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There are still many details to work out when it comes to the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN General Assembly in September last year. Over the next couple of months suggested indicators for the 169 targets linked to the SDGs will be debated and eventually adopted by UN member states.

Leading up to the November 2015 elections Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC) used the electoral risk management tool (ERMTool) and approach developed by International IDEA to monitor and prevent election-related disturbances. Now a decision has been made to continue using the electoral risk management mechanism throughout the electoral cycle.

Since gaining independence in 1960, Niger has been caught in many political, social and economic crises.

The security situation in the country is unstable, as Niger is currently caught between the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria and the crises in northern Mali and Libya. The dormant Tuareg uprisings, combined with the flourishing market for trafficking in arms, drugs and humans, are further destabilizing Niger.

In a joint statement released earlier this week, Prime Ministers Stefan Löfven, of Sweden, and Narendra Modi, of India, highlighted the cooperation between the two countries in the protection of democracy and human rights globally. International IDEA is central to that cooperation as both countries are founding Member States of the organization and highly active in our work.

Many of the world’s constitutions today include non-discrimination clauses and provisions for gender equality. In the last 20 years, an increasing number of new constitutions also include gender-specific provisions and gender-inclusive drafting styles to promote substantive equality. Even so, real gender-equality has not been achieved in any country.

Snap election was held in the Republic of Vanuatu on 22 January, following the dissolution of the legislature on 24 November 2015. A total of 265 candidates, including eight women, contested 52 seats in the unicameral legislature. Constituencies in Vanuatu comprise of eight single-member seats and 10 multi-member seats. Multi-member constituencies range from two to seven seats.

Since starting its transition to democracy in 2011 Tunisia has been heralded as success story in the region. Since the 2014 national elections the country has worked to increase the participation of women in the political process – including through quotas giving women one third of the seats in parliament today. Despite many efforts to increase women’s participation however, progress has been slow with start regional differences across the country.

El jueves 11 de febrero se realizó la presentación del libro “El Costo de la democracia. Ensayos sobre el Financiamiento Político en América Latina”, en el Salón de Ex presidentes y Ex presidenta de la Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica.

One third of the Tunisian parliament is made up of women but political parties are still struggling to include more women in their ranks. In order to ensure that the equality and the involvement of women within Tunisian politics is considered by political parties in the long-term, International IDEA is hosting a workshop on strategic planning for political parties on comparative and gender perspectives’ in Tunis on 13 and 14 February.

On Thursday, 11 February, the book “The Cost of Democracy: Essays on Political Finance in Latin America”was presented in the Hall of Ex-presidents of the Congress of Costa Rica. The event was organized by the President of the Congress, Rafael Ortiz Fábrega, together with International IDEA, and the Inter-American Dialogue.

Women’s empowerment is key to sustainable development and there is a need for the United Nations and regional organizations to set clear strategic objectives and address critical areas of concern.

Organized crime increasingly poses a threat to the exercise of democratic politics in most countries in the world. It is therefore imperative for governments to find creative ways to detect and tackle this problem.

What has parliament done to oversee a government’s gender equality commitments? If legislation exists, how does parliament monitor impact on gender equality? Parliaments have a role in moving forward gender equality and non-discrimination legislation, but the outcomes may be far different from country to country and in individual experiences.

Indonesia began its democratic transition in 1998 after mass protests ousted General Suharto. The first direct presidential elections were held in 2004 and the country passed a decentralization act in 2001 gradually shifting the power from national to local level.

Many Southern African countries are endowed with abundant natural resources but unfortunately many of these countries are also characterized by poor governance and inadequate management of these resources. Few countries have successfully managed to use their wealth of natural resources to build a resilient, diversified and competitive economy that benefits all citizens.

On Friday 22 January, while protesters demonstrated against the electoral process in Haiti, the Electoral Council cancelled run-off election, initially scheduled for Sunday. Despite the suspension of the process, violent protests calling for President Michel Martelly’s resignation continue. On Sunday, both supporters of Martelly and supporters of the opposition have demonstrated in the capital of Port-au-Prince and in other parts of the country.

On 20 January in Yangon, Myanmar, Ricardo Lagos, President of Chile between 2000–2006, officially launched Democratic Transitions: Learning from World Leaders, published by International IDEA and Club de Madrid with support from the European Union.

The fourth in a series of global conferences highlighting the issues of Money in Politics will take place in Tbilisi, Georgia 18-19 February and focus on the role money plays in Eastern and Central Europe.

Despite a contested electoral process, the 92 deputies and 14 senators elected in October last year were sworn in on 10 January. While taking office was initially scheduled on 11 January, as prescribed by the Haitian Constitution, President Michel Martelly decided to move the opening of parliament one day earlier than announced to avoid demonstrations that could lead to violence.