration affirmed democracy as a cornerstone of people-centered social development. In 2025, as the world prepares for the World Social Summit in Doha, that vision is being revived with new urgency. The draft Doha Declaration reasserts democracy’s essential role in advancing social development—a recognition largely absent from recent UN texts. This renewed commitment offers a vital normative and political foundation, reminding the global community that meaningful progress depends on democratic governance and inclusive social development moving in tandem.

As democracy faces its deepest global challenges in decades — marked by rising authoritarianism, declining trust, and a weakened multilateral system — leaders from governments, multilateral institutions, civil society, and philanthropy convened at the Ford Foundation on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly to chart a renewed global democracy agenda.

Including youth in participatory decision-making, a vital element of democracy, is essential for reaching sustainable development, the 2030 Agenda, and the commitments in the Pact for the Future.

A decade after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the latest analysis by International IDEA shows a concerning outlook for SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)—two critical enablers of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This paper reviews a decade of progress on Sustainable Development Goals 5 (Gender Equality) and 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), drawing on International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy Indices. While there have been modest gains in areas such as women’s parliamentary representation and gender equality, overall progress remains slow and uneven.

The Beijing Declaration in 1995 recognized that gender equality is essential to democracy. Yet, 30 years later, progress remains uneven and at risk, with backlash against gender equality and democratic values threatening hard-won gains.