UN Summit for a positive future? Or stuck in colonial past?

This week's UN Summit of the Future in New York (22-23 September) should offer a hopeful future for the global South, but Christian Aid warns that without bold action from wealthier nations, it risks entrenching long-standing colonial inequalities.

The Pact for the Future document, drafted in advance of the summit and still under negotiation, calls for a 'transformation' of global economic governance and more representation for the global South. However, according to Graham Gordon, Head of Global Advocacy and Policy, "If governments are serious about reform, they need to take their steer from those who have been impacted by decades of misguided economic policies rather than those with vested corporate interests who have tried to water down the policies.

"For far too long, the global South has been locked into a rigged economic system that transfers more wealth to rich countries than it receives. These nations suffer disproportionately from climate change, despite contributing the least, and they pay more in debt repayments than they receive in aid or climate finance. The global South isn't asking for charity; it's demanding justice, based on the 'polluter pays' principle."

The Pact for the Future invites the IMF to "review the sovereign debt architecture," but as Graham Gordon notes, "while the IMF continues to hold so much power, this is akin to asking a loan shark to review debt repayments-when they've been profiting from the system for years. The proof of the pudding will be in the coming months when the IMF has a key opportunity to strengthen the voting power of the global South."

A key priority for Christian Aid is radical reform of the IMF, where the current system disproportionately favours larger economies, granting them a greater share of voting power and access to larger loan amounts.

Christian Aid's policy recommendations for the Summit include:

Debt

Reform IMF and World Bank governance structures to significantly increase the voting power of the global South.

Establish a multilateral legal framework under the UN to address unsustainable debt, including through extensive debt cancellation.

Climate finance

Agree a new, ambitious, climate finance goal at COP29 that addresses mitigation, adaptation and loss & damage.

End all investment in fossil fuels, and lead by example in the UK by stopping all new fossil fuel licenses.

Tax

Agree a UN Tax Convention to promote international tax cooperation, tackle avoidance and raise the necessary public finance.

The UK government should support international efforts - and introduce its own measures - to tax extremely wealthy individuals and companies, including the most polluting companies.