Why the Second World Summit for Social Development in November can be a pivotal moment for CDWD

Why the Second World Summit for Social Development in November can be a pivotal moment for CDWD

The Civil Society Forum at the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2), scheduled for November 4–6, 2025, will host a featured event focused on structural approaches to social development and leadership initiatives for women and girls. The session will examine how social development can be strengthened by addressing intersectional realities, particularly for women from…

Hamady Lehbous Dismissed: When Mauritanian regime punishes loyalty & exposes its democratic masquerade

Hamady Lehbous Dismissed: When Mauritanian regime punishes loyalty & exposes its democratic masquerade

By Cheikh Sidati Hamadi – Senior Expert on the Rights of CDWD, Analyst and Associate Researcher In a genuine rule-of-law state, receiving visiting guests with respect, engaging in open dialogue, and sharing a vision or a common cause should be both an institutional norm and a human courtesy. But in Mauritania, under an anxious regime…

Persistent Exclusion: Roma Women’s Struggle for Equality in North Macedonia

Persistent Exclusion: Roma Women’s Struggle for Equality in North Macedonia

The Case of Roma Women in North Macedonia presents a comprehensive examination of the discrimination and socio-economic challenges faced by Roma women—particularly those belonging to communities discriminated on work and descent (CDWD). It is authored by Fikrija Tair-Selmani and published by the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD), in partnership with…

Land Governance and Right to Adequate Housing in Mauritania: Key challenges & recommendations

Land Governance and Right to Adequate Housing in Mauritania: Key challenges & recommendations

Mauritania finds itself at a pivotal juncture in the quest to secure housing rights for its population. Four decades after Ordinance No. 83-127 abolished customary ownership and vested all unregistered land in the State, landlessness, informal urban growth, and forced evictions remain acute. The State’s dual land-tenure framework—modern statutory law overlaid on largely unrecognised customary…

Mali criminalises slavery by descent in landmark legal reform

Mali criminalises slavery by descent in landmark legal reform

In a historic step for human rights of Communities Discriminated in Work and Descent (CDWD), Mali has officially outlawed slavery by descent through a sweeping reform of its Penal Code. On December 14, 2024, the National Transition Council approved amendments to the Penal Code that explicitly criminalise slavery and related practices, including descent-based slavery—marking a…