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At the eleventh session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP11) in Doha in December 2025, the Conference adopted resolution 11/7, entitled Preventing and combating corruption through enhancing transparency in the funding of political parties, candidatures for elected public office, and electoral cam

Organizers: Inter-Parliamentary Union, UN Women, International IDEA, United Cities and Local Governments

About the Integrated Framework for Protecting Election

Democratic elections are essential for ensuring the functioning of democratic societies. However, when electoral challenges are of significant scope and not appropriately managed, they can undermine the integrity of electoral processes and the credibility of election results. Therefore, protecting electoral integrity is of existential importance for democratic societies.

Background

The global democracy landscape is undergoing profound transformation, shaped by rising authoritarianism, contested democratic norms, and shifting geopolitical power dynamics. Alliances that once underpinned international cooperation on democracy and human rights are being tested, redefined, or weakened.

Background

The last two decades have seen a well-documented decline in democracy worldwide. This shift has corresponded with many governments increasing legal and policy restrictions on civil society.

Women are often marginalised from decision-making in conflict and transitional contexts. Despite evidence that women’s presence and participation lead to better and longer lasting outcomes for peace, they remain underrepresented in transitional governments and peacebuilding bodies.

The UN has identified Gender-based violence (GBV) against women as one of the most severe human rights violations across the world. Despite the scale and scope of GBV incidents, survivors who seek help through formal or informal justice sector channels, continue to navigate numerous challenges in doing so. According to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018 (NDHS), 31 percent of girls and women aged 15-49 years have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in th

International IDEA’s commitment to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality is at the core of the Institute’s mandate to advance, promote and protect sustainable democracy worldwide by responding to the key challenges and opportunities for strengthening democracy in the current and emerging democracy landscape. Such challenges include that women and men are still treated differently and given different tasks, responsibilities, opportunities, and privileges in most societies.

This SDG16+ Informal Roundtable will facilitate an open dialogue among civil society, member states, UN staff, and other stakeholders to identify advocacy priorities and actionable strategies for advancing SDG16+ and SDG5 in tandem.

Thirty years after the Beijing Conference, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA) remain a blueprint for equality. Amid global challenges, women leaders face increasing attacks, impacting progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Structural, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers, rooted in unequal power relations and discriminatory norms, hinder women's participation. Today just 25 countries are headed by a woman.

In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development led with a bold aspiration to eradicate poverty in all of its forms by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1). There were grounds for optimism at the time, as the number of people living in extreme poverty (736 million) was lower than it had been 15 years before (UNDP n.d.).

This high-level side-event during the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) aims to invigorate global efforts towards SDG16+, encouraging innovative solutions and reinforcing commitments to peace, justice, equality, inclusion and democratic principles as crucial drivers for a sustainable future for all, as reflected in the 2030 Agenda, the 2023 SDG Summit Political Declaration and the Pact for the Future.

This event is co-hosted by the government of Costa Rica, the government of Czechia, the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) at New York University, the World Health Organization (WHO), and International IDEA.
 

On behalf of the 

Organizer: United States of America

Cosponsors: International IDEA, UNDP, Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, CIC-NYU, Justice Action Coalition, the Netherlands, IDLO, NYU School of Law’s Robert and Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights, American Bar Foundation, UNODC, ILF, Namati, UN Foundation, and World Justice Center.

Most SDG 16 targets are regressing or stagnating globally.

Hosted by Accountability Lab, Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS), the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), the Transparency, Accountability & Participation (TAP) Network, the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) & the UN Foundation and WFUNA

In September 2015, leaders of the world called for a new chapter in g