Hybrid Event | Financing for Justice: Advancing a Human Rights-Based Approach to Development

Monday, April 28 | 4:45 – 6:00 PM (ET)
In Person: Nuveen – 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, Room 2E
Online: Via Zoom

This side event of the Fourth Preparatory Committee (4th PrepCom) Session for the Financing for Development Conference, taking place in New York this April, brings together human rights advocates, policy experts, and civil society leaders to reflect on the most recent developments in international human rights law and their implications for the Financing for Development (FfD) agenda.

In an era marked by deepening inequalities, climate breakdown, and global debt crises, it is more urgent than ever to rethink how resources are mobilized and distributed. “Financing for Justice: Advancing a Human Rights-Based Approach to Development” offers a platform to explore how policies related to taxation, debt, trade, and development cooperation can and must be aligned with international human rights standards.

This hybrid dialogue is co-organized by Dejusticia, OHCHR, CESR, GI-ESCR, ESCR-Net, and Human Rights Watch. It builds on the growing global momentum to center rights, equity, and sustainability in economic governance—and to challenge the dominant models that have long prioritized profit over people and the planet.

As emphasized by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the time has come to build a “human rights economy”—an economy in which decisions on how wealth is generated, allocated, and spent are guided by obligations to fulfill human rights. In 2025, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) reinforced this imperative by calling on States to adopt progressive taxation, curb tax abuse, and increase public spending on social protection, health, and education as a pathway to fulfill economic, social, and cultural rights.

The event will highlight how these frameworks and tools can be used to shape financing policies that uphold dignity, equality, and justice—while also fostering international cooperation and global solidarity. Participants will exchange strategies, share recent innovations, and collectively envision what a human rights-aligned FfD agenda can and should look like.

Additional Resources

 Briefing: A Human Rights Economy to Guide Financing for Development (CESR, March 2025)

Agenda

• Opening Remarks
  • Juan Jose Quintana, Deputy Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations
• Panel Discussion
  

  • Mahinour ElBadrawi, Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)

  • Sergio Chaparro, Dejusticia

  • Luke Holland, Tax Justice Network (TJN)

  • Rio Hada, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

  • Moderated by: Basma Eid (ESCR-Net)

• Interactive Q&A
  • Audience engagement to refine proposals, share experiences, and identify collaborative opportunities.
• Closing Call to Action
  • Ezequiel Steuermann, Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR)
    Summary of key takeaways.

Organizers:

Dejusticia, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR), International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net), Human Rights Watch (HRW)