The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has launched the IIA Learning Assistant, an artificial-intelligence-based chatbot designed to support learning on international investment agreements (IIAs). Built solely on UNCTAD’s established research, it offers expert-supported explanations of IIA reform and modernisation, with transparent source links to enable verification. The tool is free for registered users and is intended to assist government officials, policymakers, stakeholders and the wider public in strengthening their understanding of investment law and policy.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has launched the IIA Facilitation Mapping Database to help countries better track and implement their international investment agreement (IIA) commitments on investment facilitation. The database maps over 400 IIAs concluded since 2010, including the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement finalised by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in November 2023. It provides a clear and comparative overview of treaty provisions, highlighting areas of alignment—such as transparency—and divergence—such as procedural simplification. The tool is intended to support developing and least developed countries in navigating overlapping obligations and complements UNCTAD’s IIA Navigator. It also contributes to UNCTAD’s research, analysis and technical assistance activities related to investment facilitation.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published a comprehensive dataset encompassing 1,332 known treaty-based investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases as of 31 December 2023. This release aims to provide free access to ISDS data for government officials, the private sector, academia, civil society, and media. The dataset complements UNCTAD's existing online ISDS Navigator database, offering a user-friendly interface for case information retrieval. This initiative underscores UNCTAD's commitment to transparency and accessibility in international investment dispute information, facilitating informed decision-making and research in the field of international investment law and policy.

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published a new report on sustainable development in investment agreements, commissioned by the Brazilian presidency at the G20. The report draws on UNCTAD data from over 1,700 agreements and incorporates insights from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. According to Co-chair of the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG), Philip Fox Drummond Gough, this report provides essential background information for the investment track exchanges, focusing on creating an international investment policy environment that supports sustainable development. The report will serve as a reference point for countries as they design and negotiate future investment agreements.

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published a new report analysing the compensation and damages in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) proceedings.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published an issues note detailing findings from its Multi-stakeholder Platform on International Investment Agreement (IIA) reform meetings in 2024. The report identifies four main areas of convergence in new-generation treaties: safeguarding states' right to regulate, strengthening investment facilitation, including investor obligations and reforming investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms. UNCTAD notes that while 85% of 2,600 existing IIAs were negotiated before 2010, new agreements increasingly align with sustainable development objectives. The organisation is developing new Guiding Principles on IIA Reform for discussion at its 2025 High-level Conference.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published its World Investment Report 2025, showing global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell 11% following a $1.5trn total in 2024. The report highlights digital economy FDI grew 14%, but remains concentrated in 10 countries controlling 80% of new projects. UNCTAD proposes reforms across seven areas including data governance, digital infrastructure and global investment rules to address digital investment gaps in developing economies. Development-critical sectors saw significant declines, with renewable energy (-31%), transport (-32%), and water infrastructure (-30%) particularly affected.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has reported on the first meeting of the UNCTAD Multi-Stakeholder Platform meeting which took place on 29 February 2024. The Multi-Stakeholder Platform is aimed towards expediting the reform of the international investment agreement (IIA) regime and the meeting took place to identify barriers to IIA reform. The meeting was attended by over 40 participants from governments, civil society, academia, international and regional organisations. The participants analysed what slows down IIA reform and how it could be accelerated on bilateral and regional levels. Additionally, participants discussed what actions could be taken to accelerate IIA reform.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published a report on the growing contrast between new and old international investment agreements (IIAs). UNCTAD notes in the report that in 2023, the new IIAs contained creative clauses pertaining to investment facilitation and collaboration and tended to safeguard States’ right to regulate. As the old IIAs cover half of global foreign direct investment (FDI) stock, reformation on IIAs is urgent. UNCTAD further notes that while the new IIAs increase the inclusion of investment facilitation commitments, more efforts are still required to align these commitments and make them effective.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released a briefing note detailing a significant increase in investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases. The number of known treaty-based ISDS cases has more than doubled in the past decade, rising from under 600 in 2013 to over 1,300 by the end of 2023. At least 60 new arbitration cases were initiated in 2023 alone. The majority of disputes were faced by developing countries, often brought by claimants from developed nations. Energy supply and extractive industries accounted for about one-third of all cases. By the end of 2023, 235 fossil fuel-related cases and at least 123 renewable energy sector cases had been filed. UNCTAD notes that the actual number of arbitrations is likely higher due to confidentiality in some proceedings.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has updated its IIA Navigator database to include at least 44 new international investment agreements (IIA) signed in 2025, bringing the total to 3,369 treaties. Most of the 2025 IIAs were concluded between developed and developing economies. The update also details newly concluded IIAs, entries into force, terminations, renegotiations, amendments and side instruments, as well as newly available treaty texts. Recent IIAs reflect a continued shift towards increased inclusion of facilitation and co-operation commitments, alongside ongoing refinements to investment protection and investor-state dispute settlement content. A more detailed analysis of these trends will be presented in the World Investment Report 2026, to be published later in 2026.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has announced that the Investment Dispute Settlement Navigator has been updated as of 31 July 2023. The total number of known investment treaty arbitrations has reached 1,303.