Policy Updates

On September 26, 2025, at a meeting of the AHLC, Norway and 11 other countries launched the Emergency Coalition for the Financial Sustainability of the PA, with Norway contributing NOK40 million (US$4 million) to a crisis package.

The coalition, which also includes Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK, was established to stabilize the PA’s finances and preserve its ability to govern. The launch took place during an AHLC meeting in New York chaired by Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa attending virtually. The coalition demanded that Israel immediately release all Palestinian clearance revenues, which constitute over 60% of the revenue the PA needs.

The crisis package aims to support essential services like hospitals and schools. Norway’s contribution is in addition to NOK200 million (US$20 million) in budget support transferred earlier in 2025. The coalition will also promote a sustainable and coordinated approach with IFIs to support reforms and ensure accountability, affirming the effort as an investment in regional peace and the two-state solution.

On September 15, 2025, a UN Women report revealed that progress on women's rights is stagnating and regressing due to conflict, aid cuts, and a backlash against gender equality, and called on governments at the UN General Assembly in New York to commit to renewed action, highlighting that the US$420 billion needed annually to advance gender equality is a fraction of the US$2.7 trillion spent on the military.

The report, a gender snapshot monitoring progress on the SDGs, found that 676 million women and girls lived near deadly conflict in 2024, the highest number since the 1990s. Women are also more likely to be affected by rising food insecurity. The report projects that climate change could push an additional 158.3 million women and girls into extreme poverty by 2050.

Director of UN Women’s policy division, Sarah Hendriks, contrasted the US$2.7 trillion in annual military spending with the estimated US$420 billion needed to advance gender equality. The report also noted a digital gender divide, which if addressed, could lift 30 million women and girls out of poverty by 2050 and generate a US$1.5 trillion increase in global GDP by 2030. UN Women is calling for renewed commitments at the UN General Assembly, 30 years after the Beijing Declaration.

On August 25^th, 2025, Spain's MAEC signed three new SDPF with the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, and Honduras to consolidate cooperation aligned with the partner countries' national priorities.

The agreements are part of the reform of Spain’s sustainable development cooperation policy, implementing Law 1/2023 and the Spanish Cooperation Master Plan 2024-2027. The frameworks align with each country's priorities, focusing on social, ecological, and economic transitions.

Key areas of focus include reducing extreme poverty in Honduras, strengthening the rule of law in the Dominican Republic, and advancing gender equality in Paraguay.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares stated that the agreements strengthen Spain's commitment to the 2030 Agenda. New frameworks were also adopted with Peru, Ecuador, and the Philippines. Frameworks with Senegal, Colombia, and Guatemala are in progress, with Jordan to follow.

On August 20, 2025, Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation announced the establishment of new Partnerships for Sustainable Development, a strategic initiative to focus its international cooperation policy on key sectors with partner countries, the first of which was signed with Uruguay.

Minister for Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares highlighted that the new partnership model, based on the Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity, aims to create a more effective system for addressing global challenges. The first agreement, the Uruguay-Spain Partnership for Sustainable Development 2025-2029, was signed on July 22, 2025.

The Ministry is also finalizing similar partnerships with Egypt and Panama. These alliances are designed as collaborative processes involving public bodies, civil society, and the private sector to address shared priorities such as gender equality, social cohesion, and security.

On August 19, 2025, Spain's MAEC highlighted its strengthened commitment to humanitarian action, noting it had tripled the AECID's humanitarian budget from EUR45 million (US$52 million) in 2019 to over EUR133 million (US$154 million) in 2024.

This increase resulted in a total 2024 humanitarian budget of over EUR181 million (US$210 million), a 7.4% rise from 2023, and placed Spain among the top 25 global humanitarian donors. Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares stated that the funding reflects Spanish solidarity and is a foreign policy priority. Albares highlighted Spain's presence in major global crises, including those in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, as well as less-visible emergencies in Haiti and Mali.

In 2024, the AECID allocated EUR15 million (US$17 million) from its budget for specific emergency responses, such as for Hurricane Beryl and the migration crisis in Central America. The update on Spain's humanitarian funding comes as the number of people needing assistance worldwide has surpassed 300 million, with over 123 million forcibly displaced.

On August 14, 2025, the resumed 5^th session of the INC-5.2 in Geneva, Switzerland, concluded without reaching a consensus on a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, though UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen and UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that all member states agreed to continue negotiations.

Negotiations to establish a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution concluded without an agreement. UN officials, including UNEP Executive Director Andersen and UN Secretary-General Guterres, acknowledged the outcome but emphasized that all countries remained committed to the process. The talks, which included delegates from 183 nations and representatives from over 400 CSOs faced significant differences on key issues.

The US delegation supported an agreement that allows for tailored, country-specific solutions to reduce plastic pollution while opposing prescriptive, top-down regulations. INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso and INC Executive Secretary Jyoti Mathur-Filipp reaffirmed their dedication to moving forward and achieving a future agreement.

On July 15, 2025, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares announced nearly EUR62 million (US$73 million) in voluntary contributions to international organizations, reinforcing Spain’s multilateral support through AECID which will address key challenges such as food security, humanitarian assistance, climate change, and gender equality.

The contributions aim to accelerate development and humanitarian efforts, especially amidst global budget cutbacks, and complement previous packages approved this year. So far, Spain has allocated over EUR150 million (US$176 million) to 42 multilateral organizations in 2025, underlining its commitment to supporting vulnerable populations, sustainable development, and international cooperation.

Major recipients include UNICEF, UNFPA, FAO, the Climate Adaptation Fund, UN -Women, WFP, WHO, PAHO, UNRWA, UNHCR, and IOM, among others.

On July 2, 2025, the FfD4 in Seville, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares urged all countries to meet the international target of allocating 0.7% of GDP to ODA, reaffirming Spain’s legal commitment to this benchmark.

Albares emphasized the need to mobilize both public and private finance, strengthen tax systems, and tackle illicit financial flows. He also underscored the importance of effective assistance delivery, localizing development finance, and reforming international tax cooperation.

Spain endorsed the Sevilla Commitment, which calls for improved debt sustainability, governance reforms in international financial institutions, and harnessing trade and technology to achieve the SDGs.

During side events, Albares highlighted Spain’s support for coordinated health financing, referencing its Global Health Action Initiative with WHO, Gavi, and the Global Fund. He concluded that fulfilling the Sevilla Commitment is essential to promoting inclusive and sustainable global development.

On June 30, 2025, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares reaffirmed Spain’s commitment to global health with an increased pledge of EUR145 million (US$166 million) to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the 2026–2028 period, at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville.

This marks a rise from the previous EUR130 million (US$149 million) contribution, demonstrating Spain’s intent to bolster support amid a global decline in health financing.

Albares emphasized the Global Fund’s role in saving over 65 million lives and its capacity to strengthen health systems in vulnerable regions. He also stressed the importance of sustained multilateral cooperation, particularly in light of warnings from the WHO about reduced global investment in health. Spain’s renewed funding aligns with its broader commitment to inclusive, rights-based international development.

From June 9-13, 2025, the 3^rd UN Ocean Conference was hosted in Nice, France, ending with over 170 countries adopting a joint declaration committing to urgent measures for ocean conservation and sustainable use.

The event featured 55 heads of state and government as well as upwards of 15,000 participants from civil society, business, and science. The Nice Ocean Action Plan, combining this declaration with voluntary pledges, was said to mark renewed global political will for marine protection.

Key commitments included:

• A European Commission pledge of EUR1 billion (US$1.1 billion) for ocean conservation;
• A pledge by French Polynesia to create the world’s largest marine protected area;
• A pledge by New Zealand of US$52 million for Pacific Ocean governance;
• A pledge by Italy of EUR6.5 million (US$7 million) to strengthen Coast Guard surveillance in marine protected areas and on oil platforms;
• A pledge by Spain to establish five new marine protected areas, aiming to safeguard 25% of its marine territory;
• A pledge by Germany of EUR100 million (US$115 million) for Baltic and North Sea munitions clearance;
• The launch of a Coral Bond for reef conservation by Indonesia, WB, and partners.

37 countries, led by Panama and Canada, launched the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean, while Canada pledged US$9 million to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Alliance. UN agencies and global partners also launched a co-design process for One Ocean Finance to unlock billions in new financing from ocean-dependent industries and blue economy sectors.

Nineteen more states ratified the Marine Biodiversity Treaty, bringing total signatures to 136 and ratifications to 50 states, plus the EU. Ten more ratifications are needed for the Agreement to enter into force. The 4^th UN Ocean Conference, in 2028, will be co-hosted by Chile and the Republic of Korea.