Search

Billionaire wealth has risen three times faster in 2024 than in 2023. Five trillionaires are now expected within a decade. Meanwhile, crises of economy, climate and conflict mean the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990. Most billionaire wealth is taken, not earned- 60% comes from either inheritance, cronyism, corruption or monopoly power. Our deeply unequal world has a long history of colonial domination which has largely benefited the richest people. The poorest, racialized people, women and marginalized groups have been and continue to be systematically exploited at huge human costs. Today’s world remains colonial in many ways. This must be reversed. Reparations must be made to those who were brutally enslaved and colonised. Our modern-day colonial economic system must be made radically more equal to end poverty. The cost should be borne by the richest people who benefit the most.

Oxfam’s 2022 Gender in Emergencies (GiE) Standards are the key internal tool by which the charity sets out to realise its gender-specific humanitarian ambition in alignment with the 2022–25 GiE Strategy., The GiE Standards cover seven focus areas or ‘building blocks’ where Oxfam’s action needs to be enhanced to allow all actors involved in the work to achieve Oxfam’s humanitarian vision and goals. In this paper, each building block is further translated into a set of standards that Oxfam and partners aspire to during emergencies. The Standards are meant to unleash the potential for quality performance, while underpinning Oxfam’s determination for greater impact., Les normes d’Oxfam sur le genre en situation d’urgence (2022) constituent la principale référence interne pour nous donner les moyens de nos ambitions humanitaires en matière de genre conformément à l’énoncé de la vision 2022-2025 de la stratégie sur le genre en situation d’urgence., Les normes sur le genre en situation d’urgence couvrent sept axes ou « piliers » d’amélioration de l’action d’Oxfam pour permettre à tous les acteurs impliqués dans nos interventions de réaliser notre vision et d’atteindre nos objectifs humanitaires., Dans ce document, chaque pilier est associé à un ensemble de normes auxquelles Oxfam et ses partenaires aspirent en situation d’urgence. Ces normes sont destinées à libérer notre potentiel pour allier performances et qualité et sous-tendent notre détermination à intensifier notre impact.

In 2024, all countries will be updating and submitting their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These national climate plans outline commitments towards tackling climate change. These plans impact all walks of life and must therefore be inclusive of the whole of society. By examining recent practices across 11 countries, Oxfam found that NDCs were not sufficiently inclusive, often failing to involve civil society and communities who bear the burden of climate change and the impact of climate transition plans. This paper explores who the main actors are in NDCs, which stakeholders have not been included, and why. In order to foster a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive social, economic, and political environment for climate action, the paper makes recommendations for the UN, governments, donors, international agencies and civil society.

This briefing paper presents findings from Oxfam’s recently commissioned research on climate predictions for 2040 and 2050 in the Middle East, the Horn, East and Central Africa (HECA), West Africa and Asia regions. Analyses show how temperature increases will influence water insecurity in these regions and the potential impacts on food security, the spread of diseases, and other factors. This briefing paper also reveals severe under-investment by national governments and donors in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems, with critical implications not only for water security but also for poverty and inequality. Oxfam is calling for urgent action to increase investments in sustainable, climate-adapted water management for the people who are most at risk from the worsening climate crisis., Ce document d’information présente les conclusions d’une recherche récemment commanditée par Oxfam sur les prévisions climatiques pour 2040 et 2050 au MoyenOrient, dans la Corne de l’Afrique, en Afrique centrale et en Afrique de l’Est (région HECA), en Afrique de l’Ouest et en Asie. Il montre les répercussions que l’augmentation des températures entraînera sur l’insécurité hydrique dans ces régions, ainsi que ses effets potentiels sur la sécurité alimentaire, la propagation des maladies et d’autres facteurs. Le présent rapport met également en exergue que les États et les bailleurs n’investissent pas suffisamment dans les systèmes d’approvisionnement en eau, d’assainissement et d’hygiène, ce qui se répercute sur la sécurité hydrique, tout en aggravant la pauvreté et les inégalités. Oxfam appelle à une action urgente pour augmenter les investissements en faveur d’une gestion de l’eau durable et adaptée au climat pour les personnes les plus menacées par l’aggravation de la crise climatique.

Businesses dominate the policymaking process, mostly prioritize short-term financial interests and provide minimal transparency, creating an inherent risk of corporate policy capture that has been exacerbated by practices across lobbying, advocacy and political spending. A new approach to corporate political engagement – building on existing frameworks and based on the familiar experience of developing human rights due diligence – can tackle these issues and enable companies to align their political engagement with the protection of human rights, delivery of ambitious environmental goals, support for civic institutions and the needs of society. The briefing sets out the actions that businesses should take to achieve this.

This briefing paper examines growing inequality in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, focusing on Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis. It examines the lack of adequate and just taxation systems across the region, particularly wealth taxes. This limits governments’ fiscal space and their spending on public services, resulting in gender discrimination and the widening of the MENA inequality gap to a chasm. The rich must pay their fair share. Austerity in the MENA region cannot become the norm. Taxing the profits of the region’s richest people will provide critical recourses that are currently lacking but would begin to close the chasm between the rich and the rest.

This paper brings the voices of Yemeni women forward. Women were active in the 2011 protests, influencing political developments at key junctures. However, subsequent armed conflicts militarized the political environment and pushed forward a more limited religious agenda that saw more and more women systematically marginalized in the process., This paper outlines these major trends and offers some key recommendations to the government and wider international community to better support women’s participation in peace negotiations and involvement in the Yemeni political arena.

This paper shares stories from six countries—Bangladesh, Nepal, Kenya, Somalia, Syria, and Iraq—highlighting the challenges communities face in accessing water. It seeks to bring forward the unique perspectives of communities from diverse backgrounds, each experiencing water crises in distinct ways. While climate change intensifies their crises, many communities also face marginalization due to exclusionary water governance. The impacts are further compounded by factors such as gender, poverty, ethnicity, and race. However, the voices and perspectives of these communities are often overlooked in global climate discussions.The paper aims to highlight these diverse community experiences and advocate for the inclusion of local voices and leadership in climate actions and interventions to ensure fairer access to water. As global climate events like COP-29 unfold, it calls on governments to create inclusive climate policies, integrate water issues into loss and damage discussions, actively involve women and local voices, and urge rich, polluting nations to compensate those most affected by historic and ongoing carbon emissions.

This briefing paper argues that austerity measures are a form of gender-based violence against women, girls and non-binary people, and lays out clear examples of how fiscal consolidation affects them. Its core argument is that ending austerity must be a priority. The policies that deliver austerity’s deadly consequences can no longer be marketed as the ‘logical’ and ‘inevitable’ economic options that they have been for decades, and certainly not by any government that claims a commitment to gender equality or ending gender-based violence. Austerity takes away from those who need it most, while ignoring common-sense ways to improve both revenue and prosperity. The paper goes on to share feminist economic alternatives offer pathways that can protect the Majority World from completely avoidable suffering., Ce document d’information explique que les mesures d’austérité sont une forme de violence basée sur le genre à l’encontre des femmes, des filles et des personnes non binaires, et présente des exemples clairs de la manière dont la consolidation fiscale les affecte. Son principal propos : mettre un terme à l’austérité doit être une priorité. Les politiques d’austérité aux conséquences mortelles ne peuvent plus être présentées comme les options économiques « logiques » et « inévitables » qu’elles ont été pendant des décennies, et certainement pas par un État qui prétend s’engager en faveur de l’égalité de genre ou de la fin des violences basées sur le genre. L’austérité dépouille celles et ceux dont les besoins sont les plus criants, tout en tournant le dos aux moyens de bon sens qui permettraient d’améliorer les revenus et la prospérité. Les alternatives économiques féministes offrent des voies susceptibles de protéger le monde majoritaire10 d’une souffrance totalement évitable.

This Gender in Emergencies (GiE) Strategy for 2022–25 is a framework for more effective humanitarian action that acknowledges and addresses gender in a responsive, appropriate, and equitable manner. It identifies pathways to achieve this for individuals, Oxfam teams and partners, and the confederation as a whole. Oxfam’s 2022-25 Gender in Emergencies (GiE) Strategy is interlinked with the 2022 GiE Standards. Together they are the framework for Oxfam’s responsive, appropriate, and equitable humanitarian action., Cette stratégie sur le genre en situation d’urgence pour 2022- 2025 constitue un cadre pour une action humanitaire plus efficace qui reconnaît et traite la question du genre de manière réactive, appropriée et équitable. Elle identifie des voies pour atteindre les individus, les équipes et les partenaires d’Oxfam, ainsi que la Confédération dans son ensemble.

Since 2020, the richest five men in the world have doubled their fortunes. During the same period, almost five billion people globally have become poorer. Hardship and hunger are a daily reality for many people worldwide. At current rates, it will take 230 years to end poverty, but we could have our first trillionaire in 10 years., This report shows how a huge concentration of global corporate and monopoly power is exacerbating inequality economy-wide. Seven out of ten of the world’s biggest corporates have either a billionaire CEO or a billionaire as their principal shareholder. Through squeezing workers, dodging tax, privatizing the state and spurring climate breakdown, corporations are driving inequality and acting in the service of delivering ever-greater wealth to their rich owners. To end extreme inequality, governments must radically redistribute the power of billionaires and corporations back to ordinary people. A more equal world is possible if governments effectively regulate and reimagine the private sector., Depuis 2020, les cinq hommes les plus riches du monde ont doublé leur fortune. Au cours de la même période, près de cinq milliards de personnes se sont appauvries. Les conditions de vie difficiles et la faim sont une réalité quotidienne pour de nombreuses personnes à travers le monde. Au rythme actuel, il faudra 230 ans pour mettre fin à la pauvreté, alors que nous pourrions voir pour la première fois la fortune d'un multimilliardaire franchir le cap des 1 000 milliards de dollars dans dix ans., L’énorme concentration du pouvoir des grandes entreprises et des monopoles à l’échelle mondiale exacerbe les inégalités à tous les niveaux de l’économie. Sept des dix plus grandes entreprises mondiales ont un PDG milliardaire ou un milliardaire comme actionnaire principal. En faisant peser la pression sur les travailleurs et les travailleuses, en évitant l’impôt, en privatisant l’État et en participant grandement au réchauffement climatique, les grandes entreprises creusent les inégalités et contribuent à gonfler toujours plus la fortune de leurs riches propriétaires. Pour mettre fin à ces inégalités extrêmes, les gouvernements doivent impérativement redistribuer le pouvoir des milliardaires et des grandes entreprises aux citoyen·nes ordinaires. Un monde plus égalitaire est possible si les gouvernements réglementent et réorganisent efficacement le secteur privé.

In 2009, high-income countries committed in the Copenhagen Accords to mobilize US$100 billion a year by 2020 in climate finance for low- and middle-income countries. Oxfam reported on the progress of this commitment in 2016, 2018 and 2020. This year’s report finds that high-income countries have not only failed to deliver on their commitment, but also – as in previous years – generous accounting practices have allowed them to overstate the level of support they have actually provided. Moreover, much of the finance has been provided as loans, which means that it risks increasing the debt burden of the countries it is supposed to help., This paper calls on high-income countries to accelerate the mobilization and provision of climate finance, and to make up the shortfall from previous years, in a way that is equitable and just. High-income countries must provide finance that is transparent, with genuine accountability mechanisms, and that allows for far more local ownership and responsiveness to the needs of communities it is intended to reach. People on the frontlines of the climate crisis must have the funding they were promised for adaptation and mitigation, and to address the loss and damage they are already experiencing as a result of climate impacts., En 2009, les pays à revenu élevé se sont engagés par le biais de l’Accord de Copenhague à mobiliser 100 milliards de dollars par an avant 2020 dans le cadre du financement climat pour les pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire. Oxfam a rendu compte de la progression dans la réalisation de cet engagement en 2016, 2018 et 2020. Cette dernière édition du rapport révèle que les pays à revenu élevé ont non seulement manqué à leur engagement, mais ils ont, au cours des années précédentes, recouru à des pratiques comptables généreuses leur ayant permis de surestimer le niveau de soutien qu’ils apportent en réalité. De plus, une grande partie des financements ont été fournis sous forme de prêts, au risque d’augmenter le poids de la dette des pays qu’ils sont censés aider., Ce rapport appelle les pays à revenu élevé à accélérer la mobilisation et la fourniture des financements climat ainsi qu’à compenser les lacunes des années précédentes, de manière équitable et juste. Les pays à revenu élevé doivent fournir des financements transparents, s’articulant autour de véritables mécanismes de redevabilité, pour une plus grande appropriation locale et une bien meilleure réactivité aux besoins des communautés visées. Les populations se trouvant en première ligne de la crise climatique doivent impérativement recevoir le financement promis afin de faire face à l’adaptation et à l’atténuation et compenser les pertes et dommages découlant déjà des impacts climatiques.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event in the modern era. Earlier studies demonstrated how ‘critical junctures’, which comprise major historical events and emergencies, often play an essential role in social change. This paper seeks to explore whether the COVID-19 pandemic would prove to be a similar pivotal moment, and what lessons and insights we could gather for positive social change., The research set out to find key insights on how individuals, communities, and organizations in civil society were responding to the pandemic in low-income populations at the intersection of multiple inequalities. These lessons could inform how donors, governments and NGOs might reshape their efforts to reduce emerging or deepening inequalities, and how civil society organisations and community-based organisations could amplify their positive impacts., Over 18 months, from September 2020 to March 2022, the ‘Emergent Agency’ research convened a global conversation between activists, development practitioners, researchers, and academics to better understand the phenomena that were taking place in response to the pandemic. The research collected more than 200 case studies and held a series of webinars and conversations in thematic clusters to uncover what these responses could teach us. The research project was enabled with funding from The Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme (AFSEE) of the London School of Economics., The findings from the collaborative research have been summarised in two main documents, - a research report, which retraces the steps of the study, its methodology and main findings;, - and this brief, which summarizes key points that we believe are important for those working in international and national NGOs, and donor agencies.

Conflicts and shocks linked to climate change are more frequent and intense, leading to poverty and inequality, exacerbating these phenomena and people’s vulnerability., In this context, humanitarian relief, development programmes and peacebuilding are not serial processes; they are all needed at the same time to tackle the systemic inequalities that trap people in poverty and expose them to risk., The triple nexus, or programming across humanitarian-development-peace pillars, thus means creating synergies and common goals across short-term emergency response programmes and longer-term social change processes in development, as well as enhancing opportunities for peace so that individuals can enjoy the full spectrum of human rights., This briefing paper aims to identify the tensions and dilemmas that Oxfam faces when programming across the nexus and sets out new policy to address these dilemmas, building upon Oxfam’s 2019 discussion paper on the triple nexus., Les conflits et les crises liés au changement climatique sont de plus en plus fréquents et intenses, provoquant pauvreté, inégalités et exacerbant ces phénomènes ainsi que la vulnérabilité de certaines populations., Dans ce contexte, l’aide humanitaire, les programmes de développement et la consolidation de la paix (triple nexus) ne sauraient se résumer à une suite de processus ; ils doivent tous être mis en œuvre simultanément, pour s’attaquer aux inégalités systémiques qui piègent les gens dans la pauvreté et les exposent à des risques., Le triple nexus implique donc la recherche de synergies et d’objectifs communs entre les programmes d’intervention d’urgence à court terme et les processus de changement social à plus long terme dans le domaine du développement, ainsi que la recherche de la paix afin que les individus puissent jouir de l’ensemble des droits de l’homme., Ce document d’information vise à identifier les tensions ou les dilemmes auxquels Oxfam est confrontée lorsqu’elle assure une programmation sur la base du nexus. Il propose la définition d’une nouvelle politique pour répondre à ces dilemmes, en s’appuyant sur le document de discussion d’Oxfam de 2019 au sujet du triple nexus.

The triple nexus (H-D-P) approach aims to challenge a linear and sequential intervention logic. Humanitarian aid, development programmes and peacebuilding programmes must be implemented simultaneously to address the systemic inequalities and weaknesses that keep people in poverty and make them vulnerable. This paradigm shift requires major transformations in both the humanitarian and development sectors. These case studies show how some of Oxfam's interventions are adapting to and incorporating this new logic.

We are living through an unprecedented moment of multiple crises. Tens of millions more people are facing hunger. Hundreds of millions more face impossible rises in the cost of basic goods or heating their homes. Poverty has increased for the first time in 25 years. At the same time, these multiple crises all have winners. The very richest have become dramatically richer and corporate profits have hit record highs, driving an explosion of inequality. This report focuses on how taxing the rich is vital to addressing this unprecedented polycrisis and skyrocketing inequality. The report explores how, in recent history, taxation of the richest was far higher; how talk of taxing the rich and making billionaires pay their fair share is hugely popular; and how taxing the rich claws back elite power and reduces not just economic inequality, but racial, gender and colonial inequalities, too. The report lays out how much tax the richest should pay, and the practical, tried and tested ways in which governments can raise such taxation. It shows us how taxing the rich can set us clearly on a path to a more equal, sustainable world free from poverty., Nous traversons une période sans précédent marquée par des crises multiples. Des dizaines de millions de personnes supplémentaires sont aujourd’hui confrontées à la faim. Des centaines de millions d’autres font face à des augmentations intenables du coût des produits de première nécessité ou du chauffage. Pour la première fois en 25 ans, la pauvreté gagne du terrain. Mais parallèlement, d’autres profitent de ces crises multiples. Les plus fortuné·es se sont considérablement enrichi·es, et les bénéfices des entreprises ont atteint des sommets, provoquant une explosion des inégalités. Ce rapport montre en quoi il est indispensable de taxer les personnes riches pour faire face à cette succession de crises sans précédent et à la montée en flèche des inégalités. Il détaille comment, dans l’histoire récente, l’imposition des plus riches était bien plus élevée. Il souligne le fait que les discours visant à taxer les personnes riches et à faire payer aux milliardaires leur juste part sont extrêmement populaires. Il met en évidence la manière dont l’imposition des personnes riches permet de limiter le pouvoir des élites et de réduire non seulement les inégalités économiques, mais aussi les inégalités raciales, de genre et coloniales. Il dévoile le montant de l’impôt que les plus riches pourraient payer, ainsi que les solutions éprouvées dont disposent les gouvernements pour lever cet impôt. Il explique comment la taxation des personnes riches peut clairement nous mettre sur la voie d’un monde plus égalitaire, durable et exempt de pauvreté.

In 2009, high-income countries promised to provide $100bn a year in climate finance to low- and middle-income countries by 2020. They have failed to keep this promise. Their official reports claim that the climate finance they provided and mobilized reached $83.3bn in 2020, but Oxfam estimates the real value was only around a third of that reported., Immediate action is needed to restore trust in the $100bn goal and ensure that the provision of climate finance is fair and robust. For too long, most high-income countries have persisted in counting the wrong things in the wrong way. There are too many loans, too much debt, too few grants, too little for adaptation, and too much dishonest and misleading accounting., This paper sets out recommendations for action at COP27 and beyond to rectify these issues, restore trust in climate finance and stop the world’s poorest climate-vulnerable countries and communities being short-changed of the climate finance they urgently need, and to which they are entitled., En 2009, les pays à revenu élevé se sont engagés à verser 100 milliards de dollars par an de financement climat aux pays à revenu faible et intermédiaire d’ici 2020. Ils n’ont pas atteint cet objectif. Leurs rapports officiels affirment que le financement climat fourni et mobilisé a atteint 83,3 milliards de dollars en 2020, mais Oxfam estime que la valeur du financement climat effectivement fourni n’a représenté qu’un tiers environ du montant déclaré., Une action immédiate est nécessaire pour restaurer la confiance dans l’objectif des 100 milliards de dollars et pour veiller à ce que le financement climat soit équitable et solide. La plupart des pays à revenu élevé ont trop longtemps continué de comptabiliser des éléments inappropriés de façon incorrecte. Il y a trop de prêts, trop de dettes, trop peu de subventions, trop peu pour l’adaptation, et trop de comptabilité malhonnête et trompeuse., Ce rapport formule des recommandations d’action pour la COP27 et au-delà en vue de corriger ces problèmes, de restaurer la confiance dans le financement climat et d’éviter que les pays et les communautés les plus pauvres du monde, vulnérables sur le plan climatique, soient privés du financement climat dont ils ont besoin de toute urgence et auquel ils ont droit.

In Afghanistan, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Yemen, women’s rights organizations are leading efforts to realize the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, in spite of ongoing conflict, insecurity and occupation. But without national duty bearers and international actors stepping up to meet their commitments, implement National Action Plans (NAPs) and provide resources and support, the full potential of the agenda will not be reached. This briefing paper explores challenges, lessons learned and opportunities related to realizing the WPS agenda, and makes recommendations to a range of national and international stakeholders on how to support its implementation in Afghanistan, OPT and Yemen.

As 2020 draws to a close, the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating. Without urgent action, global poverty and inequality will deepen dramatically. Hundreds of millions of people have already lost their jobs, gone further into debt or skipped meals for months. Research by Oxfam and Development Pathways shows that over 2 billion people have had no support from their governments in their time of need. Our analysis shows that none of the social protection support to those who are unemployed, elderly people, children and families provided in low- and middle-income countries has been adequate to meet basic needs. 41% of that government support was only a one-off payment and almost all government support has now stopped., Decades of social policy focused on tiny levels of means-tested support have left most countries completely unprepared for the COVID-19 economic crisis. Yet, countries such as South Africa and Bolivia have shown that a universal approach to social protection is affordable, and that it has a profound impact on reducing inequality and protecting those who need it most., In addition to the full paper and executive summary, an Excel file with the data analysed by Oxfam and Development Pathways is available to download on this page, along with an annex on the crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The world has entered a new and dangerous era of climate change impacts, causing huge loss and damage and driving up inequality in the world’s poorest countries and communities that have contributed least to the climate crisis. New research by Oxfam estimates that funding requirements for UN humanitarian appeals linked to extreme weather are eight times higher than they were 20 years ago, and over the past five years nearly half of appeal requirements have gone unmet. Funding for emergency humanitarian response is piecemeal and painfully inadequate, as is broader support to address loss and damage such as rebuilding homes and vital infrastructure., Scaled-up financial support from governments, corporations and individuals most responsible for causing the climate crisis, and most able to pay, is an immediate necessity. A new finance facility must be created to help ensure that finance to address loss and damage is accessible and sustained, is additional to adaptation, mitigation and ODA commitments, and is delivered in accordance with the principles of climate justice.

The wealth of the world's 10 richest men has doubled since the pandemic began. The incomes of 99% of humanity are worse off because of COVID-19. Widening economic, gender, and racial inequalities—as well as the inequality that exists between countries—are tearing our world apart. This is not by chance, but choice: “economic violence” is perpetrated when structural policy choices are made for the richest and most powerful people. This causes direct harm to us all, and to the poorest people, women and girls, and racialized groups most. Inequality contributes to the death of at least one person every four seconds. But we can radically redesign our economies to be centered on equality. We can claw back extreme wealth through progressive taxation; invest in powerful, proven inequality-busting public measures; and boldly shift power in the economy and society. If we are courageous, and listen to the movements demanding change, we can create an economy in which nobody lives in poverty, nor with unimaginable billionaire wealth—in which inequality no longer kills., Depuis le début de la pandémie, la fortune des dix hommes les plus riches au monde a doublé. 99 % de l’humanité a des revenus moins importants que prévu à cause de la COVID-19. L’augmentation des inégalités économiques, de race et de genre, ainsi que les inégalités entre pays, fragmentent notre monde. Ceci n’est pas le fruit du hasard, mais de décisions politiques délibérées : une « violence économique » s’opère lorsque les choix de politiques structurelles sont faits pour les personnes les plus riches et les plus puissantes. Ces choix nous affectent toutes et tous, en particulier les personnes les plus pauvres, les femmes et les filles et les groupes racisés. Les inégalités contribuent à la mort d’au moins une personne toutes les quatre secondes. Mais nous pouvons repenser nos économies de façon radicale afin de faire de l’égalité notre priorité. Nous pouvons nous attaquer à la concentration extrême des richesses grâce à une fiscalité progressive ; investir dans des mesures publiques luttant contre les inégalités et repenser la distribution du pouvoir dans l’économie et la société. Si nous agissons avec courage et que nous écoutons les mouvements appelant au changement, nous pourrons construire une économie dans laquelle personne ne vit dans la pauvreté alors même qu’une autre personne peut amasser des milliards, une économie dans laquelle les inégalités ne tuent plus.

This paper takes a closer look at the gendered impact of conventional macroeconomic policies supported by the International Monetary Fund in its loan programmes for Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia since 2012. It calls on the IMF to build on its ongoing efforts to operationalize gender equality, and to go beyond policies of encouraging women’s labour force participation, to consider both productive and reproductive spheres and to integrate a gender perspective in the design of its programmes and policies. The paper also addresses the impact of these policies on poverty and inequality.

The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to lead to an increase in inequality in almost every country at once, the first time this has happened since records began. The virus has exposed, fed off and increased existing inequalities of wealth, gender and race. Over two million people have died, and hundreds of millions of people are being forced into poverty while many of the richest – individuals and corporations – are thriving. Billionaire fortunes returned to their pre-pandemic highs in just nine months, while recovery for the world’s poorest people could take over a decade. The crisis has exposed our collective frailty and the inability of our deeply unequal economy to work for all. Yet it has also shown us the vital importance of government action to protect our health and livelihoods. Transformative policies that seemed unthinkable before the crisis have suddenly been shown to be possible. There can be no return to where we were before. Instead, citizens and governments must act on the urgency to create a more equal and sustainable world., La pandémie de coronavirus pourrait aggraver les inégalités dans la quasitotalité des pays de la planète simultanément, une première depuis que ce type de données est consigné. Le virus a mis au jour et amplifié les inégalités de richesse, les inégalités de genre et les inégalités raciales existantes, tout en s’en nourrissant. Plus de deux millions de personnes ont perdu la vie, et des centaines de millions de personnes basculent dans la pauvreté alors que bon nombre des entreprises et des particuliers les plus riches prospèrent. Les milliardaires ont retrouvé le niveau de richesse qui était le leur avant la pandémie en seulement neuf mois, alors qu’il faudra plus de dix ans aux personnes les plus pauvres pour se relever des impacts économiques du coronavirus. La crise a mis au jour notre fragilité collective, ainsi que l’incapacité de notre économie profondément inégale à œuvrer dans l’intérêt de toutes et tous. Elle nous a également démontré l’importance cruciale de l’intervention des gouvernements dans la protection de notre santé et de nos moyens de subsistance. Des politiques transformatrices qui semblaient inenvisageables avant la crise se sont soudain révélées possibles. Le retour au monde d’avant n’est pas une option. Au lieu de cela, les citoyen-ne-s et les gouvernements doivent se mobiliser autour de l’urgence de créer un monde plus égalitaire et plus durable

Pre-pandemic, EU policies towards North Africa, especially Tunisia and Morocco, focused on two main paradigms: trade liberalization and the minimization of both regular and irregular migration. These agendas were incoherent and had overwhelmingly negative implications for the livelihoods and employment opportunities within the EU for the most vulnerable people in the Maghreb., As the coronavirus impacts continue to wreak havoc on world economies, any future negotiations on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTAs) ought to be geared towards supporting fair and inclusive recovery in North Africa based on reducing inequality and promoting shared prosperity and development.

The worsening inequality crisis triggered by COVID-19 is fuelled by an economic model that has allowed some of the world’s largest corporations to funnel billions of dollars in profits to shareholders giving yet another windfall to the world’s top billionaires, a small group of mostly white men. At the same time, it has left low wage workers and women to pay the price of the pandemic without social or financial protection. Since the onset of the pandemic, large corporations have put profits before workers’ safety, pushed costs down the supply chain and used their political influence to shape policy responses. COVID-19 should be the catalyst for radically reining in corporate power, restructuring business models with purpose and rewarding all those that work with profits, creating an economy for all.

The equation is simple: we cannot effectively respond to a global pandemic when millions of people are still caught in warzones. We cannot treat sick people when hospitals are being bombed, or prevent the spread of coronavirus when tens of millions are forced to flee from violence., We must have a global ceasefire, and we must put our collective resources behind making that ceasefire a reality.

New analysis shows the economic crisis caused by Coronavirus could push over half a billion people into poverty unless urgent and dramatic action is taken. This virus affects us all, even princes and prime ministers. But the equality ends there. By exploiting the extreme inequalities between rich and poor people, rich and poor nations and between women and men, unchecked this crisis will cause immense suffering., We can only beat this virus through coming together as one. Developing countries must act to protect their people, and demand action from rich nations to support them. Rich country governments must massively upscale their help – led by the G20. This paper lays out an Economic Rescue Plan For All that meets the scale of the crisis, mobilizing at least $2.5 trillion dollars to tackle the pandemic and prevent global economic collapse. It prioritizes helping people directly: giving cash grants to all who need them. An immediate suspension of the debt payments of poor countries, combined with a one-off economic stimulus by the IMF and an increase in aid and taxes, can pay for this., The key points of the ‘Economic Rescue Plan For All’ would be, 1. To provide cash grants for all who need them. All workers suffering a loss of income must have access to some form of income replacement, be it a wage subsidy, unemployment benefit, sick pay or other benefits., 2. Bail out businesses responsibly. The stimulus packages announced in response to the pandemic must not make the same mistakes as were made in the 2008 financial crisis. Instead, bailout money must go into the hands of the most vulnerable people – workers and small businesses who are the least prepared to cope., 3. Suspend and cancel debts. Cancelling debt payments is the fastest way to keep money in countries and to free up resources to tackle the urgent health, social and economic crises resulting from the global pandemic., 4. Issue Special Drawing Rights. The G20 should immediately propose an emergency issuance of $1 trillion in SDRs., 5. Increase aid now. Donors should provide immediate emergency support to limit the outbreak and save lives, both through multilateral bodies like the World Health Organization that are responsible for managing the global response and directly to developing countries., 6. Adopt emergency solidarity taxes. Governments must make use of extraordinary measures to tax those who can afford to be taxed, in order to fund the global health package and the global economic relief measures.