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The Seville Conference on Financing for Development: Towards Financial Justice for the Peoples of the Global South
As the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development approaches, slated for late June in Seville, Spain, calls are mounting to reconsider the prevailing global model for development financing. This comes amidst a widening gap between the ethical rhetoric promoted by wealthy nations in support of sustainable development and human rights, and the actual practices that continue to entrench the financial and political dependency of countries in the Global South. اضافة اعلان The conference is taking place at a time when major Western powers are exhibiting stark double standards — championing development, international law, and human rights in rhetoric, while simultaneously supporting the Israeli occupation and its ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people. These powers continue to turn a blind eye to well-documented war crimes and acts of genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, and supported its war on Iran. At the same time, they are retreating from their global development obligations. Although they pledged in 2015 to allocate 0.7% of their Gross National Income to official development assistance, actual disbursements have consistently fallen short — not exceeding 0.35% — and much of the aid provided has been politically conditional, used more as a lever of influence than a genuine instrument of global solidarity. It has become evident that we are witnessing the end of the era of voluntary grants and the beginning of a new phase in which financial tools are increasingly being used to perpetuate geopolitical control. International financial institutions continue to promote an economic model rooted in austerity policies, expansion of public debt, and the privatization of public services—all of which erode the capacity of developing countries to fund essential sectors such as healthcare, education, and social protection. This results in these countries becoming hostage to debt burdens and the conditionalities imposed by creditors and their agents. This shift is not merely a reduction in available resources; it is, at its core, a direct undermining of the right to development and the sovereignty of Global South nations over their own economic and social choices. It imposes an externally driven economic paradigm that disregards national priorities and fundamental rights. In response to this unjust reality, a shared narrative is emerging — one in which the Group of 77 countries and global networks of human rights and development-oriented civil society organizations find their objectives increasingly aligned around the need for a fundamental transformation of the international financial system, anchored in the principle of justice in financing development. Among their common demands is a call for the ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, seen as a crucial tool to combat tax evasion and recover misappropriated resources. The coalition also calls for the rejection of austerity-driven economic policies, which have demonstrably failed to reduce poverty and unemployment, and advocates for establishing new rules for global economic governance based on transparency, democracy, and respect for human rights. Furthermore, it seeks the development of binding standards for blended finance to ensure accountability, prevent forced privatization of public services, and protect public goods, while simultaneously advancing efforts to restructure sovereign debt—including the cancellation of illegitimate debts—based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and securing fair and sustainable financing for development and climate action. The Seville Conference must not be reduced to technical discussions on financing mechanisms. Rather, it should be seized as a historic opportunity to reintroduce the question of international economic justice and to reclaim the voice of the Global South in shaping the future of development and its financing. The success of the conference depends on the ability of developing countries and global civil society to impose an alternative agenda—one grounded in rights, not conditions; in partnership, not dependency; and in equality, not paternalism. Aid is not a favor granted by the rich to the poor. It is a legitimate entitlement, rooted in historical and colonial responsibilities that allowed the Global North to accumulate wealth at the expense of the South. If the era of grants is nearing its end, then the era of dignity and justice must begin—and it will only begin through an organized, collective effort led by the nations and peoples of the Global South, and supported by all advocates of economic justice and human rights worldwide.
