Global South demands action as UN development conference opens without US participation

Department of Research, Studies and International News 30-06-2025

The much-anticipated United Nations Conference on Financing for Development commenced this week in Seville, Spain, amid growing international concern over the widening global inequality crisis. Held once every decade, this high-stakes summit has gathered over 50 world leaders and more than 4,000 delegates from civil society, business sectors, and international financial institutions. However, the absence of the United States, traditionally a major donor, has cast a shadow over the conference’s ambitions.

Among the key figures attending are UN Secretary-General António Guterres, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Kenyan President William Ruto. Their collective presence reflects a shared sense of urgency regarding global challenges that have only intensified in recent years, rampant poverty, deepening food insecurity, climate-related disasters, and inadequate healthcare systems, particularly in the Global South.

Despite this broad coalition, the conference’s goals are undermined by a stark reality: the world’s wealthiest Western powers are scaling back their development aid, redirecting resources toward military spending and internal priorities. Most notably, the United States, under the administration of Donald Trump, has dramatically cut its funding to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), reportedly eliminating more than 80 percent of all its development programs. This move signaled Washington’s complete withdrawal from the current talks, a decision widely seen as an abandonment of its responsibilities to the global community.

Trump’s influence has extended beyond American borders. NATO allies such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and France are also slashing development budgets to meet new defense spending obligations imposed under pressure from Washington. These cuts are taking place at a time when the world’s development needs are more urgent than ever. According to the United Nations, there is a staggering $4 trillion annual gap in financing necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The 17 SDGs, which include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, ensuring access to clean water and healthcare, and mitigating climate change, were first adopted in 2015. However, five years ahead of the 2030 target, global progress is woefully off track. The conference in Seville, therefore, aims to reignite momentum through what organizers have called the “Seville Commitment”, a renewed pledge to align international financial systems with sustainable development priorities.

Earlier in June, delegates in New York formulated a joint declaration that will be formally endorsed in Seville. This document calls for gender equality, reforming international financial institutions, and a recommitment to multilateral cooperation. Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Chola Milambo, stressed that the document demonstrates “that multilateralism can still work” despite mounting global fractures.

Yet not everyone is convinced. Oxfam International, one of the world’s leading humanitarian organizations, has strongly criticized the document, labeling it a “disappointment” that serves elite interests rather than the marginalized majority. According to Oxfam, the cuts to global development aid are the most severe since the 1960s, a grim indicator of declining solidarity in a world plagued by compounding crises.

The absence of the U.S. at this critical juncture has reinforced a growing divide between Western powers and the nations of the Global South. As Western donors retreat, countries like China, Russia, and Iran have continued to advocate for more equitable and multipolar approaches to global development, emphasizing South-South cooperation and the restructuring of financial institutions that have historically served Western interests.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Russia’s expanding role in Africa are increasingly seen as counterweights to Western aid models that often come with stringent political conditions. Iran, long marginalized by Western sanctions, has also pushed for greater regional cooperation through alternative development partnerships.

In this light, the Seville conference represents more than just a development summit. It is a battleground of values, between unilateralism and multilateralism, between austerity and equity, between dominance and cooperation. For the Global South, the message is clear: the time has come to chart a new path forward, independent of those who have turned their backs on international solidarity.

As the world teeters between rising inequality and the urgent need for collective action, the next few days in Seville will determine whether global leaders have the political courage to prioritize humanity over hegemony.