Oslo+5 meeting of international development partners

On 29-30 September 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, supported by the Universal Rights Group, and the Oslo+ Steering Group (consisting of Norway, Sweden, and the European Commission), will host the fifth Oslo+ meeting of bilateral and multilateral development experts to share good practices in evolving human rights-based approaches (HRBA) to international development cooperation (Oslo+5).1

This meeting will reflect on the heightened importance of HRBA at a time of significant geopolitical change, change that has important implications for international cooperation in the areas of both human rights and sustainable development, as well as the heightened importance of measuring and showcasing the impacts of HRBA on the lives and wellbeing of rights-holders, especially those at risk of being left behind. In this sense, Oslo+5 will provide an opportunity to consider the implications of, and how to respond to, important shifts in human rights and development financing, as well as related trends such as the pushback against universal norms and values in certain areas, such as gender.

An important part of the international community’s response must be to ‘do better with what we have.’ This imperative underpins the UN Secretary-General’s UN80 reform process, designed to rationalise and strengthen the efficiency of the UN (e.g., through a review of the more than 40,000 mandates accumulated over time), and reorientate the Organisation towards on-the-ground operations and impact. It also means better mobilising and leveraging the powerful UN human rights machinery (e.g., the UPR, Treaty Bodies, and Special Procedures) to strengthen State compliance with their international human rights obligations and commitments, as a critical contribution to achieving the SDGs by 2030 leaving no one behind (the Danish Institute for Human Rights has shown that 92% of the SDG targets are grounded in international human rights law).2 This HRBA to development must be further promoted in the strategies of both bilateral and multilateral development partners.

After considering these broad global trends, challenges, and opportunities, the Oslo+5 meeting will then consider their implications in a particular policy area: gender equality, and women’s and girls’ rights, especially in the context of the ongoing Beijing+30 review (see below). In this regard, the meeting will consider good practices in, and the results of, the application of a HRBA in this area, and will consider ways to strengthen HRBA’s contribution in the future by further mobilising the UN human rights mechanisms, in concert with bilateral and multilateral development partners, to accelerate progress towards gender equality as a critical contribution to and component of a HRBA to development.

The meeting will pursue a multi-stakeholder approach, bringing together leading experts on HRBA, from both bilateral and multilateral development partners, for a Chatham House rule-based dialogue.

In particular, Oslo+5 will provide a space to:

– Reflect on how bilateral and multilateral development partners can leverage a HRBA to advance gender equality, including through State engagement with the UN human rights mechanisms as well as the role of private actors.

– Explore the value and cost-effectiveness, or ‘business case’, for a HRBA as a pathway to sustainable development, including in the area of gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights. This includes gathering evidence on the implementation of the recommendations extended by the UN human rights mechanisms, as well as measuring the impact of those implementation measures on the enjoyment of human rights, and on sustainable development leaving no one behind. It also includes the benefits of HRBA in terms of helping UN Country Teams strengthen the quality of development cooperation, including in terms of risk management.

– Share evolving good practices in developing and applying HRBAs to development, bringing multidimensional benefits to development programming, aligning the development strategies of bilateral and multilateral partners, and strengthening the delivery and credibility of the multilateral rules-based system. The role of private actors and trade will also be considered.

– Reflect on recent shifts in the development strategies of major donors, and the implications of this for sustainable development, and human rights, including in the area of gender equality and women’s rights.