Oxfam International urges Spain to lead the global fight against inequality in the run-up to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville

Oxfam International and Oxfam Intermón met with Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, to address the global challenge that the extreme concentration of wealth poses to our democracies, international cooperation and multilateralism. Spain must lead an international commitment to fight extreme inequality during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which will be held in Seville this coming June.

The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development is an historic opportunity that brings the world’s countries together. There is a pressing need to address the inequalities between the Global North and South. Economic governance must also be reformed for the countries of the Global South while taking into account the domestic challenges specific to each country.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez agreed to make the fight against inequality a key part of the Seville conference agenda.

Oxfam urged Prime Minister Sánchez to press for an initiative to reduce international inequality. Any such initiative must include a commitment led by the United Nations for fair taxation that applies to the ultra-rich and ensures effective taxation of large corporations on their international operations; that promotes a mechanism for global debt governance that does not prevent countries from the Global South from investing in essential services such as health and education; and finally, that makes a radical shift to measure development in a way that goes beyond using GDP as the only indicator of progress. “If we want to end inequality and poverty, we cannot continue using indicators that measure everything strictly in economic terms, without accounting for social issues,” said Behar.

In its latest report published in the context of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Oxfam noted its concern for the rise in extreme poverty and accumulation of wealth in the hands of the richest people in the world. “Multilateralism and global cooperation are tools to combat inequality and guarantee global justice. Spain must be a decisive leader during the upcoming International Conference on Financing for Development,” said Behar.

“Oxfam Intermón reiterates its commitment to working with the Spanish Government to ensure that this conference marks the start of a new era in the fight against inequality and for tax justice, global economic governance and the defence of human rights,” said Cortada.