“Drawing together findings from academics, professionals and the United Nations, this paper examines the ways in which women are disproportionately affected by pre- trial detention and how this impacts on their children. It considers the reasons for the over-use of pre-trial detention, issues around over-long periods of detention and the problems of inappropriate conditions of detention for pre-trial detainees. It also provides practical suggestions for improvements as well as a range of alternatives to pre-trial detention.”
Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 3 – Briefing Note for INC 5.2)
This briefing note by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) and Eunomia Research & Consulting presents the preliminary findings from the third phase of our “Plastic Money” initiative. Released in August 2025 to coincide with the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) on Plastic Pollution, this work continues our effort to bring clarity and evidence to the global discourse on plastic subsidies. Building on the insights and modelling from Phase 1 and Phase 2, this latest study expands the scope of analysis to include not only feedstock and energy subsidies but also a wider range of government support measures. These include capital investment grants, in-kind benefits, tax expenditures, and various forms of below-market financing. The study provides updated global estimates for such subsidies and models the environmental and economic implications of their removal. As governments work toward a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty, the role of public financial flows—including subsidies to the production of primary plastic polymers (PPP)—has come under increasing scrutiny. Subsidies reduce production costs, incentivise new investment, and help make virgin fossil-based polymers more competitive than recycled plastics and competing alternative or substitute materials. In doing so, they reinforce a linear and extractive economic model […]