Bangladesh’s Democratic Promise Hangs in the Balance

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Opinion

Credit: Abdul Goni/Reuters via Gallo Images

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Jul 7 2025 (IPS) – When Bangladesh’s streets erupted in protest in mid-2024, few could have predicted how swiftly Sheikh Hasina’s regime would crumble. The ousting of the prime minister last August, after years of mounting authoritarianism and growing discontent, was heralded as a historic opportunity for democratic renewal. Almost a year on, the question remains whether Bangladesh is genuinely evolving towards democracy, or if one form of repression is replacing another.

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, confronts enormous challenges in delivering meaningful change. While it has taken significant steps – releasing political prisoners, initiating constitutional reforms, signing international human rights treaties and pursuing accountability for past violations – persistent abuses, political exclusion and economic instability continue to cast long shadows over the transition. The coming months will prove decisive in determining whether Bangladesh can truly break from its authoritarian past.

From electoral fraud to revolution

The roots of Bangladesh’s current upheaval trace back to the deeply flawed general election of 7 January 2024. The vote, which saw Hasina’s Awami League (AL) secure a fourth consecutive term, was widely dismissed as a foregone conclusion. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted the election in protest at the government’s refusal to reinstate a neutral caretaker system.

The government unleashed an intense crackdown ahead of the vote. It imprisoned thousands of opposition activists and weaponised the criminal justice system to silence dissent, leading to deaths in police custody and enforced disappearances. This repression extended to civil society, with human rights activists and journalists facing harassment, arbitrary detention and violence. The government sponsored fake opposition candidates to create an illusion of competition, resulting in plummeting voter turnout and a crisis of legitimacy.

When opposition rallies occurred, they were met with overwhelming force. On 28 October 2023, police responded to a major opposition protest in Dhaka with rubber bullets, teargas and stun grenades, resulting in at least 16 deaths, with thousands injured and detained.

The situation deteriorated further after the election. In June 2024, the reinstatement of a controversial quota system for public sector jobs triggered mass student-led protests that would ultimately topple Hasina’s government. These protests rapidly evolved into a broader revolt against entrenched corruption, economic inequality and political impunity.

The government’s response was systematically brutal. According to a United Nations fact-finding report, between July and August security forces killed as many as 1,400 people, including many children, often shooting protesters at point-blank range. They denied the injured medical care and intimidated hospital staff. The scale of violence eventually led the military to refuse further involvement, forcing Hasina to resign and flee Bangladesh.

Reform efforts amid political discord

The interim government identified three core priorities: institutional reforms, trials of perpetrators of political violence and elections. Its initial months brought significant progress. The government released detained protesters and human rights defenders, signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and established a commission of inquiry into enforced disappearances.

This commission documented around 1,700 complaints and found evidence of systematic use of enforced disappearances to target political opponents and activists, with direct complicity by Hasina and senior officials. In October, the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal issued arrest warrants for Hasina and 44 others for massacres during the 2024 protests, although the tribunal has a troubled history and retains the death penalty, contrary to international norms.

The Constitution Reform Commission has proposed expanding fundamental rights, with a bicameral parliament and term limits for top offices. However, the process has been undermined by the exclusion of major political players – most notably the AL – and minority groups.

Political tensions escalated as the interim government faced mounting pressure to set a general election date. Opposition parties accused it of deliberate stalling. The army chief publicly demanded elections by the end of 2025, while student groups sought postponement until reforms and justice were secured. After initial uncertainty, the government announced the election would occur in April 2026.

The most dramatic escalation came in May, when the interim government banned all AL activities under the Anti-Terrorism Act following renewed protests. The Election Commission subsequently suspended the AL’s registration, effectively barring it from future elections and fundamentally altering Bangladesh’s political landscape.

Economic challenges compound these political difficulties. Bangladesh remains fragile after devastating floods in 2024, while the banking sector faces stress from surging non-performing loans. Inflation continues outpacing wage growth and economic austerity measures agreed with the International Monetary Fund have sparked fresh protests.

Authoritarian patterns persist

Despite promises of change, old patterns of repression prove stubborn. Human rights groups document ongoing security forces abuses, including arbitrary arrests of opposition supporters and journalists, denial of due process and continued lack of accountability for past crimes. In the first two months of 2025 alone, over 1,000 police cases were filed against tens of thousands of people, mainly AL members or perceived supporters. A February crackdown on Hasina’s supporters led to over 1,300 arrests.

Press freedom remains severely threatened. In November, the interim government revoked the accreditation of 167 journalists. Around 140 journalists viewed as aligned with the previous regime have faced charges, with 25 accused of crimes against humanity, forcing many into hiding. Attacks on media outlets continue, including vandalism of newspaper offices.

The draft Cyber Protection Ordinance, intended to replace the repressive Cyber Security Act, has drawn criticism for retaining vague provisions criminalising defamation and ‘hurting religious sentiments’ while granting authorities sweeping powers for warrantless searches. Rights groups warn this law could stifle dissent in the run-up to elections.

Uncertain path forward

Bangladesh’s journey demonstrates that democratic transitions are inherently difficult, nonlinear and deeply contested processes. Democracy isn’t a guaranteed outcome, but the chances improve when political leaders are genuinely committed to reform and inclusive dialogue, and political players, civil society and the public practise sustained vigilance.

While the interim government has achieved steps unthinkable under the previous regime, the persistence of arbitrary arrests, attacks on journalists and the exclusion of key political players suggests authoritarianism’s shadow still looms large.

The upcoming general election will provide a crucial test of whether Bangladesh can finally turn the page on authoritarianism. The answer lies in whether Bangladeshis across government, civil society and beyond are able to build something genuinely new. The stakes are high in a country where many have already sacrificed much for the promise of democratic freedom.

Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org

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History Today: When Anne Frank went into hiding and wrote ‘Diary of a Young Girl’

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Anne Frank, one of the most famous diarists during World War II, went into hiding with her family in Amsterdam on July 6, 1942. The Frank family went into hiding in ‘The Secret Annexe’ in the building that housed her father’s business. Also, on this day in 1957, Althea Gibson etched history by becoming the first African-American woman to win a singles title at Wimbledon

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‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ explores the life of 13-year-old Anne Frank, who went into hiding after the Germans began hunting Jews in the Netherlands. It was on July 6, 1942, that the Frank family went into hiding to escape persecution during World War II.

If you are a history geek who loves to learn about important events from the past, Firstpost Explainers’ ongoing series,
History Today, will be your one-stop destination to explore key events.

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On this day in 1957, Althea Gibson became the first African American woman to win the Wimbledon singles title. Her victory at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club was a monumental achievement, breaking racial barriers in a sport that had long been largely segregated.

Here is all that happened on this day.

Anne Frank went into hiding in Amsterdam

Anne Frank along with her family went into hiding in Amsterdam on July 6, 1942, to escape Nazi persecution of Jews during World War II.  The day before, Anne’s older sister Margot had received a call-up notice from the Nazi authorities, ordering her to report for a so-called “labour camp” in Germany. Fearing deportation, the Franks made the immediate decision to move into their prepared hiding place, the Secret Annexe, earlier than planned.

The Secret Annexe was a concealed space behind a movable bookcase in the building of Anne’s father, Otto Frank’s, business. Along with Anne, her sister Margot, parents Otto and Edith Frank and later, the van Pels family and dentist Fritz Pfeffer, eight people in total lived in cramped quarters under constant threat of discovery.

A full-scale replica of the secret annex where Anne Frank penned her famous diary has opened in New York City. File image/AP
A full-scale replica of the secret annex where Anne Frank penned her famous diary has opened in New York City. File image/AP

Anne took with her the red-checkered diary she had received on her 13th birthday just a few weeks earlier. In it, she began documenting her daily experiences, thoughts, fears, and hopes while in hiding. Her diary would go on to become one of the most powerful firsthand accounts of life under Nazi terror.

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The Franks remained hidden in the annexe for two years, relying on the help of loyal non-Jewish friends and colleagues who provided food, news, and support. Tragically, on August 4, 1944, the hiding place was betrayed, and the occupants were arrested by the Gestapo.

Anne died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in early 1945. Otto, the only surviving member of the group, later published her diary under the title The Diary of a Young Girl.

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First African American woman won Wimbledon

We remember tennis stars like Serena and Venus Williams, who have ruled
the court for decades. But, it was Althea Gibson who etched history on this day in 1957 by becoming the first African American woman to win a singles title at Wimbledon, one of tennis’s most prestigious tournaments.

Born in South Carolina in 1927 and raised in New York, Gibson overcame tremendous racial and social barriers. In the 1950s, tennis was largely segregated, with many top tournaments closed to Black players. However, her undeniable talent forced the world to take notice. With the support of tennis allies and civil rights advocates, she broke into elite-level competition, becoming the first Black player to compete at the US Nationals in 1950 and at Wimbledon in 1951.

Tennis icon Althea Gibson was named Female Athlete of the Year in 1957 and1958 by the Associated Press. File image/AP
Tennis icon Althea Gibson was named Female Athlete of the Year in 1957 and1958 by the Associated Press. File image/AP

Her breakthrough year came in 1956 when she became the first African American to win a singles title at the French Championships (now the French Open), where she also secured a doubles title. Her 1957 Wimbledon victory elevated her to global stardom. She was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City and was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 1957 and again in 1958, when she won Wimbledon for the second time.

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Althea Gibson paved the way for future generations of African American athletes, including Arthur Ashe, Venus and Serena Williams, and others who have followed in her footsteps. Her courage, excellence, and perseverance shattered long-standing barriers and changed the face of tennis forever.

This Day, That Year

On this day in 1964, Nyasaland broke from British rule and became the independent country of Malawi within the Commonwealth of Nations.
The first full-length all-talking motion picture, Lights of New York, premiered in New York City in 1928.

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Democracy under Attack: Why the World Needs a New UN Special Rapporteur

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Active Citizens, Armed Conflicts, Civil Society, Crime & Justice, Democracy, Featured, Global, Headlines, Human Trafficking, Press Freedom, TerraViva United Nations

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Cover photo by OHCHR

BRUSSELS, Belgium / MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Jul 2 2025 (IPS) – When tanks rolled through Myanmar’s streets in 2021, civil society groups worldwide sounded the alarm. When Viktor Orbán systematically dismantled Hungary’s free press, democracy activists demanded international action. And as authoritarianism returns to Tanzania ahead of elections, it’s once again civil society calling for democratic freedoms to be respected.

Around the world, authoritarian populists have learned to maintain democratic language and rituals while gutting democracy’s substance. They hold fraudulent elections with no real opposition and crack down on civil society when it tries to uphold democratic freedoms. As a result, more than 70 per cent of the world’s population lives in countries where civic space is routinely repressed.

In response, over 175 civil society organisations and 500 activists have united behind a demand to help improve respect for democratic freedoms, calling on the UN to establish a Special Rapporteur on Democracy.

The proposal isn’t coming from diplomatic corridors or academia; it’s a grassroots call from the frontlines of a global democratic struggle. Democracy defenders who face harassment, imprisonment and violence have identified a gap in international oversight that emboldens authoritarians and lets down those fighting for democratic rights when they most need support.

Critical blind spots

While the UN investigates everything from torture to toxic waste through specialised rapporteurs, democracy – supposedly a core UN principle – receives no systematic international oversight. This is a blind spot civil society wants to change.

Today’s threats to democracy are often more subtle than outright coups and blatant election rigging. Repressive leaders have mastered the art of legal authoritarianism, using constitutional amendments to extend term limits, judicial re-engineering to capture courts and media laws to silence critics, all while maintaining a facade of democratic governance.

In countries from Belarus to Venezuela, elections have been turned into elaborate ceremonies emptied of competition. Even established democracies face growing challenges, with foreign influence and disinformation campaigns documented across dozens of recent elections, often amplified by AI that creates deepfakes faster than fact-checkers can debunk them.

The rise of right-wing populism across Europe and in the USA shows how easily democratic processes can elevate leaders who systematically undermine democratic institutions from within, weaponising the law to concentrate executive authority, criminalise opposition and restrict civic space.

These evolving threats expose fundamental gaps in how the international community monitors and responds to democratic regression. The proposed UN Special Rapporteur on Democracy would help fill this gap: unlike current mandates that focus on specific rights, this role would examine how democratic systems function as a whole.

Existing UN Special Rapporteurs have recognised the urgent need for dedicated democracy oversight, with the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, freedom of opinion and expression, and the independence of judges and lawyers highlighting how democratic backsliding undermines the rights they’re mandated to protect.

A democracy rapporteur could investigate the full spectrum of threats that escape international attention: how electoral systems become compromised through legal manipulation, how parliamentary oversight gets systematically weakened while maintaining constitutional appearances, how judicial independence is eroded through seemingly legitimate reforms, and how meaningful participation beyond elections gets stifled through bureaucratic restrictions.

Crucially, the mandate could document not just obvious authoritarian crackdowns but the subtler forms of democratic erosion that often escape international notice until democratic institutions are compromised, offering early warnings about gradual processes that transform vibrant democracies into hollow shells.

Legal foundations

The proposal builds on solid legal foundations. Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes that ‘public authority must derive from the will of the people’, while article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognises every citizen’s right to participate in public affairs and vote in free, fair and clean periodic elections.

Regional mechanisms provide valuable precedents. The Inter-American Democratic Charter explicitly states that ‘the peoples of the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an obligation to promote and defend it’. Building on this, Guatemala has recently requested an advisory opinion to clarify whether democracy constitutes a fundamental human right and what tangible obligations this imposes on states.

These foundations provide an actionable definition of democracy that respects diverse democratic models while upholding universal principles, sidestepping cultural relativist arguments that some authoritarian governments use to avoid accountability.

Momentum building

The proposal has generated remarkable momentum. On the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a broad coalition of civil society groups and think tanks published a joint statement calling for the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on Democracy.

Civil society leadership reflects widespread frustration among democracy activists who work under increasingly dangerous conditions and demand better institutional responses. Budget-conscious states should find this proposal attractive given the remarkable cost-effectiveness of the UN mandates system. Following standard UN practice, the new position would be unpaid, relying on voluntary funding from supportive states.

During its recent 58th session, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on human rights, democracy and the rule of law, conferring multilateral legitimacy on governments that want to support stronger democracy oversight. The window for action is open, but it won’t stay open indefinitely.

A test for international institutions

No single initiative will reverse global democratic decline. But this new role would enable systematic documentation, trend spotting and the sustained international attention democracy defenders desperately need. The rapporteur could investigate not just obvious authoritarian crackdowns but early signs of subtler democratic erosion, while highlighting innovations and good practices that others could adapt.

The debate over a UN Special Rapporteur on Democracy offers a test of whether international institutions can adapt to contemporary challenges or will remain trapped in outdated approaches while democracy crumbles. Creating this mandate would communicate that the international community takes democratic governance seriously enough to monitor it systematically – a signal that matters to democracy activists who need international support and serves as a warning to authoritarian leaders who thrive when nobody is watching.

With hundreds of civil society groups leading this charge from the frontlines of democratic struggle, the question isn’t whether this oversight is needed, but whether the UN will act before it’s too late.

Samuel King is a researcher with the Horizon Europe-funded research project ENSURED: Shaping Cooperation for a World in Transition at CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, and Inés M. Pousadela is CIVICUS Senior Research Specialist, writer at CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

For interviews or more information, please contact research@civicus.org

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Multi-Year Drought Gives Birth to Extremist Violence, Girls Most Vulnerable

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Combating Desertification and Drought

In Nairobi’s Kibera, the largest urban informal settlement in Africa, girls and women wait their turn for the scarce water supply. Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS

SEVILLE & BHUBANESWAR, Jul 2 2025 (IPS) – While droughts creep in stealthily, their impacts are often more devastating and far-reaching than any other disaster. Inter-community conflict, extremist violence, and violence and injustice against vulnerable girls and women happen at the intersection of climate-induced droughts and drought-impoverished communities.

Five consecutive years of failed rain in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya brought the worst drought in seventy years to the Horn of Africa by 2023. In Somalia, the government estimated 43,000 excess deaths in 2022 alone due to drought-linked hunger.

As of early current year, 4.4 million people, or a quarter of Somalia’s population, face crisis-level food insecurity, including 784,000 people expected to reach emergency levels. Together, over 90 million people across Eastern and Southern Africa face acute hunger. Some areas have been enduring their worst ever recorded drought, finds a United Nations-backed study, Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023-2025 released today at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4).

UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said "Drought is here, escalating, and demands urgent global cooperation" Photo courtesy: UNCCD

UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw noted that while drought is here and escalating, it demands urgent global cooperation. Photo courtesy: UNCCD

High tempera­tures and a lack of precipitation in 2023 and 2024 resulted in water supply shortages, low food supplies, and power rationing. In parts of Africa, tens of millions faced drought-induced food shortages, malnutrition, and displacement, finds the new 2025 drought analysis, Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023-2025, by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC).

It not just comprehensively synthesizes impacts on humans but also on biodiversity and wildlife within the most acute drought hotspots in Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, and Namibia), the Mediterranean (Spain, Morocco, and Türkiye), Latin America (Panama and the Amazon Basin) and Southeast Asia.

Desperate to Cope but Pulled Into a Spiral of Violence and Conflict

“The coping mechanisms we saw during this drought grew increasingly desperate,” says lead author Paula Guastello, NDMC drought impacts researcher. “Girls pulled from school and forced into marriage, hospitals going dark, and families digging holes in dry riverbeds just to find contaminated water. These are signs of severe crisis.”

Over one million Somalis in 2022 were forced to move in search of food, water for families and cattle, and alternative livelihoods. Migration is a major coping mechanism mostly for subsistence farmers and pastoralists. However, mass migration strains resources in host areas, often leading to conflict. Of this large number of displaced Somalis, many crossed into territory held by Islamic extremists.

Drought in a Sub-Saharan district leads to 8.1 percent lower economic activity and 29.0 percent higher extremist violence, an earlier study found. Districts with more months of drought in a given year and more years in a row with drought experienced more severe violence.

Drought expert and editor of the UNCCD study Daniel Tsegai told IPS at the online pre-release press briefing from the Saville conference that drought can turn into an extremist violence multiplier in regions and among communities rendered vulnerable by multi-year drought.

Climate change-driven drought does not directly cause extremist conflict or civil wars; it overlaps and exacerbates existing social and economic tensions, contributing to the conditions that lead to conflict and potentially influencing the rise of extremist violence, added Tsegai.

Extracting water from a traditional well using a manual pulley system. Credit: Abdallah Khalili / UNCCD

Extracting water from a traditional well using a manual pulley system. Credit: Abdallah Khalili / UNCCD

Though the effects of climate change on conflict are indirect, they have been seen to be quite severe and far-reaching. An example is the 2006-2011 drought in Syria, seen as the worst in 900 years. It led to crop failures, livestock deaths and mass rural displacement into cities, creating social and political stress. Economic disparities and authoritarian repression gave rise to extremist groups that exploited individuals facing unbearable hardships.

The UN study cites entire school districts in Zimbabwe that saw mass dropouts due to hunger and school costs. Rural families were no longer able to afford uniforms and tuition, which cost USD 25. Some children left school to migrate with family and work.

Drought-related hunger impact on children

Hungry and clueless about their dark futures, children become prime targets for extremists’ recruitment.

A further example of exploitation of vulnerable communities by extremists is cited in the UNCCD drought study. The UN World Food Programme in May 2023 estimated that over 213,000 more Somalis were at “imminent risk” of dying of starvation. Little aid had reached Somalia, as multiple crises across the globe spread resources thin.

However, al-Shabab, an Islamic extremist group tied to al-Qaida, allegedly prevented aid from reaching the parts of Somalia under its control and refused to let people leave in search of food.

Violent clashes for scarce resources among nomadic herders in the Africa region during droughts are well documented. Between 2021 and January 2023 in eastern Africa alone, over 4.5 million livestock had died due to droughts, and 30 million additional animals were at risk. Facing starvation of both their families and their livestock, by February 2025, tens of thousands of pastoralists had moved with their livestock in search of food and water, potentially into violent confrontations with host regions.

Tsegai said, “Drought knows no geographical boundaries. Violence and conflict spill over into economically healthy communities this way.”

Earlier drought researchers have emphasized to policymakers that “building resilience to drought is a security imperative.”

Women and Girls Worst Victims of Drought Violence

“Today, around 85 percent of people affected by drought live in low- and middle-income countries, with women and girls being the hardest hit,” UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary Andrea Meza said.

“Drought might not know boundaries, but it knows gender,” Tsegai said. Women and girls in low-income countries are the worst victims of drought-induced societal instability.

Traditional gender-based societal inequalities are what make women and girl children par­ticularly vulnerable.

During the 2023-2024 drought, forced child marriages in sub-Saharan Africa more than doubled in frequency in the four regions hit hardest by the drought. Young girls who married brought their family income in the form of a dowry that could be as high as 3,000 Ethiopian birr (USD 56). It lessened the financial burden on girls’ parental families.

Forced child marriages, however, bring substantial risks to the girls. A hospital clinic in Ethiopia (which, though, it has outlawed child marriage) specifically opened to help victims of sexual and physi­cal abuse that is common in such marriages.

Girls gener­ally leave school when they marry, further stifling their opportunities for financial independence.

Reports have found desperate women exchanging sex for food or water or money during acute water scarcities. Higher incidence of sexual violence happens when hydropower-dependent regions are confronted with 18 to 20 hours without electricity and women and girls are compelled to walk miles to fetch household water.

“Proactive drought management is a matter of climate justice,” UNCCD Meza said.

Drought Hotspots Need to Be Ready for This ‘New’ Normal

“Drought is no longer a distant threat,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw, adding, “It is here, escalating, and demands urgent global cooperation. When energy, food, and water all go at once, societies start to unravel. That’s the new normal we need to be ready for.”

“This is a slow-moving global catastrophe, the worst I’ve ever seen. This report underscores the need for systematic monitoring of how drought affects lives, livelihoods, and the health of the ecosystems that we all depend on,” said Mark Svoboda, report co-author and NDMC Founding Director.

“The struggles experienced by Spain, Morocco and Türkiye to secure water, food, and energy under persistent drought offer a preview of water futures under unchecked global warming. No country, regardless of wealth or capacity, can afford to be complacent,” he added.

Global Drought Outlook 2025 estimates the economic impacts of an average drought today can be up to six times higher than in 2000, and costs are projected to rise by at least 35% by 2035.

“It is calculated that $1 of investment in drought prevention results in bringing back $7 into the GDP lost to droughts. Awareness of the economics of drought is important for policymaking,” Tsegai said.

The report released during the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA) event at the Saville conference aims to get public policies and international cooperation frameworks to urgently prioritize drought resilience and bolster funding.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Africa Day and the history of the Pan African anti-imperialist movement

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Written by Jehron Muhammad

May 25th 2025, Africa and its diaspora paid tribute to those heroes, past and present, whose legacies inspired and continue to inspire the pursuit of genuine African liberation. As the Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Johannesburg, Adeoye O. Akinola, who also heads the African Union Studies Unit, wrote on premiumtimesng.com, “Pan-Africanism must be reclaimed — not as nostalgia, but as a practical and urgent roadmap. It must guide our trade policies, our education systems, our conflict resolution mechanisms, and our global diplomacy. It must be people-driven, not elite-dominated.” Professor Akinole added, “And, most importantly, it must deliver tangible benefits to everyday Africans.”

This years Africa Day, a celebration of the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which gave way in 2002, to the African Union (AU), we pay tribute to those founding members of Pan Africanism which helped make African liberation a reality. As one of OAU founding members, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana said in 1960, at a Harlem rally, reported the New York Times, “that the 20,000,000 Americans of African ancestry ‘constituted the strongest link between the people of North America and the people of Africa.’” Add to Nkrumah’s weighty words, said Dr. Anthony Monterio, we reflect on the importance of Africa and those in the diaspora that paved the way “for Pan Africanism, a historic movement that originates outside of Africa.”

The Philadelphia based, Dr. Monterio, who has a PhD in sociology, is the founder of the Saturday Free School for Philosophy and Black Liberation, which is now in its 14th year. During the phone interview with Dr. Monterio, from his home in North Philly, he explained, “Pan Africanism is a historic movement that linked the struggle for the freedom of Black folk in the diaspora, especially in the Western hemisphere to the struggle against colonialism on the African continent. It was begun by people who were not Africans as such, but were in the (U.S. and Caribbean) diaspora.”

“In the nearly half century between 1900 and 1945, various political leaders and intellectuals from Europe, North America, (the Caribbean) and Africa met six times to discuss colonial control of Africa and develop strategies for eventual African political liberation,” noted Saheed Yinka Adejumobi an associate Professor in the History Department at Seattle University on the website blackpast.or

The first Pan African Conference, according to Dr. Monterio was in 1900, held in London. Henry Sylvester Williams, a Trinidadian attorney, who formed the “African Association” in London, to encourage Pan-African unity was its principal organizer. Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, who in 1899, published “The Philadelphia Negro,” America’s first sociological study of a Black American neighborhood, also participated in the 1900 conference. While in Europe Dr. DuBois, in addition to attending the conference, while in Paris at the 1900 Paris Exposition, he and his students set up “The American Negro Exhibit,” showing through visualizations, including photographs, maps, and charts “the changing status” of the newly emancipated Black former slaves, noted the book, “Black Lives 1900: W.E.B. DuBois At The Paris Exposition.”

Professor Adejumobi noted, “For the first time, (in 1900) opponents of colonialism and racism gathered for an international meeting. The conference, held in London, attracted global attention, placing the word ‘Pan-African’ in the lexicon of international affairs and making it part of the standard vocabulary of Black intellectuals.” It was not until after World War One that DuBois revived the Pan-African congresses. DuBois, noted Dr. Monterio, later became “the torchbearer of subsequent” Pan African Conferences, or “Congresses” as they were later called. DuBois, added, Dr. Monterio, was the first to frame the problem of the “20th century, is the ‘problem of the color line,’ by which he meant the ongoing oppression of Black people in the United States, and the continuing colonization of Black people in Africa, and in the Caribbean, and in South and Central America.”

According to Dr. Monterio, “DuBois, is the father of what is modern day Pan Africanism, which begins with the first Pan African Congress, held in 1919 and in Paris, at the same time that the Great powers were meeting in Versailles, at the Versailles Palace, just outside of Paris to hammer out a peace deal between the waring parties after World War One. DuBoise’s “worldview,” explained Monterio, was that there could not be peace without the decolonization of Africa.

The small African delegation at the 1927 Congress, explained Professor Adejumobi. “was due in part to travel restrictions that the British and French colonial powers imposed on those interested in attending the congress, in an effort to inhibit further Pan-African gatherings.” The majority of the delegates were Black Americans and many of them were women. The 1927 congress “was primarily financed by Addie W. Hunton and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, an interracial organization that had been founded in 1919 by opponents of World War I. Similar to previous Pan-African congresses, participants discussed the status and conditions of Black people throughout the world.”

Professor Adejumobi noted in his 2008 review of the history of Pan Africanism, “The financial crisis induced by the Great Depression and the military exigency generated by World War Two necessitated the suspension of the Pan-African Congress for a period of eighteen years. In 1945, the organized movement was revived in Manchester, England.” On October 15-21, 1945, in Manchester, George Padmore, the staunch anti-imperialist, played a pivotal role in organizing the 5th Pan-African Congress. Recognizing DuBois’s unequaled contribution to the Pan-African movement, delegates named him president of the 1945 congress. Key participates included DuBois, Jomo Kenyatta, of Kenya, Kwame Nkrumah, of Ghana, Hastings Banda of Malawi, and Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria.This led to the formation of the Pan African Federation. According to Dr. Monterio it inspired participants to become leaders in the anti-colonial movements in Africa.”

Dr. Monterio explained, at the 5th Pan-African Congress, “for the first time, a significant number of African freedom fighters and independence fighters (including Africans studying in England) were in attendance, which, in fact, was an indication that Pan Africanism was now the property of Africans, and that the African diaspora would become a movement of solidarity with the anti-colonial struggle and not the center of it.” African attendees of congresses, noted blackpast.org, subsequently led their countries to political independence. In May 1963, the influence of these men, including Dr. Nkrumah, helped galvanize the formation of the OAU, an association of independent African states and nationalist groups.

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FFD4 Must Deliver for the World’s Most Vulnerable Nations

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Opinion

OHRLLS Office Banner. Credit: OHRLLS

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 1 2025 (IPS) – Five years from the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we face a development emergency. The promise to eradicate poverty, combat climate change, and build a sustainable future for all is slipping away. The SDG financing gap has ballooned to over $4 trillion annually—a crisis compounded by declining aid, rising trade barriers, and a fragile global economy.

At the heart of this crisis is a systemic failure: the world’s most vulnerable nations—Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS)—are being left behind. The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville is a historic chance to correct course.

We must seize it.

LDCs: Progress Stalled, Financing Denied

Three years into the Doha Programme of Action, LDCs are lagging precariously. Growth averages just 4.1%, far below the 7% target. FDI remains stagnant at a meager 2.5% of global flows, while ODA to LDCs fell by 3% in 2024. Worse, 29 LDCs now spend more on debt than health, and eight spend more on debt than education.

USG Rabab Fatima

These numbers demand action: scaled-up concessional finance, deep debt relief, and innovative tools like blended finance to unlock private investment. Without urgent measures, the 2030 Agenda will fail its most marginalized beneficiaries.

LLDCs: Trapped by Geography, Strangled by Finances

Six months after adopting the ambitious Awaza Programme of Action, LLDCs remain hamstrung by structural barriers. Despite hosting 7% of the world’s people, they account for just 1.2% of global trade, with export costs 74% higher than coastal nations. FDI has plummeted from $36 billion in 2011 to $23 billion in 2024, while ODA continues its downward spiral. Official Development Assistance (ODA) has also declined significantly from $38.1 billion in 2020 to $32 billion in 2023, with projections indicating continued downward trends.

The Awaza Programme outlines solutions—trade facilitation, infrastructure, and resilience—but these will remain empty promises without financing. FFD4 must align with its priorities, ensuring LLDCs get the investment they need to transform their economies.

I seize the opportunity to warmly invite all of you to continue these critical discussions at the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), to be held in Awaza, Turkmenistan, from 5 to 8 August 2025 under the theme “Driving Progress through Partnerships”.

SIDS: Debt, Disasters, and a Broken System

For SIDS, the crisis is existential. Over 40% are in or near debt distress; 70% exceed sustainable debt thresholds. Between 2016 and 2020, they paid 18 times more in debt servicing than they received in climate finance. This is unconscionable. Countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis should not be left on the margins of global finance. Nations drowning in rising sea level – which they did not contribute to – should not be drowning in debt.

We can continue patching over cracks in a broken system. Or we can build a more equitable foundation for sustainable development, and for that addressing debt sustainability is not only an economic necessity, but also a development imperative. No country should be forced to choose between servicing debt and protecting its future.

The Way Forward: Solidarity in Action

FFD4 must deliver:

    1. Debt relief and restructuring for LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS to free up resources for development.
    2. Scaling up concessional finance and honoring ODA commitments.
    3. Mobilizing private capital through de-risking instruments and blended finance.
    4. Climate finance justice, ensuring SIDS and LDCs receive grants and concessional finance, not loans, to build resilience.

The moral case is clear, but so is the strategic one: A world where billions are left in poverty and instability, should be a world of shared risks and responsibilities. FFD4 must be the moment we choose a different path—one of equity, urgency, and action. The time for excuses is over. The agreement on the Compromiso de Sevilla is the start – the real test will be its implementation.

As we move forward on those important responsibilities s and necessary actions, my Office, UN-OHRLLS, is with you every step of the way.

Rabab Fatima, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States

IPS UN Bureau