International Women's Day seems like an appropriate occasion to ask which countries do best by women - and why. Obviously, the answer depends on how you define "best" - in absolute terms, relative to men, or some combination of the two?

You can choose from at least four different published rankings that consider some aspect of gender inequality. One of them is the Gender Equity Index (G.E.I.) published by Social Watch.

Click here to read the article by professor Nancy Folbre on the Economix Blog from the New York Times.

Three months ago, in December 2010, the Lisbon Treaty came into force. What difference will this make for European Union development co-operation and humanitarian assistance? Mirjam van Reisen identifies the changes in the legal framework and interprets what difference this will make for the policy in practice. Despite some progress, she concludes, many problems remain.

In December 2002 the European Union started a new round of negotiations on the EU Treaty. This followed the conclusion by the European Council in Laeken in 2001. The reason for the new Treaty was the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 with 10 new Member States. The hope then was that the new Treaty would be agreed before the enlargement in 2004. Who would have thought it would take until the end of 2009 for the Treaty to get into force? ...

Read the full article on WDEV.

Twenty years after the liberation from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Africa's youngest nation, has emerged as strategically vital to the stability of the region and the wider global agenda. Al Jazeera's Jane Dutton conducts a rare interview with Isaisas Afewerki, the president of Eritrea, and confronts him with the allegations about Eritrea's ties with Iran, Hamas, al Shabab in Somalia and rebel groups in Sudan and Houthis in Yemen.

Click here to watch the interview, or here for a blog entry by Dutton, describing her trip to Eritrea and the interview.

On the 6th of January, United States Secretary of State Hilary Clinton spoke at the Centre for Global Development in Washington in a speech that served to introduce the changing idea of development as the world move into the second decade of the 21st century.  Reviews of the USA's global development policy and development in general are currently being carried out by the White House and USAID. Nevertheless, the Secretary of State previewed a few ways in which American aid delivery is going to be revolutionized.  Changes outlined included a shift in thinking as the USA moves from "patronage" to "partnership". Mutual accountability, ownership and coordination will be playing a larger role in aid delivery as the USA aims to make "strategic investments" in order to break the dependence of developing countries on foreign aid. There will also be a shift to sectors as USAID aid aims to increase aid effectiveness.

To read Hillary Clinton's speech in its entirety and see in what other ways USAID plans to increase aid effectiveness, go here.

In December 2009, the EU showed its inadequacy as an international player to the world. Firstly, at the Copenhagen Climate Conference, the EU gave its power away to the USA, which stroke a deal with China, India, South Africa and Ethiopia. By preferring a deal with the US above the EU's original target, taking along developing countries (the G77) in the climate deals, the EU failed amazingly to support the G77. Secondly, Eritrea was sanctioned by the UN Security Council and its EU Members. Yet, in 2009 the EU initialed a €120 million for the next three years to this country, which the Human Rights Watch refers to as an ‘open-air prison'.

Furthermore, the Lisbon Treaty also entered into force in December 2009. When looking at the extended responsibilities of Andris Piebalgs (new Development Commissioner) and the appointment of a foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the internal EU inconsistency could be solved by a new structure established by the Lisbon Treaty. This structure could lead to more coherent EU foreign and development policies establishing a strong alliance with developing countries. But are such hopes too high by the start of the New Year, the Lisbon Treaty and a new EU Commission?

Click here to read the full article in the European Voice by Mirjam van Reisen, director of EEPA.