Important step forward for UN Tax Convention process
#UNTaxConvention #FfDForum #GlobalGateway
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Important step forward for UN Tax Convention Process
International tax dodging, corporate tax reform, wealth taxes and environmental tax issues were all on the agenda of the first substantial negotiations of the UN Tax Convention process, which ended this week in New York. The process included all 193 Member States at the United Nations, and at the final plenary, all countries reached a consensus agreement on the next - and final - negotiating round, starting in July this year.
News
2024 UN Financing for Development Forum outlines path to FfD4 Conference
by Bodo Ellmers (Global Policy Forum)
Debt, taxes and geopolitics took centre stage in this year´s UN Financing for Development (FfD) Forum. Fiercely negotiated were the outcome document´s paragraphs on international tax cooperation and unilateral coercive measures (UCMs, also known as sanctions). Due to the UCM dispute, an amendment and eventually the whole outcome document was put to vote, for the first time since 2016, when the UN started the series of FfD Forums.
Who will the EU be in the world of tomorrow?
The mid-term review of the EU's long-term budget (Multiannual Financial Framework - MFF) sends a damaging message to Europe's partners. This is the warning from more than 50 civil society organisations, in a joint statement calling on the European Union to bolster investment in international partnerships and prioritise cooperation on global challenges.
Is Global Gateway a development plan or a shaky Western business strategy?
OpEd by Alexandra Gerasimcikova (Counter Balance)
Geopolitical competition with China and domestic economic interests increasingly dominate the EU’s development agenda, manifested in the Global Gateway plan – one of the items on the agenda at this week's foreign affairs council meeting dedicated to development. But the plan is unlikely to succeed in boosting the European economy – and arguably costing the union its credibility in the world by diverting development budgets to prop up its own businesses.
Read the OpEd on the EU Observer
350+ organisations call on the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund for more transparency and participation
Civil society organisations (CSOs) express deep concern regarding limits to their participation in the upcoming first Board Meeting of the Fund for Loss and Damage under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These restrictions not only set a harmful precedent, but also run in conflict with the commitment to promote and safeguard meaningful public and stakeholder participation and access to information.
Blogs
Climate Resilient Debt Clauses: good or bad for the Global South?
by Tess Woolfenden (Debt Justice UK)
When a country is hit by a catastrophic external shock, like climate extreme events, there is currently no comprehensive and consistently applied method of suspending debt payments. Climate resilient debt clauses (CRDCs) are being proposed as a tool for addressing this. But are they an adequate solution?
Reports
More than money: public development banks must strengthen human rights safeguards
by CEE Bankwatch Network and the Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
This comparative analysis identifies existing good practices and policy provisions for integrating human rights considerations into the assessment and management of projects funded by public development banks, advocating for the alignment of banking policies, standards, and procedures with human rights standards.
Initial assessment of Galapagos debt-for-nature swap - A look from civil society after one year of operations
by Latindadd
This document reports findings and recommendations of an independent
initial evaluation of the impact associated with the Galapagos Debt Swap
Project, in the framework of the guarantee granted by the Interamerican
Development Bank (IADB) to the government of Ecuador, that was signed in April 2023.
Read the report
Decolonial feminism: charting a path towards a just and liberatory tomorrow
by Shubha Chacko
Beginning with a contextualisation of the historical impact of colonialism, this paper explores the complexities of gender relations within colonised societies, revealing a nuanced understanding that challenges traditional stereotypes.
Read the report
Useful resources
Argentina under IMF Orthodox Adjustment Policy
Argentina is facing one of the largest fiscal adjustments in history and an unprecedented social crisis. A group of civil society organisations including ACIJ, CEPPAS, ETFE, FES, FARN and Recourse have produced this short briefing on the adjustment agreement between the Argentinean government, under the presidency of Javier Milei, and the IMF. According to this analysis, “the program relies on proposals that have historically failed while locking Argentina in a neverending broken economic and development model”.
The winner takes all – Thrice!? Sri Lanka’s restructuring with private creditors
by Erlassjahr
After Sri Lanka defaulted in spring 2022, the country entered into debt restructuring negotiations with its creditors. The majority of Sri Lanka’s private creditors then joined together in a creditors’ committee and submitted a restructuring proposal to Sri Lanka in October 2023. In the legal dispute with Hamilton Reserve Bank, Sri Lanka is now arguing in court that it was unable to accept this proposal as it was not compatible with the agreements with its public creditors.
Read more
Vacancies
Project Finance Officer
Eurodad | Brussels | Deadline: 26 May
Senior Finance and Admin Officer
Global Alliance for Tax Justice | Brussels
Call for tender for Eurodad Institutional and project auditor
Eurodad | Brussels | Deadline: 26 May
Events
28 May | Book launch: “Feminism in public debt - a human rights approach”
The European Network on Debt and Development and French Platform on Debt and Development invite you to the launch of the book “Feminism in public debt - a human rights approach” and to an interdisciplinary discussion with activists, experts and citizens to address systemic inequalities and work towards a more just and equitable global financial architecture.
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This newsletter has been produced with co-funding from the European Union, Bread for the World and Norad. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Eurodad and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the funders. |
