Latest news with #developmentaid
Washington Post
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Tighter borders and aid cuts could risk greater instability, UN migration chief warns
ROME — The head of the United Nations' migration agency warned Thursday that Western nations risk creating greater instability by simultaneously tightening borders and reducing development aid to countries experiencing mass migration. In an interview with The Associated Press, Director General of the International Organization for Migration Amy Pope said that an approach focused solely on border enforcement without addressing causes of migration was 'short-sighted' and could destabilize origin countries further.
Associated Press
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Tighter borders and aid cuts could risk greater instability, UN migration chief warns
ROME (AP) — The head of the United Nations' migration agency warned Thursday that Western nations risk creating greater instability by simultaneously tightening borders and reducing development aid to countries experiencing mass migration. In an interview with The Associated Press, Director General of the International Organization for Migration Amy Pope said that an approach focused solely on border enforcement without addressing causes of migration was 'short-sighted' and could destabilize origin countries further. 'If you want to manage irregular migration, then you need to make investments in stabilizing populations closer to where the migration begins,' Pope said. 'It is short-sighted to cut foreign assistance without identifying alternatives to make sure that populations are not on the move.' Pope became the first woman to lead the IOM in 2023 after serving as a White House advisor on migration and homeland security under the Obama and Biden administrations. She spoke to the AP at an international conference in Rome supporting Ukrainian reconstruction. Her comments come as European countries shift toward stricter migration policies, with more funding for expanded deportation efforts and for transit countries to deter migrants. Lawmakers in Greece on Thursday were expected to adopt a proposal to halt asylum applications for all migrants traveling by sea from Libya, following a spike in arrivals. Pope singled out Syria as a concern, cautioning that premature repatriation could prove counterproductive. 'If Syrians go home too quickly and they're facing further destabilization, further conflict, if their children aren't safe, if their homes are still destroyed and they have nowhere to go, that could actually backfire,' she said. Pope noted that tougher U.S. border policies have already created ripple effects throughout Latin America. 'We're seeing a reversal of the flows. Not only are fewer people coming to the United States and Mexico border, more are actually heading south,' she said, raising concerns about capacity and support for countries along alternative migration routes including Panama, Costa Rica and other Central American nations. The IOM chief was supportive of Italy's approach, which combines strict border measures with expanded legal migration channels. Italy plans to provide nearly 500,000 permits for non-EU workers, starting in 2026 and staggered over three years, working with employers to identify labor needs. 'You can't have enforcement on its own without addressing the pull factors that are encouraging migrants to come,' Pope said, calling Italy's strategy an 'experiment' worth watching. 'We encourage other governments to watch what's happening in this space closely.' ___ Follow the AP's global migration coverage at
The National
30-06-2025
- Business
- The National
UN chief calls for more spending on development aid as US snubs Spanish conference
UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged the international community to "rev up the engine of development" aid in "a world shaken by inequalities, climate chaos and raging conflicts". Nations gathered on Monday in Seville for a UN conference were told both by host Spain and senior UN officials to spend more on development aid, but a last-minute US withdrawal from the conference raised doubts about their ability to narrow the gap between rich and poor countries. The withdrawal of the US, previously a major contributor, was not directly addressed by officials, though they acknowledged difficulties in convincing countries to spend more to narrow the $4 trillion annual financing gap to promote development. Opening the conference, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said delegates were gathered "to accelerate investment" faced with the "massive headwinds" buffeting the sector. Those challenges included "a slowing economy; rising trade tensions and decimated aid budgets; a world shaken by inequalities; climate chaos and raging conflicts", he said. Mr Guterres added: "The link between peace and development is clear. Nine of the 10 countries with the lowest Human Development Indicators are currently in a state of conflict." The four-day meeting in southern Spain is taking place as many countries face escalating debt burdens, declining investments, decreasing international aid and increasing trade barriers. The director general of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that the introduction of trade tariffs - a policy strongly pushed by US President Donald Trump - would lead to the further contraction of trade forecasts from close to 3 per cent for 2025 to 0.1 per cent. "We currently estimate that global merchandise trade volumes will basically be flat," Ms Okonjo-Iweala said. "I don't think that the conference has ever gathered in such difficult times." Up to $2 trillion are locked up in " harmful subsidies," according to Ms Okonjo-Iweala, including fisheries and fossil fuels that could be used instead to help achieve the badly lagging 2030 Sustainable Developments Goals. "Recognising the political difficulties involved in phasing out subsidies - I know this is not easy," she said. Official development assistance "remains stagnant or declining", UN Under-Secretary General Li Junhua said. "External debt servicing now consumes over 20 per cent of the public revenues in many lower income countries." Risks of tighter financing conditions for developing countries are growing, warned IMF deputy managing director Nigel Clarke. Countries must prioritise strong domestic reforms. "Many countries can boost resources available to them by broadening the tax base and improving compliance," Mr Clarke said. Meanwhile, King of Spain Felipe VI said he hoped the conference would be a success. "The tremendous shifts that we are living through heading towards a new form of geopolitics cannot and must not lead to a total revision of the rule of law or solidarity of human dignity of the world," he said. More than 70 world leaders were expected in Seville, along with several thousand others from international financial institutions, development banks, philanthropic organizations, the private sector and civil society. At its last preparatory meeting on June 17, the US rejected the 38-page outcome document that had been negotiated for months by the UN's 193 member nations and announced its withdrawal from the process and from the Seville conference. Speaking last week, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the US withdrawal from the conference was 'unfortunate,' stressing that 'many of the recommendations you see cannot be pursued without a continuous engagement with the US'. After Seville, "we will engage again with the US and hope that we can make the case that they be part of the success of pulling millions of people out of poverty'. The rest of the countries then approved the document by consensus and sent it to Seville, where it is expected to be adopted by conference participants without changes. It will be known as the Seville Commitment – or Compromiso de Sevilla in Spanish. The document says the leaders and high-level representatives have decided to launch 'an ambitious package of reforms and actions to close the financing gap with urgency,' saying it is now estimated at $4 trillion a year. Among the proposals and actions, it calls for minimum tax revenue of 15 per cent of a country's gross domestic product to increase government resources, a tripling of lending by multilateral development banks, and scaling up private financing by providing incentives for investing in critical areas like infrastructure. It also calls for a number of reforms to help countries deal with rising debt. While the US objected to many actions in the outcome document, American diplomat Jonathan Shrier told the June 17 meeting: 'Our commitment to international cooperation and long-term economic development remains steadfast.'
Al Jazeera
30-06-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Once-in-a-decade UN conference on development aid kicks off in Spain
The United Nations Conference on Financing Development has opened in the southern Spanish city of Seville, as member states are expected to discuss global inequality amid a significant financial loss following the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding cut. The once-in-a-decade event will be held from Monday to Thursday, aiming to address pressing global concerns, including hunger, poverty, climate change, healthcare, and peace. At least 50 world leaders gathered in Seville, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Kenyan President William Ruto. More than 4,000 representatives from businesses, civil society and financial institutions are also participating in the fourth edition of the event. But the group's most significant player, the US, is snubbing the talks following President Donald Trump's decision to slash funding shortly after taking office in January. In March, US State Secretary Marco Rubio said the Trump administration had cancelled more than 80 percent of all the USAID programmes. Moreover, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France are also making cuts to offset the increased spending on defence, being imposed by Trump on NATO members. But the series of cuts to developmental aid is concerning, with global advocacy group Oxfam International saying the cuts to development aid were the largest since 1960. The UN also puts the growing gap in annual development finance at $4 trillion. 'Seville Commitment' The conference organisers have said the key focus of the talks is restructuring finance for the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted at the last meeting in 2015 and expected to be met by 2030. But with shrinking development aid, the goals of reaching the SDGs in five years, which include eliminating poverty and hunger, seem unlikely. Earlier in June, talks in New York produced a common declaration, which will be signed in Seville, committing to the UN's development goals of promoting gender equality and reforming international financial institutions. Zambia's permanent representative to the UN, Chola Milambo, said the document shows that the world can tackle the financial challenges in the way of achieving the development goals, 'and that multilateralism can still work'. However, Oxfam has condemned the document for lacking ambition and said 'the interests of a very wealthy are put over those of everyone else'.
Arab News
30-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
UN conference seeks boost for aid as US cuts bite
SEVILLE: A UN conference aiming to rally fresh support for development aid began in Spain on Monday with the sector in crisis as US-led funding cuts jeopardize the fight against poverty. At least 50 world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Kenya's William Ruto, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and UN head Antonio Guterres are gathering in the city of Seville for the June 30-July 3 meeting. Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, Angolan leader Joao Lourenco and Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan also joined more than 4,000 delegates from businesses, civil society and financial institutions. But the United States is snubbing the biggest such talks in a decade, underlining the erosion of international cooperation on combating hunger, disease and climate change. A blistering heatwave that is scorching southern Europe welcomed the delegates to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, an example of the extreme weather that scientists say human-driven climate change is fueling. UN sustainable development goals set for 2030 are slipping from reach just as the world's wealthiest countries are withdrawing funding for development programs. US President Donald Trump's gutting of his country's development agency USAID is the standout example, but Germany, Britain and France are also making cuts as they boost spending in areas such as defense. International charity Oxfam says the cuts to development aid are the largest since 1960 and the United Nations puts the growing gap in annual development finance at $4 trillion. More than 800 million people live on less than $3 a day, according to the World Bank, with rising extreme poverty affecting sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Disruption to global trade from Trump's tariffs and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have dealt further blows to the diplomatic cohesion necessary for concentrating efforts on helping countries escape poverty. Among the key topics up for discussion is reforming international finance to help poorer countries shrug off a growing debt burden that inhibits their capacity to achieve progress in health and education. The total external debt of the group of least developed countries has more than tripled in 15 years, according to UN data. Critics have singled out US-based bulwarks of the post-World War II international financial system, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for reform to improve their representation of the Global South. Painstaking talks in New York in June produced a common declaration to be adopted in Seville that only went ahead after the United States walked out. The document reaffirms commitment to the UN development goals such as eliminating poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality, reforming tax systems and international financial institutions. The text also calls on development banks to triple their lending capacity, urges lenders to ensure predictable finance for essential social spending and for more cooperation against tax evasion. Coalitions of countries will seek to spearhead initiatives in addition to the so-called 'Seville Commitment,' which is not legally binding. But campaigners have criticized the text for lacking ambition and have rung alarm bells about rising global inequality. 'Global development is desperately failing because... the interests of a very wealthy few are put over those of everyone else,' said Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International. Hundreds of demonstrators braved the sizzling heat in Seville on Sunday to demand change in international tax, debt and aid policies. 'Global south countries will never be able to decide how they want to do development if they are bound to the new colonial debt,' protester Ilan Henzler, 28, told AFP. 'We are here to fight for the abolition of this illegitimate debt.'
