UN Expert Urges States To Finance Inclusive And Sustainable Development, Not A War Economy

GENEVA (9 April 2025) – Time is running out to save the financing of the sustainable development agenda, an independent human rights expert* warned today, calling on world leaders to seize the opportunity at the upcoming 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) to act decisively to address multiple challenges.

“Instead of funding a war economy, States should invest in people and the planet by financing sustainable development, including to end poverty and hunger, reduce inequalities, eliminate child labour, take climate action, and promote peaceful, inclusive and just societies,” said Surya Deva, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development.

As negotiations preceding the 2025 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development and the Fourth Preparatory Committee for the FfD4 unfold, the expert issued a Negotiation Brief, outlining key considerations that should underpin negotiations of the outcome document.

“The right to development provides a transformative pathway to overcome key existing challenges to financing for development. It is time for States to use principles of fair distribution, intersectionality, self-determination, intergenerational equity, international cooperation and disarmament to leave no one behind,” the expert said.

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Many countries, especially Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Land Locked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), face large funding gaps, aggravated by heavy debt burdens, trade barriers, declining Official Development Assistance (ODA), good governance gaps, unfair international financial architecture, and corporate tax avoidance and evasions.

“It is important that States mobilise financing not for any kind of development, but for inclusive, participatory and sustainable development,” Deva said. “States should reinforce the nexus between the three UN pillars of peace and security, sustainable development and human rights in the outcome document. And, since women and girls comprise about half of the world’s population, the FfD4 outcome document should mainstream achieving substantive gender equality as an overarching goal.”

The Special Rapporteur also stressed the need for the FfD4 outcome document to address the unsustainable debt burden of developing countries by invoking a range of measures such as debt swaps for climate action, long-term concessional loans, grants and debt service suspension during disasters. Steps should also be taken to reduce the high cost of borrowing faced by developing countries.

In his Brief, Deva has suggested several other measures to facilitate access to affordable, safe and green technologies, leverage additional innovative sources of financing, strengthen good governance and reform international financial architecture.

“Developed countries must work together for a more targeted, coordinated and efficient ODA process and honour the commitment to provide ODA of 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) to developing countries and 0.15-0.20 per cent of GNI to LDCs,” the expert said.

*The expert: Mr. Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development

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