Latest news with #ONU
Zawya
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Ecuador Views Autonomy Initiative as 'Basis' to Resolve Moroccan Sahara Regional Dispute
Ecuador reaffirmed on Friday in Rabat that the Autonomy Initiative represents "the basis' to resolve the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. This position was voiced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of the Republic of Ecuador, Mrs. Gabriela Sommerfeld, during a press briefing following her talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita. In this regard, and in line with the majority of UN member states, the Republic of Ecuador also expressed its support for Morocco's efforts to achieve a realistic, pragmatic, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution to this regional dispute within the framework of the United Nations. It is worth recalling that the Republic of Ecuador withdrew its recognition of the so-called "sadr" on October 22, 2024, and severed all ties with this fictitious entity. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.
CTV News
30-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Nations meet in Spain for UN effort to raise trillions to combat poverty without the U.S.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, left, speaks with Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, during the four-day Financing for Development meeting in the southern city of Seville, Spain, Monday, June 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Angel Garcia) BARCELONA, Spain — Many of the world's nations gathered Monday in Spain for a high-level conference to tackle the growing gap between rich and poor nations and try to drum up trillions of dollars needed to close it. The United States, previously a major contributor, pulled its participation, so finding funding will be tough. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recognized the challenges to the four-day Financing for Development meeting in the southern city of Seville. The conference is taking place as many countries face escalating debt burdens, declining investments, decreasing international aid and increasing trade barriers. 'Financing is the engine of development. And right now, this engine is sputtering,' Guterres said in his opening comments Monday. 'We are here in Sevilla to change course, to repair and rev up the engine of development to accelerate investment at the scale and speed required.' The U.N. and Spain, the conference co-hosts, believe the meeting is an opportunity to reverse the downward spiral, close the staggering $4 trillion annual financing gap to promote development, bring millions of people out of poverty and help achieve the U.N.'s wide-ranging and badly lagging Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Even though the gathering comes amid global economic uncertainty and high geopolitical tensions, there is hope among the hosts that the world can address one of the most important global challenges: ensuring all people have access to food, health care, education and water. 'The government of Spain believes that this summit is an opportunity for us to change course, for us to raise our voice in the face of those who seek to convince us that rivalry and competition will set the tone for humanity and for its future,' Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told the delegates as he inaugurated the conference. The ambitious package seeks to reverse decline in development High-level delegations, including more than 70 world leaders, are attending in Seville, the U.N. said, along with several thousand others from international financial institutions, development banks, philanthropic organizations, the private sector and civil society. At its last preparatory meeting on June 17, the United States rejected the 38-page outcome document that had been negotiated for months by the U.N.'s 193 member nations and announced its withdrawal from the process and from the Seville conference. The rest of the countries then approved the document by consensus and sent it to Seville, where it is to be adopted by conference participants without changes. It will be known as the Seville Commitment, or Compromiso de Sevilla in Spanish. The document says the leaders and high-level representatives have decided to launch 'an ambitious package of reforms and actions to close the financing gap with urgency,' saying it is now estimated at $4 trillion a year. Among the proposals and actions, it calls for minimum tax revenue of 15% of a country's gross domestic product to increase government resources, a tripling of lending by multilateral development banks, and scaling up private financing by providing incentives for investing in critical areas like infrastructure. It also calls for a number of reforms to help countries deal with rising debt. U.N. trade chief Rebeca Grynspan said recently that 'development is going backward' and the global debt crisis has worsened. Last year, 3.3 billion people were living in countries that pay more interest on their debts than they spend on health or education, and the number will increase to 3.4 billion people this year, according to Grynspan. And developing countries will pay $947 billion to service debts this year, up from $847 billion last year. She spoke at a press conference where an expert group on debt appointed by Guterres presented 11 recommendations that they say can resolve the debt crisis, empower borrowing countries and create a fairer system. U.S. objections to the document While the U.S. objected to many actions in the outcome document, American diplomat Jonathan Shrier told the June 17 meeting: 'Our commitment to international cooperation and long-term economic development remains steadfast.' He said, however, that the text 'crosses many of our red lines,' including interfering with the governance of international financial institutions, tripling the annual lending capacity of multilateral development banks and proposals envisioning a role for the U.N. in the global debt architecture. Shrier also objected to proposals on trade, tax and innovation that are not in line with U.S. policy, as well as language on a U.N. framework convention on international tax cooperation. The United States was the world's largest single founder of foreign aid. The Trump administration has dismantled its main aid agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development, while drastically slashing foreign assistance funding, calling it wasteful and contrary to the Republican president's agenda. Other Western donors also have cut back international aid. U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said last week that the U.S. withdrawal from the conference was 'unfortunate,' stressing 'many of the recommendations you see cannot be pursued without a continuous engagement with the U.S.' After Seville, 'we will engage again with the U.S. and hope that we can make the case that they be part of the success of pulling millions of people out of poverty.' Joseph Wilson And Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press Lederer reported from the United Nations.
The Guardian
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
How did Spain come to be the only nation holding firm on its aid spending?
Spain swims against the tide. At a time when much of Europe is grappling with economic crises, caving in to populist anti-aid narratives and slashing development budgets, the country is increasing its financial support for the global south. Instead of planning future aid cuts, Spain has put ambitious goals for 2030 into law. Moreover, at a time when much of the world is looking inward and retreating from multilateralism, Spain will host a UN summit in Seville this month, the first of its kind in the global north. Dozens of heads of government, state and multilateral organisations will discuss how to finance development in a post-aid world, suffocated by military spending and unpayable debt in dozens of countries, particularly those in Africa. For the Spanish government, the forthcoming Seville summit is a clear political statement. By promoting multilateralism and international cooperation – while increasing development aid – Spain has become an outlier in the new world disorder. After all, the Trump administration is not alone in slashing development aid. The UK, France and Germany, among others, have jumped on the aid-cutting bandwagon. According to OECD figures, official development assistance dropped by 7.1% globally in 2024, with the European Union cutting aid by 8.6%. And the OECD warns that this marks just the beginning of a broader downward trend; projections suggest that 2025 could see the largest aid cut in history. In sharp contrast, Spain increased its foreign aid by 12%, according to the foreign ministry last year, and has committed to reaching the longstanding target of allocating 0.7% of its gross domestic product by 2030. It is worth noting that, despite these pledges, Spain is not at present particularly generous. Development aid accounts for just 0.25% of GDP, which is less than the 0.33% OECD average. This means not only that Spain has a long way to go to meet the 0.7% commitment, but also that the government's pro-aid rhetoric is only partly backed up by euros and dollars. Moreover, part of that aid – as in other donor countries – is dedicated to hosting refugees in Spain. At a time when international solidarity is crumbling, however, Spain's political commitment and vocal support for aid matters all the same. So how did we get here, and what makes Spain (alongside a few other countries such as Portugal or Italy) the Asterix's Gaulish village of aid? And more importantly, are there lessons here for other countries? International cooperation has traditionally been a matter of national consensus in Spain. Solidarity with those beyond its borders is woven into the country's identity – rooted, perhaps, in its own historical memory of underdevelopment. Like Ireland and South Korea – countries also defending aid – Spain became rich after having been poor. Spain's post-civil war suffering and relative poverty until recent decades make it easier for Spaniards to empathise with hardship abroad. The country's own development, too, was aided by external support. More recently, European cohesion funds, in particular, played a crucial role. Spain continues to look to Europe with a sense of gratitude and trust. During the Franco dictatorship, Europe was seen as both a lifeline and a beacon of freedoms. Isolationism is not part of the national sentiment. Support for aid has traditionally united parties across the political spectrum, from the left and the right to the regional independents. The new Cooperation Law, passed in 2023, received backing from every party in parliament – except the far-right Vox. Beyond institutional politics, foreign aid also enjoys strong support among the Spanish public. Last year, Spain was the world's largest private donor to the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, in absolute terms, which is remarkable for a medium-sized country. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Another reason for this enduring support lies in the influence of Spain's traditional, often Catholic, conservative base. Many of these communities have long defended solidarity and social justice as core Christian principles. And while the far right is growing in Spain, its influence remains limited compared with Reform UK, France's National Rally (RN, formerly the National Front), or Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). On aid policy specifically, Vox has so far failed to drag Spain's traditional conservative People's party further to the right. There is a more pragmatic factor that should not be underestimated. While the economies of major donor countries are struggling, Spain continues to grow. While the European Commission forecasts just 0.9% growth for the eurozone, Spain is expected to grow at a much healthier 2.6%. These figures matter – but don't tell the whole story. Beneath the surface lies growing inequality, the kind that has fuelled anger and driven millions of disaffected voters into the arms of populist protest parties in other countries. Yet Spain continues to champion development cooperation – alongside feminism, climate action, giving legal status to migrants and diversity policies – placing itself at odds with the culture war agenda. With its progressive stand, Spain tries to position itself as a bridge between the global south and the north – a role in which it holds a degree of some credibility, particularly in light of its outspoken support for Palestinians in Gaza. But there are signs pointing out that a shift might also happen in Spain. The traditional social cohesion, which united Spaniards despite party politics, is cracking at an alarming rate. Society is increasingly polarised and fragile. So far, changes in government have not led to major shifts in international cooperation policy, but it would be unwise to underestimate the speed of change elsewhere. In regions where Vox holds or held power along with the traditional right, such as Aragón and Valencia, demands for budget cuts have emerged. On social media, political rivals shout at each other and shamelessly manufacture fake news. We saw it during the recent floods in Valencia, where the traditional right spread xenophobic messages alleging the government cared more about victims in Gaza than those closer to home. Meanwhile, political instability in Spain is growing ever more evident in the aftermath of corruption scandals involving the ruling Socialist party. If there were to be early elections, a new approach to aid could gain traction. Those who believe Spanish social solidarity is too deeply rooted to turn back should perhaps look at the US, Trump's arrival and the dismantling of USAID. Ana Carbajosa is editor-in-chief of Planeta Futuro, the development section of El País
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
UN warns of 'ongoing tragedy' as Indigenous groups in Colombia face extinction
BOGOTA, Colombia — The United Nations human rights office in Colombia warned Tuesday that five Indigenous groups in a storied mountain range face 'physical and cultural' extinction, a critical threat that stems from armed groups fighting over their territory and insufficient state protection. Scott Campbell, Colombia's representative for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement that the risk of physical and cultural extinction of Indigenous People of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is 'an ongoing tragedy that we can and must prevent.'
Al Arabiya
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
France calls on Israel to allow ‘massive and unhampered' aid to Gaza
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Sunday called on Israel to allow the 'immediate, massive and unhampered' resumption of aid to Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would allow a 'basic amount' in. 'After three months of diplomatic efforts, the Israeli government finally announces the reopening of humanitarian aid to Gaza,' Barrot posted on X. 'It must be immediate, massive and unhampered. 'It must put an end to the catastrophic humanitarian situation and definitively end the famine,' he added. Earlier, Netanyahu announced that on the army's recommendation, 'Israel will authorize the entry of a basic amount of food for the population to ensure that a hunger crisis does not develop in the Gaza Strip', a statement from his office said. Since Israel's aid blockade began on March 2, Gaza's health ministry, UN organizations and some foreign leaders have been warning of the danger of famine in the territory.
