Global Justice
We are experiencing the rise in extreme poverty and hunger for the first time in the last decades – while obscene inequality is reaching ever new heights. This is not a coincidence. A world that has achieved very high and unprecedented technological advancement has the means and adequate resources to end poverty. Various factors are responsible for rising poverty and inequalities and they are interrelated. Climate change contributes to poverty and hunger. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the situation followed by the war in Ukraine. The cost of living has exponentially increased due to rising food and energy costs, which affects the people living in extreme poverty the most who could hardly make ends meet and eat only once per day.
Nevertheless, the response of the governments to the crisis also shows: If there is political will policies can be changed in short time and immense resources can be mobilised. But the interventions during the pandemic were more of short-term in nature. The political will to address poverty and inequalities is missing because the rich and powerful who wield influence over national and even global politics don’t want to tackle the underlying causes of global inequalities and injustice. Under such circumstances the SDGs will not be achieved.
The international political, financial, economic, and social architecture, as well as the individuals who lead these systems, are failing us. The crisis and the context of global injustice has its roots partly in colonial history and deepening inequalities brought about by a shift from public policy to benefit all, to neo-capitalism, where social well-being for all is trumped by profit seeking by the few, and the poorest suffer the consequences.
GCAP priorities on Global Justice:
- Social Justice – with focus on Inequalities – Social Protection Floors for all, including Health
- Climate Justice– For the most affected people and areas
- Financial and Economic Justice– Tax and debt justice under a new financial architecture to finance social and climate justice, Trade Justice and Decent work
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Global People’s Assembly Adopts People’s Declaration for Social Justice, Calling for a New Global Social Contract at the World Social Summit 2025
4 November 2025: As governments convene in Doha for the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2), civil society networks from across continents have united behind a strong message: The world needs a new global social contract that puts people and planet before profit.
At the Global People’s Assembly 2025, held on 29 October, representatives of grassroots movements, trade unions, and civil society organisations adopted the People’s Declaration for Social Justice, urging governments to move beyond rhetoric and deliver concrete measures for a just, inclusive, and sustainable world.
Read the People’s Declaration for Social Justice at WSSD2 in English, French and Spanish.
Details here.
Global People’s Assembly Event marks 10 years of SDGs with a call for justice, accountability & systemic change
26 September 2025: The Global People’s Assembly Event – 10 Years of SDGs brought together 193 participants including civil society leaders, grassroots activists and global networks to mark a decade of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event served as a sobering reminder: 10 years into the 2030 Agenda, most SDGs are alarmingly off track, with widening inequalities, escalating conflicts and deepening climate crises.
Watch the event here:
Accountability gaps and conflicts highlight global failures
Opening the session, Paul Divakar of GFoD warned that “80% of the SDGs are still nowhere near their targets.” He underlined persistent accountability gaps at national and global levels, pointing to humanitarian crises in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and political violence in Nepal as evidence of systemic global failures.
Details here.
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We Stand with Billions, Not Billionaires; Cancel the Debt, Change the System
More than 1200 civil society organisations from across the globe have signed the Economic Justice statement. Join us!
25 June 2025: We live in a critical moment in history. Humanity is confronted with massive economic and climate injustice, because the system is rigged — and we are all paying the price. This unjust economic system advantages rich countries to the detriment of poorer nations, fossil fuels over clean energy, and billionaire oligarchs over everyone else. The super-rich and large corporations control the media, manipulate politicians and dodge taxes — increasing their political power and trapping billions of people in poverty.
Sign the Statement in English Spanish and French
While billionaires, big corporations and rich nations hoard wealth and power, climate disasters and crushing debt push billions deeper into poverty. The richest 1% pollute more than the poorest 66%, yet vulnerable communities bear the devastation — with floods, fires, and storms wiping out lives and livelihoods. The wealthiest countries owe an enormous debt for this damage, which impacts women, youth and marginalised groups the hardest.
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Economic Justice Mobilisation launched in Asia
Asian Civil Society Organisations unite to demand bold reform of global financial architecture;
debt cancellation; and climate justice
25 June 2025: 27 leading civil society organisations from across Asia launched the Economic Justice Mobilisation in Asia – a significant milestone in the region’s collective efforts to challenge deepening global financial inequality, rising debt burdens and climate injustice.
Around 85 representatives from civil society organisations, development networks and grassroots movements across the region united to demand systemic transformation under the call: “We Stand with Billions, Not Billionaires – Cancel the Debt, Change the System.”
Unveiling Asia’s Economic Injustice Challenges
The event opened with an introduction by GCAP co-chair Arjun Bhattarai of the NGO Federation of Nepal. He framed the mobilisation as a response to worsening inequality, debt crises and climate impacts faced by vulnerable communities in Asia.
Beena Pallical from Asia Dalit Rights Forum moderated the first session. It spotlighted pressing regional challenges.
Jomo K Sundaram, renowned economist and senior adviser at Khazanah Research Institute, Malaysia, delivered the keynote, underlining the urgent need for global financial reform to ensure fair development outcomes. Get the presentation here.
Read the full news here.
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Africa Unites for Justice: The Economic and Climate Justice Campaign launched
13 May 2025: In a historic moment for Africa, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP-Africa), in collaboration with the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), launched the Economic and Climate Justice Campaign on 17 April 2025.
Over 300 participants from civil society, social movements, faith actors, indigenous peoples, women, youth, trade unions, academia and private sector leaders gathered at the event held in Nairobi and online. It was a bold declaration of solidarity and collective power.
Nuru Maro, GCAP Africa Regional Coordinator, moderated the event that focused on discussions on debt, reparations and structural reforms. She called for a shift “from awareness to action,” urging all to unite for Africa’s transformation.
“This is not just a campaign; it is a collective awakening to rewrite the rules and demand a system that supports billions of people, not billionaires. Economic justice is reparative justice — about dignity, opportunity and dismantling unjust systems,” underlined Nuru.
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Call to Mobilise: Economic Justice in the Jubilee Year 2025 – GCAP Newsletter
25 April 2025: In the current political climate, it is easy to become disillusioned and discouraged.
We face billionaires untethered in the US, xenophobia on the rise in Europe, and horrific violence in too many locations to list. Progress in the fight to end poverty has slowed to a crawl. The planet faces ever-worsening climate disasters fueled by fossil fuel pollution. And if that wasn’t enough, we are facing a debt crisis of historic proportions and it’s hitting the most vulnerable the hardest.
But now is not the time to despair. It is a time for powerful action!
In 2025, we have an opportunity. Why?
- This year is a Jubilee Year—a once-in-a-generation chance to cancel debts and transform the unjust International Financial Architecture.
- A series of key global meetings, like the 4th Conference on Financing for Development, the World Social Summit and COP30, provide opportunities to demand real change.
- And with only five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, policymakers know that urgent action is needed to close the gap — yet some countries choose to cut aid budgets instead.
Read the full newsletter here.
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Asian civil society unites at Bangkok to demand Economic Justice
15 March 2025: Civil society organisations from across Asia came together in Bangkok on 27 February 2025 to strengthen the regional movement for Economic Justice in 2025. Representatives from Japan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Indonesia, South Korea, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, and Cambodia participated in a strategic planning meeting to align regional actions with global mobilisations.
Ingo Ritz, Director of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), made a comprehensive presentation outlining key global opportunities and strategies for mobilisation around debt cancellation, public financing and systemic transformation.
Beena Pallical, representing the Asia Dalit Rights Forum, and Pradeep Baisakh, GCAP Asia Coordinator, moderated the meeting and emphasised the need to build a people-centred movement rooted in the realities of the Global South.
Participants reaffirmed the leadership of the Global South and the importance of uniting diverse movements—including youth, faith-based groups and marginalised communities—under a common agenda for economic and climate justice.
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GCAP Statement condemning human rights violations and killings of civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Stop the Suffering: GCAP calls for immediate international intervention to halt violence & uphold human rights in Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is experiencing a terrible crisis with arbitrary violence against civilians, especially women and girls. This is resulting in food shortages, internal displacement, people’s basic needs not being met, and the proliferation of multiple human rights abuses.
Download the statement in English,
Download the Declaration in Spanish
Download the declaration in French
On February 24, 2025, Reuters reported that James Kabarebe, Rwanda’s former defence minister, was sanctioned for acting as a liaison to the M23 rebellion. M23 backed by Rwanda is perpetrating significant abuses while resulting in significant territorial gains by the rebels and a severe humanitarian crisis threatening the stability of the region. These developments underscore the critical need for all parties, including Rwanda, to discipline their armed forces, respect international law and prioritize peace and stability in the region.
The lack of action from the international community has worsened the ongoing suffering of millions of Congolese people, men, boys, women, girls and children of all ages. Since January 2025, intensified conflicts, particularly in the eastern regions of the DRC, have resulted in the tragic loss of approximately 7,000 lives and the displacement of around 450,000 individuals. The destruction of nearly 90 camps has left countless individuals without shelter, intensifying their vulnerability.
Children in the DRC are especially vulnerable to unimaginable atrocities. Reliable reports indicate that armed groups, including the M23 rebels, have executed children as young as 15 years for refusing to join their ranks. The United Nations has verified a significant increase in grave violations against children, including killings, abductions, torture and forced recruitment into armed groups.
Read the full Statement here.
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