Day: 31 May 2026

ILO and Responsible Minerals Initiative partner to address child labour in mineral supply chains

Stuart Mitchell

The International Labour Organization’s Child Labour Platform (ILO CLP) and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) have formalized a strategic partnership to combine their expertise, networks and influence in support of the elimination of child labour in mineral supply chains. The partnership reflects a shared recognition that tackling child labour in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) requires coordinated, multi-stakeholder responses that bridge the public, intergovernmental and private sectors. Growing due diligence obligations, alongside persistent governance challenges in high-risk sourcing contexts, make such collaboration both timely and necessary. The ILO CLP, as…

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New CIPR paper calls on lobbying review to go further than previous recommendations

Stuart Mitchell

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has published a new white paper calling on the Ethics and Integrity Commission to go further in its recommendations than its predecessor, the Committee on Standards in Public Life did as part of its review of Westminster’s lobbying laws. The paper – Easy Wins, Empty Gains – examines each of the nine recommendations on lobbying reform made by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in their 2021 Upholding Standards in Public Life – Standards Matter 2 review. It assigns a red, amber, or green rating to each recommendation…

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Reports to police of online violence against women journalists double since 2020, with one in four experiencing related anxiety and/or depression

Stuart Mitchell

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day earlier this month on 3 May, UN Women, The Nerve, and partners released a new report highlighting the growing and increasingly sophisticated forms of online violence faced by women in public life—particularly women journalists and media professionals. According to Tipping point: Online violence impacts, manifestations and redress in the AI age, 12 per cent of women human rights defenders, activists, journalists, media workers, and other public communicators report having experienced the non-consensual sharing of personal images, including intimate or sexual content. Six per cent…

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One in three researchers have no access to quantum research facilities, depriving society of its full potential

Stuart Mitchell

One in three researchers have no access to quantum research facilities, heavily limiting its potential in fields including healthcare, computing, cybersecurity and climate modelling, according to a UNESCO report released recently. ‘The Quantum Moment: A Global Report, Outcomes of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology’ shows there are stark North-South divides in access to the technology, with Europe and North America holding seven times more quantum science events per country in the past year compared to Africa. Findings also highlight a persistent gender gap, especially among senior level…

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“We feel safe now” – children praise Barnardo’s England adoption services in Ofsted report

Stuart Mitchell

Ofsted have praised Barnardo’s Adoption Services in England as ‘outstanding’ in a new report. The inspection, which took place earlier this year and was published in April, highlighted that children have “exceptional relationships with their parents which are built on trust and love” and quoted an adopted child saying “we feel safe now”. Barnardo’s Adoption Services help families to adopt across England, as well as access to records for adopted adults and birth family members. One adopter, quoted in the report, wrote: “Staff were genuinely invested in us as a…

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