aid

Today civil society organisations in Brussels are calling on European countries to raise their  ambition after the release of a ‘deeply disappointing’ collective EU position in the Council Conclusions ‘ahead of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development’, taking place in Spain next month. 

With the start of the Israeli Knesset’s summer session on May 4, the undersigning organisations observe with grave concern the series of legislative initiatives and policy measures, currently making their way through the legislative process, that pose existential threats to the survival and mandate of Human Rights Organisations in Israel. 

The 4th International Financing for Development Conference (FfD4)2 must address the extreme inequality crisis that threatens people and the planet. The richest one percent has the same wealth as 95% of humanity3 while global decision-making processes keep reproducing colonial patterns of power relations that leave billions behind and block progressive multilateral reform. 

Inequality occurs on two fronts, national and global. The gap between the richest and the rest at the national level is very high or rising in most countries. Simultaneously the gap between the richest countries and the Global South rose sharply due to COVID-19 and the subsequent economic and debt crises, remaining unacceptably high. 

In response to the publication of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s preliminary data on Official Development Assistance for 2024.

International development cooperation has consistently been an integral component of the European Union's foreign policy. Like diplomacy, development cooperation is a means to foster stability, security and prosperity for all in an increasingly interconnected world. The COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the ripple effects of Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine have underscored our global interdependence and the imperative for international collaboration, investment, and partnerships that promote equitable development globally while safeguarding the long-term interests of the EU and its citizens. 

Yemen remains deeply divided, facing economic freefall and a devastating humanitarian crisis. Competing financial policies in the North and the South have caused economic collapse.

Preventable diseases are sweeping the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Cholera cases increased by 326, Mpox by 269, and measles by 95 people in North Kivu alone, during the last week of February, according to Oxfam’s partners on the ground. 

Ahead of the special European Council meeting that you scheduled for 6 March, we write to urge you to resist a dangerous and false dichotomy: the idea that increasing defence spending must come at the expense of international development assistance (ODA). Cutting aid would be both a moral failure and a strategic mistake. At a time of growing instability, hunger, and global crises, when conflict, climate disasters and inequality are worsening, Europe must reaffirm its commitment to multilateralism and solidarity, and show global leadership. We know the only way to meet the daunting challenges of our time is together.  

Of the meagre 34 trucks of food and water given permission to enter the North Gaza Governorate over the last 2.5 months, deliberate delays and systematic obstructions by the Israeli military meant that just twelve managed to distribute aid to starving Palestinian civilians. For three of these, once the food and water had been delivered to the school where people were sheltering, it was then cleared and shelled within hours.  

Ahead of foreign affairs ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday, where discussions will include the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the wider region, Agnès Bertrand-Sanz, Oxfam humanitarian expert, said: 

“The discussions happening today behind closed doors have an impact on real people, people who are facing the unimaginable. Yet, Europe’s response is often lethargic – recently exemplified by their lack of response to Israel’s banning of UNRWA.