Newsletter 30 January 2026

Dear Colleagues,
 

After wishing all  a peaceful 2026 on New Year’s Day, the US Government started the year with its military attack on Venezuela (see GCAP statement from 5 January). Next

came the threat to take over Greenland by force or by money. The violence of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota shows another dimension of a government that does not respect the rights of people – at home and even less abroad.

This behaviour is nothing new for the Global South. But even partners of the USA in the Global North understood last week that we are witnessing a “rupture”. A new world order of “Might is Right” is in the making without any respect – even not rhetorical – for a rule-based one. Europeans, already suffering Russian imperialism in the East, now face a new threat from their longstanding partner in the West.

The GCAP Annual Report 2024 is out now. Read about GCAP’s advocacy, mobilisation and alliance-building activities here.

Mark Carney, Canada’s Prime Minister, expressed this clearly in a much-cited speech in Davos. Most striking to me was his acknowledgement that the old order was not necessarily a just order:
“We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false. That the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient. That trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. And we knew that international law applied with varying rigour depending on the identity of the accused or the victim.”

This Prime Minister of a G7 Country expressed what most people in the Global South knew and experienced. Many political leaders from the Global South said the same before, without getting much attention (see LinkedIn post). The USA remained the strong and trusted partner of Global North countries while changing regimes in Iran, Chile, Panama and many other countries and engaging in killing in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Iraq and Afghanistan amongst others. The support for the war in Gaza is part of this sad trajectory.

Rich countries have profited from the rules-based system and its asymmetric enforcement. The manifestation of global injustices in forms of tax, debt, trade, and climate injustices etc. are results of the global system that is built on a neo-colonial financial architecture driven by institutions including the World Bank and IMF, which the G7 countries dominate. 
 
The current US Government is thus destroying the very system, on which, the USA and its allies built their dominant role – with the intention to make even greater profits for their big companies.

What shall we do as movement for global justice? This needs a collective reflection. What is obvious is that this is extremely dangerous. Military expenditure is increasing taking crucial resources away to achieve the SDGs – to solve problems of climate change, inequality and poverty. It contributes to militarisation and increasing numbers of wars. Global Inequality is reaching ever new levels linked to the political influence of the super-rich we have not seen for the last 100 years (see Oxfam report). More and more autocratic governments repress opposition, media and civil society and weaken rights of women and minorities. Even democratic governments are limiting civil and political rights. The US withdrawal of funds from UN agencies and political attacks on the UN weakens it. Also funding for development cooperation is decreasing – not only from the USA but from many other countries. The extreme right is threatening democracy, rights and international cooperation in more and more countries.

Topic: Implementation of the Doha Political Declaration on Social Protection at All Levels: Moving from Rhetoric to Action
Date: Friday, 6 February 2026
Time: 11:30am –12:45pm (EST)/4:30 pm – 5:45 pm (GMT)
Venue: Conference Room 11, United Nations Headquarters, New York
📺 Watch the event live on 6 February 2026:
https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1u/k1uqmrgxa2

It is not all about the US government. These trends existed before and have become stronger in recent years. Autocracies like China, Russia, Iran, Saudia Arabia and      Venezuela have massively violated human rights. But combined with the US government’s autocratic tendencies and imperialistic behaviour the world is getting very dangerous. Democracies create at least transparency and accountability. The fight for democracy is a fight for survival – and economic, social and climate justice.     

Mark Carney and other politicians of the Global North need to understand that the relationship with the Global South has to be changed to create partnerships that can resist even more unjust world order in the making – not to protect the old order but to create a new one that is more equal and built on rights.     

This is why we need a strong UN. A UN truly of the people, where civil society meaningfully participates. A UN that is not blocked by some Security Council members.