Ahead of the Summit of the Future (SoF) in September, the UN SDG Action Campaign – an SDG communications and outreach initiative established by the UN Secretary-General to serve Member States and the UN while mobilizing individuals “to champion the SDGs in homes, communities and beyond” – convened a civil society meeting to share views and agree on messages, priorities, and strategies pertaining to the reform of the global financial architecture.

Representatives from civil society, the UN, and other international organizations exchanged views and provided inputs to the Governments of Germany and Namibia – the co-facilitators of the intergovernmental preparatory process of the Summit of the Future. They focused on structural problems plaguing the international financial architecture and offered recommendations on how to improve it.

Participants acknowledged that the current international financial architecture is “dysfunctional and unfit to address today’s polycrisis.” They stressed the need to address the power imbalance in the international financial system that leads to unequal representation of developing and developed countries.

Speakers challenged the current structure and terms of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan conditionalities that undermine countries’ human rights obligations and commitments to the SDGs, along with the role of credit rating agencies in impeding developing countries’ access to capital markets and their impact on interest rates.

Participants questioned the international tax architecture that allows for illicit financial flows, tax evasion, and tax avoidance. Some also expressed concern about increased global military spending at a time when investments in human rights, climate, and the SDGs are urgently needed.

Civil society representatives underscored the need for a fair international trading system to stop the net outflow of resources from the Global South to the Global North. They called for access to concessional climate finance and affordable technology for vulnerable countries, to build their resilience to crises and invest in the green transformation of their economies.

Speakers lamented the lack of accountability and transparency for multinational corporations, which allows them to engage in practices that undermine human rights and the SDGs. The lack of governance frameworks and regulation and the concentration of power among a few companies in the digital, financial, agricultural, and pharmaceutical sectors were also among the concerns raised.

The Civil Society Strategic and Networking Meeting was held in Bonn, Germany, from 20-21 March 2024. In advance of the meeting, the SDG Action Campaign published stories spotlighting “debt justice” and “rethinking the international financial architecture.” [UN SDG Action Campaign Story on Civil Society Strategic and Networking Meeting] [UN SDG Action Campaign] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on ECOSOC FfD Forum 2024] [SDG Knowledge Hub Policy Brief on Reforming Financial Architecture to Achieve New Forms of Cooperation]