Policy Papers

We are in the midst of the single biggest attack in the world today on people’s identity, rights, livelihoods and security, as well as our environment. They cannot afford to lose this fight, nor can we.

Indigenous policy in Australia can be contradictory in nature. This paper highlights four examples of how the Western Australian government is actively undermining the rights of Aboriginal landowners in the Kimberley.

Oxfam calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to implement their decisions on immediate release of these lands back to the community which depends on them for livelihoods and food. 

We continue to believe that the International Development Agency (IDA) is a critical place for donors to be putting their aid dollars.

Since March 2015, more than three million Yemenis have fled their homes, displaced by ongoing conflict. This paper sets out what they are facing and what governments, armed parties and agencies must do to help them get back on their feet and reduce the chance of an entrenched, long-lasting crisis.

As the world marks a year since the signing of the Sustainable Development Agenda, Oxfam has outlined a new vision for the role of development aid. This report sets out how more effective aid can support both people and governments.

With more people fleeing violence and persecution now than at any time since records began, governments must make firm commitments at two major summits in New York to share their international responsibilities more equally, and to offer all refugees a safer future.

Worldwide, more than 65 million people have fled conflict, violence and persecution. Millions more are driven from their homes by disasters, drought and inequality. This paper tells the stories of some of those millions of people.

Europe is facing a series of crises that are questioning its future and call for new solutions. This working paper of 177 organisations looks at responses to the multiple crises Europe is facing, and how to reconnect to citizens and regain their trust.

In most of sub-Saharan Africa, maize is a staple food crop. This paper explores some of the reasons why maize markets fail and argues that a major reason is because there is so little trust or cooperation between governments and private traders.

The latest data estimates that more than 10 million people – around half of all the refugees worldwide – are “minors” (that is children under 18-years-old). At the same time, nearly 100,000 children who lodged an asylum request were unaccompanied. 

The ‘Supporting Syria and the Region’ conference, held in London on 4 February 2016, has failed to deliver on the core issues of the protection of civilians inside Syria and of refugees in neighboring countries. This joint agency report sets out what needs to be done to make the commitments a reality.

This paper focuses on concerns related to the EU’s growing bioenergy use, which is being driven by EU climate and energy policies. It focuses on the practicalities of implementing sustainability safeguards in all energy uses of biomass, including electricity, heating and transport.

‘My Rights, My Voice’ (MRMV) is a program that has been implemented in eight countries. This evaluation aims to systematically analyze the actual outcomes of the program and its underlying working mechanisms against the proposed outcomes and MRMV’s theory of change.

Since 2009, millions of people in the Lake Chad Basin have been affected by a conflict originating in Nigeria. Over 2.6 million people have been displaced by the violence of Boko Haram, and subsequent military operations. This paper aims to give voice to them and calls for help.

Young women and men today must grapple with serious social, political and environmental problems inherited from their elders. By marshaling the energy, creativity and talents of youth to address the multiple inequalities they face, we will all reap a ‘demographic dividend’ and build a fairer world.

This briefing argues that the recovery effort is an opportunity to create much needed improved conditions for single women in Nepal. It provides practical suggestions for better disaster preparedness and enabling single women to be more resilient.

The devastating impacts of the 2015–16 El Niño will be felt well into 2017. There is an urgent need for humanitarian action where the situation is already dire, to prepare for La Niña later this year, to commit to new measures to build communities’ resilience, and to mobilize global action to address climate change

In this report, Oxfam identifies three key issues that need to be tackled for Unilever to move to the next level of social impact and responsible sourcing and for the good intentions of their policies to translate into real impact for the lives of workers.

The DAC’s reform process offers an opportunity to develop rigorous and demanding criteria and standards to better regulate the use of aid in private sector investments. The following recommendations aim at ensuring the reform leads to a principled approach.