On April 28, ESCR-Net co-organized a hybrid side event titled Financing for Justice: Advancing a Human Rights-Based Approach to Development, in collaboration with Dejusticia, OHCHR, CESR, and GI-ESCR. The discussion brought together advocates and experts to examine how taxation, debt, trade, and development cooperation policies must align with international human rights standards, particularly in the face of deepening inequality, climate crisis, and unsustainable debt burdens across the Global South.
Speakers underscored the opportunity to reimagine global economic governance through feminist, decolonial, and climate justice lenses. “We’re living through multiple, interconnected crises,” said Basma Eid of ESCR-Net. “This is a moment to reclaim the right to our future—and to future generations.” Sergio Chaparro of Dejusticia highlighted the crisis of multilateralism and called for broader convergence to integrate human rights into debt, finance, and tax governance. CESR’s Mahinour ElBadrawi emphasized that human rights economies must dismantle entrenched systems of concentrated wealth and power.
The following day, ESCR-Net convened members for a strategy discussion focused on next steps ahead of FfD4. Participants reflected on the shrinking civic space in formal negotiations, the urgency of strengthening national and regional struggles, and the potential for coordinated grassroots and media actions. They also emphasized the need to craft a shared narrative that links economic, gender, and climate justice, while amplifying the voices and leadership of the Global South.
