The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) and 65 civil society organisations (CSOs) from across the globe have issued a statement on April 16, coinciding with the ongoing spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The CSOs call for an immediate end to escalating conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, alongside urgent global action to support affected countries and cancel unsustainable debt.

Full statement here.

The coalition condemned what it described as “illegal attacks” by the United States and Israel in Iran and Lebanon, warning that the intensifying conflict represents a serious breach of international law and the United Nations Charter. The statement also highlighted the ongoing violence in Palestine, calling the broader situation an escalation of the “economy of war” with devastating humanitarian consequences.

Civilian toll and humanitarian crisis

According to the statement, the war has already resulted in massive destruction and the loss of thousands of civilian lives, while placing millions more at risk. Civil society groups urged all parties to pursue peaceful, negotiated solutions to restore stability in the region and prevent further violations of international law.

They also called on governments worldwide to take a firm stand against war-driven geopolitical and economic interests, stressing the need for accountability and adherence to global norms.

Global economic shock: energy, food, and inflation

Beyond the immediate conflict zones, the organisations warned of severe global spillover effects—particularly for countries in the Global South.

The International Energy Agency has described the current disruption as potentially the “greatest global energy and food security challenge in history,” with parallels to the 1970s oil crisis that triggered widespread debt crises in the following decades.

Rising oil, gas, and fertiliser prices are already driving food inflation worldwide. The statement noted that these cascading impacts could lead to:

• Energy shortages affecting hospitals and schools
• Increased production and transportation costs
• Disruptions in supply chains for essential goods
• Heightened risks of hunger and famine

Debt crisis risks intensify

The coalition warned that these economic shocks are colliding with already high levels of external debt in many developing countries. Nations dependent on imported energy and food are expected to face a “double burden” of rising import bills and shrinking foreign reserves.

This could push vulnerable economies into stagflation—characterised by high inflation, low growth, and rising poverty—while forcing governments to take on even more debt just to maintain basic services.

The statement also cautioned that rising global interest rates and capital outflows are increasing borrowing costs, pushing countries toward institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. However, it criticised these institutions for offering limited solutions beyond loans and policy conditionalities, and for what it described as “uneven responses” to global crises.

Key demands from civil society

In response, the CSOs have put forward a set of urgent demands to governments and international financial institutions:

• Immediate cessation of hostilities in Iran, the MENA region and Palestine
• Provision of unconditional, non-debt-creating financial support to affected countries
• Suspension of all external debt payments for impacted and vulnerable countries
• Cancellation of unsustainable and illegitimate debts
• Use of mechanisms such as the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) for debt relief
• Suspension of IMF surcharges and issuance of new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
• Structural reform of the global financial system toward a more inclusive, UN-led framework

The organisations also called for the creation of an automatic debt cancellation mechanism during global crises and the development of a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt to ensure fair and equitable debt resolution processes.

A call for systemic change

Framing the crisis as both geopolitical and structural, the coalition emphasised that existing global financial architectures are ill-equipped to respond equitably to such shocks. It called for a fundamental overhaul of international economic governance, including progress on UN-led conventions on tax, debt, and development assistance.

“The continuation of existing debt obligations under these conditions will only deepen the crisis,” the statement warned, urging immediate, coordinated global action to prevent widespread economic and humanitarian fallout.

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