Two weeks after Goma was captured by the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, many families who lost their loved ones are begging for peace. Some of them have had no news of their loved ones, while others have already identified their relatives, civilians and soldiers, who died during the fighting in the city.

By Attiya Waris and Ben Phillips
NAIROBI / BANGKOK, Feb 6 2025 – Why can’t there be education for every child? Why can’t there be healthcare for everyone who needs it? Why can’t everyone be freed from hunger and deprivation? Though these are promised to all as rights, people are repeatedly told that there is no money.

The wonderful news is that this is false: there is money, we know where it is going missing, we know how to get hold of it, and this year brings vital new opportunities for progress.

Across the world, US$492 billion is lost to tax abuse by the rich and powerful a year: two-thirds, US$347.6 billion, is lost to multinational corporations shifting profit offshore to underpay tax; one-third, US$144.8 billion, is lost to wealthy individuals hiding their wealth offshore.

This revelation, set out in the latest State of Tax Justice report, is shocking and appalling. But it can and should also be recognised as cause for hope: we have a world to win.

Taxation is technical and complex, and this technical complexity is often weaponised to claim that any policies to raise revenues from the wealthy won’t work. But expert economic analysis that the G20 has commissioned shows that wealth taxes would be effective in unlocking vital resources to tackle poverty and fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals.

Indeed, some countries are already taking action to do this. Spain has successfully introduced a wealth tax on the richest 0.5%. Calculations by the Tax Justice Network have demonstrated that the world could raise US $2.1 trillion by copying Spain’s example.

Likewise, the policy framework required to prevent profit shifting by multinational enterprises is known – a combination that needs to include them having to register who owns them, having to report on the tax they paid in each country they operate in, and having to pay tax in the places where they generate profit.

The major challenge then is ultimately less technical and more political. But even for this political challenge, a path through can be seen.

This year, countries finally begin negotiations on a United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, which will include “commitments on equitable taxation of multinational enterprises [and] addressing tax evasion and avoidance by high-net worth individuals and ensuring their effective taxation.”

This year, too, momentum will be further boosted by the International Conference on Financing for Development, hosted 30th June to 3rd July by Spain, the draft outcome document of which includes commitments to ensuring that “profit shifting” by multinational enterprises is tackled so that they “pay taxes to the countries where economic activity occurs and value is created”, and to “strengthening the taxation of high-net-worth Individuals.”

Taxing the wealthy has been shown to be hugely popular across countries. And civil society campaigning is picking up pace. Building on the wave of mobiisation for tax justice worldwide, over forty organisations from across the world have united a joint campaign to “tax the super-rich”.

Their common platform calls for:

• Implementing ambitious tax rates on the richest people that are high enough to reduce inequality
• Using revenues raised to invest ending poverty, reducing inequality, and tackling the world’s most pressing social and environmental issues
• Ensuring global cooperation to curb illicit financial flows that allow the super-rich to evade tax responsibility
• Shifting decision-making on taxation to a fair and globally inclusive forum, ensuring that all countries – particularly poorer ones – have an equal voice

For too long it has been normalised that whilst international law and national constitutions promise people inalienable rights, the resourcing needed to realise those rights is denied. But what does it mean for a child to be promised a notional right to an education if there is no school nearby, if fees prevent her attending, if there are not enough teachers, or if the conditions of the school make learning impossible?

What does it mean for a person to be promised a notional right to health if health centres are not staffed with enough nurses and doctors – and medicines? Fiscal policy is the instrument that makes the promise of rights a lived reality.

The extent of resources that can be deployed, and the measures that can secure those resources, are not mysteries, they are political choices.

Securing the resources needed to deliver on rights will not be easy. The concentration of wealth has also brought a concentration of power. But that is another reason why taxing the super-rich in each country across the world is vital: it won’t only raise essential revenue to provide essential services and prevent the most vulnerable from slipping deeper into poverty; it will also help restore democracy.

Attiya Waris is Professor of Fiscal Law at the University of Nairobi and UN Independent Expert on foreign debt, other international financial obligations, and human rights.

Ben Phillips is the author of “How to Fight Inequality”.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Philippe Benoit
WASHINGTON DC, Feb 6 2025 – For centuries, innumerable countries were ruled by an entrenched, typically inherited, political class: the “aristocracy.” The term comes from the Ancient Greek words “aristos”, meaning best, and “kratia,” meaning power. As a result of long and hard-fought democratic struggles, these aristocracies have largely dwindled worldwide (albeit, not everywhere).

Today, we are seeing the emergence of a new aristocracy in another arena: the millionaires whose consumption privileges produce per capita CO2 emissions incompatible with global climate goals. Like the aristocrats of the past, they are spread around the world. Meeting global emissions goals will require addressing the privileges of these worldwide wealthy big emitters, what can be called the “carbon aristocrats.”

According to Oxfam, the world’s richest 1% are responsible for 15% of global emissions. [By comparison, the world’s poorest 50% produce 8% of global emissions.] This class is mostly made up of millionaires, who now total nearly 60 million globally and are projected to grow in number to over 65 million by 2028 (according to the UBS Wealth Report).

According to Oxfam, the world’s richest 1% are responsible for 15% of global emissions. [By comparison, the world’s poorest 50% produce 8% of global emissions.] This class is mostly made up of millionaires, who now total nearly 60 million globally and are projected to grow in number to over 65 million by 2028

The United States has the most with 22 million, followed by China at nearly 7 million. Significantly, about 34% of the world’s millionaires live outside the U.S. and Western Europe, including not only China, but also South-East Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. In fact, 10 of the 15 countries with the projected fastest growth in millionaires are emerging economies. Millionaires have increasingly become a worldwide phenomenon.

The aristocrats of the past were united by many common behaviors. From the Channel to Moscow, they often spoke French better than their own country’s native tongue. Their children were frequently sent abroad to elite boarding schools in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. They vacationed together on the Cote d’Azur.

Similarly, the carbon aristocrats of today are united by what they have in common notwithstanding differing nationalities, namely a shared extravagant lifestyle and a corresponding sense of entitlement to emit large amounts of CO2. From private planes to superyachts to multiple mansions, this class of emitters shares consumption patterns that are the reserved domain of the privileged wealthy.

The unsurprising result is an inordinately high per capita level of CO2 emissions. If all these carbon aristocrats were to gather in their own exclusive nation, it would constitute the second highest CO2 emitting country in the world, behind only China with its 1.4 billion people and more than the United States with its 335 million.

Significantly, climate operates differently than economics. While the rich and their capital can generate income for the middle-class, workers and even the poor, climate is more akin to a type of zero-sum game.

The more carbon that the wealthy emit, the less carbon there is available for others consistent with limiting climate change. Like political power which was hoarded by the aristocrats of the past to the detriment of others, the carbon budget is currently being grabbed by this carbon-entitled aristocracy.

In response, I, like others, have advocated for a carbon tax targeting luxury-consumption related emissions — perhaps better termed a “carbon extravagance tax” to reflect the fundamentally gratuitous character of emissions from superyachts and similar activities in contrast to those generated by essential needs such as producing food and heating homes.

This analysis builds on the seminal work of Professor Henry Shue who back in 1992 argued for differentiating between emissions from vital subsistence activities and discretionary luxury ones.

The world has changed a great deal since then. Not only have emissions climbed dramatically over the past 30 years, there are also a lot more millionaires with high per capita emissions.

As the number of these millionaires continues to grow year upon year, including notably in the emerging economies of the Global South, it has become evident that, more than a country-based or even OECD-oriented measure, what is required is an effort targeting carbon-entitled aristocrats worldwide.

Notably, some form of internationally coordinated carbon extravagance taxes, regulations and more is needed given the cross-border mobility of the carbon-entitled aristocrats with their planes, superyachts and multiple mansions.

But the opposition to these types of measures will surely be formidable as these modern carbon aristocrats, like the aristocrats of the past, look to hold on to their privilege … in this case to emit large amounts of CO2. It’s a resistance potentially uniting the very rich and powerful of the United States with the governing elites of China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India and elsewhere in an anti-regulatory effort.

Unfortunately, given current emissions trends, there isn’t the time to wait for voluntary action on their part. Rather, the challenge is to change the emissions patterns and, perhaps most importantly, the carbon-entitled mindset of these aristocrats.

The international community needs to consider initiatives and measures to tackle these CO2 emissions of the carbon aristocracy because the climate change analysis indicates there is no other choice.

Philippe Benoit is Managing Director at Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050 (www.gias2050.com) and publishes extensively on international energy and climate change issues.

By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 6 2025 – A new executive order from the United States White House calls for withdrawing support from major UN entities and a review of all international intergovernmental organizations which the United States is a member of. The U.S.’s orders against the UN Palestine Refugee Agency also do not bode well for ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.

President Donald Trumps comments that the “US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” have also been widely criticized.

On Tuesday, the White House issued an executive order, where they announced that they will pull out from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) effective immediately and called for a review of its membership in UN and other intergovernmental organizations. The executive order singles out other UN entities that needed “further scrutiny”—the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); and the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The executive order suspended all funding to these organizations.

The executive order also cites that UNESCO has failed to address “mounting arrears” and reform, also noting that it has demonstrated anti-Israeli sentiments over the last decade. A review of the U.S.’s membership in UNESCO would assess whether it supports the country’s interests, and would include an analysis of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli sentiment within the organization.

The United States announced that no funds or grants would go towards the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), citing corruption within the organization and the infiltration of terrorist groups such as Hamas.

UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday that in light of the United States’ decision, this would not change the UN’s “commitment to supporting UNRWA in its work”, or the HRC’s importance as a part of the “overall human rights architecture within the United Nations”.

“It has been clear for us that U.S. support for the United Nations has saved countless lives and global security,” said Dujarric. “The Secretary-General is looking forward to speaking with President (Donald) Trump, he looks forward to continuing what was a very, I think, frank and productive relationship during the first term. He looks to strengthening the relationship in the turbulent times that we live in.”

On Wednesday the newly-elected chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Ambassador Coly Seck, Permanent Representative of Senegal, told a told a press conference that it condemned the ban by Israel on UNWRA .

“We strongly condemn Israel’s ban UNWRA which obstructs vital humanitarian cooperation in direct violation of the UN mandate and General Assembly resolutions in stabilizing the ceasefire and supporting Gaza’s recovery. This ban imposed immediately after the ceasefire, deal will deepen Gaza suffering.”

The suspension of aid funding from the United States is already impacting humanitarian operations across different agencies. Dujarric said that the U.S. had committed 15 million USD to the trust fund, of which 1.7 million has already been spent. This leaves 13.3 million frozen and unusable at this time.

Pio Smith, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) told reporters in Geneva that they had to suspend the programs funded by US grants, which included funds that were already committed to the agency. Smith warned that the lack of funding would impact programs in places such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Worldwide, more than half of UNFPA’s facilities, 596 out of 982, would be impacted by this funding pause.

Vivian van de Perre, the Deputy Head of its UN Mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told reporters in New York on Wednesday that the recent pause in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has forced humanitarian partners on the ground to suspend their work. “…Many of the partners, including IOM (the International Organization for Migration), which is a key partner for us, need to stop their work due to the USAID stop-work order,” she said.

The executive order, along with Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would move into and claim Gaza cast a shadow of doubt over ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk said that the priority now must be to move to the next phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, an end to the war, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

“The suffering of people in the [occupied Palestinian territories] and Israel has been unbearable. Palestinians and Israelis need peace and security, on the basis of full dignity and equality,” Türk said in a statement. “International law is very clear. The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be protected by all States, as the International Court of Justice recently underlined afresh. Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited.”

The forcible removal of 2.2 million Palestinians from Gaza that Trump is calling for has been decried and been called a violation of international humanitarian law.

“Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” said Dujarric when asked about Trump’s remarks. “…In our search for solutions, we must not make the problem worse. Whatever solutions we find need to be rooted in the bedrock of international law.”

Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, briefing reporters after the opening session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, added his condemnation of Trump’s plan.

Mansour said with regard to the idea of “kicking the Palestinian people out from the Gaza Strip, I just want to tell you that during the last 24 hours, statements from heads of states, of Egypt, of Jordan, of the State of Palestine, of Saudi Arabia and many countries, including countries who spoke in the debate in the room behind us during the meeting of the committee, condemn these efforts.”

He said Trump’s plan has been met with a “global consensus on not allowing forced transfer to take place, ethnic cleansing to take place. We Palestinians love every part of the State of Palestine. We love the Gaza Strip. It is part of our DNA.”

The march of Palestinians from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip following the ceasefire was proof of the people’s committment to rebuild their own homes, Mansour said.

“More than 400,000 of them to go to the rubbles in the northern Gaza in order to start cleaning around their destroyed homes.”

At the White House, Trump’s aids attempted a row back on his comments. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told journalists that it Trump was proposing to rebuil Gaza, and his press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said “the president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 6 2025 – February 6 is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). A practice deemed a gross violation of human rights, tragically the practice persists across multiple countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Over 230 million women and girls alive today have been subjected to this gruesome practice, and experts warn that at least 27 million more could endure this by 2030.

This year’s theme: “Stepping up the pace: Strengthening alliances and building movements to end female genital mutilation,” spotlights that collective action from multiple groups and stakeholders is paramount. Both UNICEF and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) call the joint efforts of survivors, advocates, women and girls, men and boys, community leaders, governments, the private sector, and donors, to address the issue.

The efforts of survivors, activists and grassroots movements must be upheld and unimpeded, with leaders and communities making sure to respect. To that end, investing in these groups is key to scaling up effective interventions and producing results, which governments, donors and the private sector should pledge to commit to.

Through the UNICEF-UNFPA Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, nearly 7 million girls and women received prevention and protective services related to FGM. So far, 20,000 grassroots organizations have been integrated into networks working towards ending FGM. The programme has been implemented in 18 countries, including Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan, and Indonesia.

In a joint statement, the heads of UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) reaffirm their commitment to work together to tackle the issue and abolish FGM once and for all. The organizations acknowledge that significant progress has been made in raising awareness and building up public consensus against FGM, noting the decline in countries like Kenya and Uganda. This has been achieved through the strength of multi-sectoral partnerships and social change.

“Yet the fragility of progress made has also become starkly evident,” the statement reads. “In the Gambia, for example, attempts to repeal the ban on female genital mutilation persist, even after an initial proposal to do so was rejected by its parliament last year. Such efforts could gravely undermine the rights, health, and dignity of future generations of girls and women, jeopardizing the tireless work over decades to change attitudes and mobilize communities.”

The Gambia made international news last year when attempts were made to repeal the amendment in the Women’s (Amendment) Act 2011 which criminalizes FGM. Although the repeal was successfully prevented, this signaled that women’s rights still faced challenges, especially in a country where 73 percent of girls aged 15-19 have undergone FGM.

For their part, UNICEF, UNFPA and civil society partners in Gambia launched a campaign that brought the voices of survivors to the forefront to challenge this repeal.

UNICEF’s Gambia Representative Nafisa Binta Shafique told IPS that since this challenge, they has been working closely with government partners including the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare to develop a revised FGM National Strategy and Action Plan, which will be “grounded in amplifying women’s leadership and engaging with men, boys and religious leaders in the country’s effort to end FGM”.

“Every child, every girl and women, has the right to be protected,” Shafique said. “Together, we are working to break down social barriers and taboos to ensure transformative and sustainable change that protects every woman and girl.”

UNICEF, UNFPA, and WHO are also calling for greater accountability “at all levels” to ensure countries uphold their commitment to human rights and invest in the implementation of strategies that protect girls at risk and ensure justice for survivors.

Accountability should be directed at governments and community leaders who do not push for the ban of FGM and do not challenge its pervasiveness. Accountability should also be directed to the medical practitioners that administer FGM in these countries, as recent evidence shows at 66 percent of girls received it at the hands of a doctor or a nurse. These health personnel should be held accountable for administering a practice that has proven to be detrimental to women and girls’ overall health and has resulted in physical and psychological trauma.

The current rate of decline has to increase drastically in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending FGM by or before 2030. Seven out of the 31 countries with national data are on track to meet this goal. UNICEF projects that the rate of decline has to be 27 times faster in order for these countries to meet that goal on time.

International intergovernmental organizations like UNFPA and UNCIEF have the resources to provide safe reproductive health practices for women and girls and to promote these messages on bigger platforms. The work of civil society and grassroots organizations are the bedrock to build up support and raise awareness within local communities.

Frontline Women’s Fund, a nonprofit that promotes women’s rights and protections through building connections between frontline women’s groups and donors, is one such group which has made FGM one of its key issues. Through a dedicated fund, the Efua Dorkenoo Fund to End Female Genital Mutilation, the group provides direct funding and visibility to civil society groups that deal with this issue. Among its grantees is the Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), who were active in protecting the FGM ban last year alongside other women- and youth-led civil society groups, and have continued their work building awareness for reproductive health rights.

The fund’s director, Jarai Sabally said that Frontline Women’s Fund work to support and amplify the voices of activists, survivors and grassroots leaders who are in the best positions to ensure real change by calling for abolishing FGM in their own communities.

“Ending female genital mutilation is not just about eliminating a harmful traditional practice—it is about reclaiming bodily autonomy, dignity, and justice for women and girls,” said Sabally. “The urgency of this issue is only heightened by a rising global trend of patriarchal conservatism, ushering in new legal challenges to women’s and girls’ civil rights.”

“As we commemorate Zero Tolerance Day, we must recognize that women’s bodies are not symbols for patriarchal nationalism to control. The fight to end FGM is part of the larger struggle for human rights—dismantling systems that seek to define women’s and girls’ worth through violence and subjugation.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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