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	117.8 million people now violently displaced around the world by UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), NRC, IDMC   July 2026   UNHCR: 75 years on, the Refugee Convention remains a lifeline for millions, by Elizabeth Tan, UNHCR’s Director of International Protection and Solutions:   "Seventy-five years after the Refugee Convention was opened for signature on 28 July 1951, it remains the foundation of the international refugee protection system and one of the most consequential international legal instruments ever adopted.   Born in the aftermath of the Second World War, it codified a simple but powerful principle: people forced to flee persecution, conflict or violence must be able to find safety and protection.   No society is immune to war, persecution or sudden upheaval. The Convention was built on that universal truth: that people forced to flee must be protected.   Over the past seven and a half decades, it has been a lifeline for people fleeing conflicts and persecution, from post-war Europe and wars of national liberation across Africa, to the Indochina wars and military dictatorships in Latin America, to more recent crises in Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine and Sudan.   A total of 149 States are parties to the Convention, its 1967 Protocol, or both, making it one of the most widely supported international legal frameworks. Together, the Convention and its Protocol define who is a refugee, set out refugees’ rights, and establish the standards of treatment States have agreed to uphold.   The core principle of non-refoulement – prohibiting the return of people to a place where they would face persecution, torture or other serious harm – is recognized under customary international law, which applies to all countries, whether or not they have signed the Convention.   Importantly, the Convention has proven to be a living instrument, retaining its relevance in responding to contemporary challenges. Through evolving State practice, court decisions and guidance from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, it has supported protection responses to issues such as gender-based persecution, forced recruitment and risks that may be compounded by climate impacts where these intersect with conflict, persecution or other serious harm.   In a world experiencing record levels of crisis and instability – with more than 130 armed conflicts recorded worldwide in 2025, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross – some 41.6 million refugees remained uprooted. Even amid increasingly polarized debate, public support for asylum remains strong, with around two-thirds of people surveyed this year by Ipsos across 29 countries supporting the right of those fleeing war or persecution to seek refuge.   The global asylum system, however, is under strain. Nearly 70 per cent of refugees are hosted by low- and middle-income countries, many of which face their own economic and development challenges. Seven in ten refugees live in exile for five years or more.   Some argue that the Convention is no longer suited to today’s globalized world of mixed movements and overstretched asylum systems. We disagree. The Convention remains the framework that allows States to distinguish those who need international protection from those who do not, while ensuring that no one is returned to persecution, torture or other serious harm.   Fair and efficient procedures to determine refugee status protect refugees, reassure host communities and preserve confidence in asylum. UNHCR is ready to redouble its work with States and partners to ease capacity constraints and ensure decisions are accurate and as swift as possible. Those who do not need refugee protection should not be granted asylum and can be returned, safely and in dignity. That, too, is part of a credible asylum system.   At the same time, border management must remain anchored in protection. We are concerned by practices that restrict access to asylum, including pushbacks, denial of access to territory and forced returns. The Convention provides a framework for States to manage borders while protecting people with a well-defined need for international protection.   These pressures are compounded by severe funding shortfalls. With UNHCR funded at only 31 per cent as of the end of June, essential services for people forced to flee – including extremely vulnerable groups – are being constrained.   Marking the 75th anniversary of the Convention, UNHCR is calling for renewed commitment to the institution of asylum, stronger international cooperation and greater support for refugees and the communities that host them.   Through a series of dialogues in 2026 – taking place at local, regional and global levels, and involving governments, civil society, refugees, the private sector and other stakeholders – we are working to identify practical ways to strengthen protection and advance solutions.   Seventy-five years on, the Convention is a test of our collective resolve today to protect those forced to flee and to keep asylum available for those who need it.   http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-75-years-refugee-convention-remains-lifeline-millions http://www.unhcr.org/news-and-stories http://www.unhcr.org/what-we-do/respond-emergencies http://www.unhcr.org/where-we-work/emergencies http://www.ifrc.org/article/far-global-headlines-humanity-move-djibouti http://www.ifrc.org/our-work/disasters-climate-and-crises/migration-and-displacement http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/migration-systems-and-policies-must-uphold-rights-children-unicef   July 2026   As the Refugee Convention approaches its 75th Anniversary, Global Civil Society Coalition calls for strengthened implementation and narratives rooted in Hope and Solidarity, not Fear and Division:   July 28th 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the landmark international treaty that outlines the legal obligation to protect people from being returned to persecution and the rights of those who seek asylum. The Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and the principles underpinning them, have saved millions of lives and aided refugee-hosting communities and States around the world.   The 75th anniversary is not just a commemoration. It is an opportunity to strengthen responsibility and call for renewed action at a time when forced displacement is at historic levels, asylum and resettlement systems face mounting strain, and massive funding cuts are undermining refugee protection around the world. Reaffirming the Convention's principles must translate into adherence to its principles, improved implementation, strengthened national systems, and inclusive approaches that center refugee leadership.   As the world marks this milestone, the global civil society coalition of refugee-led, faith-based, humanitarian, legal aid, academic, and human rights organisations calls on UN Member States, UN agencies, donors, humanitarian actors, and others to advance concrete actions to strengthen adherence to, and implementation of, the Refugee Convention and uphold its principles. In all discussions about refugees and decisions affecting their rights, refugees and refugee-led organisations must be meaningfully included.   We must collectively re-affirm that protecting refugees is a moral and legal imperative and serves the interest of societies themselves. We call for honest, fact-based and principles-based discussions and narratives, rooted in shared values, rights, human dignity and hope rather than fear and division. Disparagements and evasions of international treaties and law subvert the rule of law globally.   Dehumanising, fear-mongering narratives spread division and undermine refugee protection everywhere. Proactively countering misinformation and sharing more accurate, hopeful stories about refugee protection are essential to winning and sustaining public support.   In these efforts, refugees and refugee-led organizations must be recognised as experts, advocates, leaders, and trusted messengers. We must also amplify the voices of local communities, faith leaders, and others who champion refugee protection and human dignity.   Concrete actions to strengthen adherence to the Refugee Convention include steps to:   Uphold and champion the Convention and its prohibition on refoulement in policies, practices, and public statements. The principle of non-refoulement is a cornerstone of the Refugee Convention. The legal prohibition against return to persecution applies to all States, not only those close to displacement crises which host the vast majority of the world’s refugees.   We are deeply concerned about the proliferation of States’ third country arrangements and other externalisation policies that have caused or risk refoulement. In such arrangements, as well as in other border and migration policies, States must respect rights and the principle of non-refoulement.   All measures that result in return to danger or deny people a genuine opportunity to seek asylum must be ended. Access to territory and fair and effective asylum procedures are essential to upholding non-refoulement in practice...   As 117 refugee-led organisations from more than 41 countries wrote last year in an Open Letter to UN Member States:   The erosion of human rights and humanitarian norms leads directly to human suffering, instability, disorder, increased security risks, and renewed cycles of displacement. At this critical moment, the world needs stronger, not weaker, commitment to international law, and urgent action to protect asylum-seekers, refugees, and ultimately, our shared humanity.   History reminds us what is at stake. The right to seek asylum is a fundamental part of human cultural and religious traditions. Many of us who are living today found refuge because States honored their obligations. Prominent examples of indifference, slow response, or inaction have cost millions of lives, those who we abandoned, left to face horrific fates, are a stain on our shared history.   http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/library/as-refugee-convention-approaches-its-75th-anniversary-global-civil-society-coalition-calls-for-strengthened-implementation http://icvanetwork.org/news/10091951 http://www.caritas.org/our-priorities/human-mobility http://actalliance.org/migration-and-displacement/ http://genevasolutions.news/peace-humanitarian/you-end-up-feeling-caged-75-years-on-embattled-refugee-convention-faces-tightening-asylum   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/07/no-shortcuts-around-torture-ban-governments-overhaul-removal-systems-un http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/06/respect-international-humanitarian-law-essential-prevent-and-address http://www.ohchr.org/en/topic/migration http://www.hrw.org/topic/refugees-and-migrants http://www.refugeesinternational.org/statements-and-news/new-report-aid-cuts-are-dismantling-the-women-led-organizations-that-support-women-and-girls-in-humanitarian-crises/   June 2026   UNHCR's latest Global Trends report 2025, published in June 2026, provides key statistical trends on forced displacement. It includes the latest official statistics on refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced and stateless people, as well as the number of refugees who have returned home.   At the end of 2025, there were 41.6 million refugees globally, including refugees under UNHCR’s mandate, people in a refugee-like situation, other people in need of international protection. In addition, there were 68.7 million people displaced within their own country due to conflict or violence.   The global number of refugees fell during 2025 with a decrease of 3 per cent compared to the end of 2024. This change reflects a sharp increase in the returns of refugees, mostly to Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan.   The number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) also decreased due to the returns of IDPs primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Syria. However, many of the returns occurred under adverse circumstances and the reintegration conditions remain extremely challenging.   One in every 70 people, or 1.4 per cent of the entire world’s population, is now forcibly displaced.   Seven in ten refugees under UNHCR's mandate and other people in need of international protection originate from just six countries: Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Venezuela.   Most people fleeing conflict and persecution remain near their country of origin. At the end of 2025, 65 per cent of refugees were hosted in neighbouring countries.   Low and middle-income countries continue to host the majority of the world’s refugees, hosting 68 per cent of refugees and other people in need of international protection.   Most people who are forced to flee never cross an international border, remaining displaced within their own countries. Known as internally displaced people, or IDPs, they account for 58 per cent of all forcibly displaced people. At the end of 2025, 68.7 million people remained internally displaced due to conflict and violence.   Sudan remains the largest internal displacement globally with 9.1 million people still displaced within the country at the end of the year.   In 2025, 14.7 million people returned to their areas or countries of origin, including nearly 4.4 million refugees and 10.3 million IDPs. 92 per cent of all returns occurred in just seven countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.6 million), Sudan (3.5 million), Syria (3.3 million), Afghanistan (2 million), Ukraine (718,300) and Myanmar (415,200).   Refugee returns under adverse circumstances and/or to fragile contexts   Most refugees have a strong desire to return and rebuild their lives in their home country given adequate safety and stability. However, most returns in 2025 occurred under adverse circumstances or to extremely fragile contexts.   Afghan refugees were often compelled to return due to changes in the policies in their host countries, while Congolese IDPs had no choice but to leave following the forced closure of settlements. Syrian and Sudanese refugees and IDPs returned despite insecurity, inadequate basic services and limited livelihood opportunities.   Such returns are unlikely to be sustainable without critical investment to support reintegration, helping to promote development in countries deeply scarred by conflict.   Investment is also required in countries of asylum to help refugees support themselves and their families, as well as contribute to their country of asylum, until the conditions in their country of origin are conducive to their return. Most refugees hope to return.   With 70 per cent of refugees trapped in exile for years and many living below the poverty line, Barham Salih, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees urged the international community to back a new initiative to lift millions out of long-term displacement and reliance on humanitarian aid.   “For too many refugees, displacement starts as a lifeline but lasts a lifetime,” Salih said. “Humanitarian aid saves lives, but it is not the end point and does not enable refugees to become active agents in control of their futures. We need a paradigm shift that creates a new sense of hope and opportunity for people fleeing war and persecution."   Long-term displacement is now a defining feature of the global refugee landscape, with most refugees remaining in host countries for extended periods. In this context, advancing self-reliance and durable solutions, alongside continued protection and targeted humanitarian support, is essential.   UNHCR aims to support States and partners in halving, by 2035, the number of refugees and other people in need of international protection in protracted displacement who are unable to meet their basic needs without external support.   The focus is to expand access to solutions and opportunities for self-reliance such as access to work opportunities, national education, health, and social protection systems, enabling refugees to live in dignity and security, realise their potential and move beyond prolonged need.   The initiative calls on governments, humanitarian and development actors, the private sector and civil society to scale efforts to empower refugees while upholding asylum and protection, which is more crucial than ever as 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention.   “Asylum and protection are life-saving and not up for debate, but we cannot accept a future in which millions of refugees remain trapped for years or decades without realistic prospects of rebuilding their lives,” said Salih.   “We have an ambitious, achievable and quantifiable goal to transform lives for the better. UNHCR will work to galvanise efforts across society to meet this challenge and create pathways out of the grinding banality of protracted displacement for millions.”   http://www.unhcr.org/global-trend http://www.unhcr.org/news/press-releases/7-10-refugees-living-long-term-displacement-unhcr-chief-calls-renewed-push http://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k15/k15c10r47j http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-middle-east-crisis-ripple-effects-strain-aid-efforts-beyond-region http://www.unhcr.org/news/announcements/acute-food-insecurity-and-malnutrition-remain-alarmingly-high-crises-deepen-un http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-hate-speech-and-misinformation-are-creating-real-world-harm-displaced http://www.unhcr.org/news/speeches-and-statements/courage-welcome-solidarity-divided-world   June 2026   117.8 million people displaced: an open wound on our shared humanity. (NRC)   Statement by Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on the new global displacement figures:   “The number of people who have fled their home because of violence and conflict has nearly tripled over the last 15 years. The 117.8 million people now violently displaced around the globe would constitute the world’s thirteenth largest country by population. Larger than Egypt, Germany, or the UK. A human toll of vast proportions, and a collective failure of humanity.   “For the first time in many years, the number of people displaced around the world is lower than the previous year – down from a record high of 123.2 million in 2025. But, this drop in displacement is in large part caused by involuntary return and without the support and services needed to begin to rebuild lives.   In Afghanistan, millions were forcibly returned from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran, and in DR Congo some displacement camps were evacuated at gunpoint, sending thousands of families back to homes that no longer exist.   “At the same time millions continued to be uprooted while many more endured protracted crises with no solution in sight. The world continues to fail civilians caught by conflict and violence.   “Such large numbers are almost impossible to comprehend. And as an increasingly nationalistic world becomes increasingly desensitised to what it truly means to be forced to flee home, the gap between decision makers and donors and displaced people continues to widen. This cannot be accepted as the new normal.   “As humanitarians our work is to support displaced people in their hour of greatest need. To provide life-saving aid including clean water and shelter, and then to contribute the tools needed to rebuild life and hope.   “But we cannot do this without a world that is willing to stand up for humanity. We call on each of you to remind those in power why aid is not a luxury, but an essential. We must stand alongside people living through crisis. We must support diplomatic solutions to end crisis, and fund aid to relieve suffering. We must protect civilians and stand up for international humanitarian law. We must all remember our humanity.”   http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/117.8-million-people-displaced-an-open-wound-on-our-shared-humanity http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/dr-congo-on-worlds-most-neglected-displacement-crises-list-for-tenth-consecutive-year http://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/the-worlds-most-neglected-displacement-crises-2025 http://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2026/does-foreign-aid-really-make-a-difference http://www.nrc.no/feature/2025/a-global-displacement-crisis-as-the-world-abandons-aid   May 2026   Conflict and violence become the leading driver of internal displacements - Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre   Conflict and violence drove a record 32.3 million internal displacements in 2025, surpassing disaster displacements for the first time on record, according to the Global Report on Internal Displacement 2026 published today by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).   “Never have we recorded such a staggering number of displacements related to conflict,” said IDMC director Tracy Lucas. “As conflicts are intensifying, it is often the same people who are uprooted again and again. Yet the systems meant to protect them are being dismantled.”   The number of internal displacements includes each instance a person is forced to flee within the borders of their own country, often multiple times over the course of the year.   Meanwhile, the number of people living in internal displacement remained near record levels, at 82.2 million, the second-highest figure ever recorded.   Emerging, escalating and entrenched conflicts forced people to move repeatedly within their countries, driving a 60 per cent increase in conflict displacements compared with 2024. As instability deepened throughout the year, Iran, with 10 million internal displacements, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 9.7 million, together represented two-thirds of conflict displacements.   Disasters also continued to drive large-scale forced movement. Storms, floods and other hazards triggered 29.9 million internal displacements in 2025, a 35 per cent decrease compared with the exceptionally high levels of 2024, but still 13 per cent above the annual average of the past decade.   Countries previously less affected recorded large-scale displacements, while previous hotspots continued to be exposed, pointing to the ever-evolving patterns linked to a changing climate and need to invest in climate adaptation. Wildfires illustrated this shift by becoming an increasingly significant driver of displacement globally, accounting for more than 694,000 displacements in 2025, the hazard’s second-highest figure recorded in the past decade.   While the total number of internally displaced people fell slightly compared with 2024, it remained close to its historic peak. The decline was partly linked to reported returns, many of which took place under fragile conditions.   “Internal displacement of tens of millions is a sign of a global collapse in prevention of conflict and basic protection of civilians,” said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). “Countless families are returning to destroyed homes and disappearing services - or cannot return at all. From DR Congo and Sudan to Iran and Lebanon, we see millions more displaced on top of the previous record numbers driven out if their homes. We cannot continue like this.”   Internal displacement remained highly concentrated: nearly half of all conflict IDPs (31.4 million) lived in just five countries, with Sudan hosting the largest number for the third consecutive year (9.1 million), followed by Colombia (7.2 m), Syria (6 m), Yemen (4.8 m) and Afghanistan (4.4 m).   In 2025, data availability declined in several contexts due to fewer assessments and reduced coverage, limiting visibility on displacement dynamics and the situation of displaced people.   “Reliable displacement data is critical for understanding where needs and risks are greatest and for ensuring that policies and resources match the scale of the challenge,” Lucas said. “With rising needs and shrinking resources, investing in national data systems and coordination remains essential.”   Global instability deepened in 2025, driving internal displacement to near-record levels worldwide. A total of 62.2 million internal displacements were reported during the year, including a record 32.3 million displacements caused by conflict and violence and 29.9 million caused by disasters.   Disaster displacements declined from the extreme highs of 2024, but risks remain severe. The 29.9 million disaster displacements recorded in 2025 were still 13 per cent above the average of the past decade, underscoring the fluctuating but persistent toll of climate and weather shocks.   Growing data gaps risk hiding the scale and impact of the crises. In 2025, IDMC observed reduced displacement data availability in 15 per cent of monitored countries, three times the share of 2024.   What is needed to reduce the number of IDPs?   Humanitarian aid alone will not suffice to reduce the scale of displacement. To help IDPs put a sustainable end to their situation, governments need to set up policies and take actions that resolve conflicts and build peace, reduce poverty and disaster risk, and enable people to return, resettle, or locally integrate in host communities. Data on displacement and solutions will continue to be key to inform such policies and actions moving forward.   * The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is the world's leading source of data and analysis on internal displacement. Since its establishment in 1998 as part of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), IDMC has provided high-quality data, analysis and expertise on internal displacement to inform policy and operational decisions that can improve the lives of internally displaced people (IDPs) worldwide and reduce the risk of future displacement.   http://www.internal-displacement.org/news/conflict-and-violence-become-the-leading-driver-of-internal-displacements/ http://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2026/ http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/conflict-and-violence-become-the-leading-driver-of-internal-displacements Visit the related web page
	Changing the rules of the global economy by OHCHR, World Inequality Lab, agencies   Changing the rules of the global economy, by Olivier De Schutter, Joseph Stiglitz, Jayati Ghosh, Thomas Piketty, Kate Raworth and Jason Hickel, for OHCHR, New Economies for Eradicating Poverty:   "We live in an age of manufactured scarcity. In a world richer than ever before, roughly one 10th of the world’s population still lives in extreme destitution.   Millions of people cannot afford enough food, proper housing or basic healthcare, while a tiny minority accumulates unprecedented wealth and power.   At the same time, droughts, megafires, floods and heatwaves remind us that our economies are pushing the planet beyond its limits.   These are not separate crises. They are symptoms of an economic model that has reached the end of the road.   Poverty and inequality are not accidents; they are predictable outcomes of policy choices: how we design tax systems, regulate labour markets, value care, structure public services and decide whose needs and whose voices matter. Crucially, if governments can manufacture poverty, they can also dismantle it.   For decades, the recipe was simple: grow the economy, and poverty would gradually disappear. But the promise that economic growth would “lift all boats” has not been kept. While national incomes expanded, wages stagnated, work became more precarious and public services were cut. At the top, fortunes ballooned; at the bottom, families turned to food banks. Growth has become decoupled from shared prosperity.   It has also become ecologically unsustainable. We are edging towards a “hothouse Earth”, where rising emissions and biodiversity loss are destabilising the conditions that support human life.   Around 92% of excess global carbon emissions can be attributed to the global north, and the wealthiest 10% of individuals are responsible for nearly half of global emissions, while people in poverty are the first to face crop failures and rising food prices. An economic model that depends on endless expansion on a finite planet is not just unfair; it is dangerous   Many low‑income countries still need growth to build roads, hospitals, schools, renewable energy and decent jobs. But the dominant path to growth – based on resource extraction, cheap and compliant labour, export dependence and deepening debt – has widened inequality and degraded the environment.   The real question today is not whether growth continues, but what kind of economies we are building, who they serve and whether they allow everyone to live in dignity within planetary boundaries.   That is why we have come together to develop and support the “roadmap for eradicating poverty beyond growth”. The roadmap provides a range of alternatives on how to move beyond the narrow “grow-tax-transfer” approach that has shaped policy for decades. It is not a blueprint shaped by a handful of experts, it is the exact opposite.   Over 18 months UN agencies, national governments, academic experts, civil society organisations, trade unions, social and solidarity economy actors and grassroots movements, from the global north and south – worked to answer a simple question: how can we end poverty and reduce inequalities without treating GDP growth as the primary condition for progress?   We do not agree on every policy detail. But we are united in the conviction that our economies must be redesigned around the fulfilment of rights and collective wellbeing within planetary boundaries, rather than maximising output at any cost.   Human rights here are not an afterthought; they are the organising principle for how we measure progress, set priorities and resolve trade‑offs. Social protection and public services are essential, but they cannot indefinitely compensate for economies that by design generate poverty wages, insecure jobs and unaffordable housing.   We need to change the rules upstream. That means, for instance, decent work and employment guarantees, living wages and fair remuneration, stronger unions and workplace democracy, tackling discrimination and valuing the paid and unpaid care work on which our societies depend.   It means investing in children, housing, health, education and transport through universal public provisioning. It means public control of strategic assets, credit guidance to steer investment towards social and ecological priorities, and support for the development of the social and solidarity economy.   Implementing this vision means changing the rules of the global economy. Today, governments in the global south are chided for not doing enough to tackle poverty, while being squeezed by unilateral sanctions, restrictive trade agreements, unequal exchange and debt burdens rooted in centuries of colonial dispossession.   About 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on healthcare or education. Meanwhile, global supply chains enable a vast net transfer of labour and resources from south to north.   International solidarity is therefore a legal and moral obligation rooted in the historical reality that many rich countries built their wealth by impoverishing the south, through patterns of extraction that continue today in new forms.   A just transition beyond growth must include debt justice, increased south-south cooperation, reparative climate finance and support for universal social protection floors, rooted in the principles of non-domination and self-determination so that countries can chart their own sovereign economic futures.   Equally crucial is who gets to shape this transition. All too often, policies affecting people in poverty are designed without them – and sometimes against them. When welfare systems are built around suspicion, sanctions and humiliating conditions, they deepen stigma and deter people from claiming their entitlements.   Those who live in poverty know better than anyone how systems can fail in practice. Their expertise must guide the design, implementation and monitoring of anti‑poverty strategies, from local councils to parliaments and international forums.   We are not starting from zero. Around the world, Indigenous struggles, feminist organising, trade unions and climate justice movements are defending and building alternative futures rooted in collective care and territorial rights.   New coalitions of states are advancing new visions of global economic governance, and governments are experimenting with rights‑based anti‑poverty strategies, citizens’ assemblies and community wealth building.   The UN and many partners are exploring “beyond GDP” indicators and new institutions, such as an international panel on inequality, to help chart this shift.   Our roadmap builds on these efforts, connects them and pushes them further. We offer it now as a common reference point for those who refuse to accept that poverty and ecological breakdown are the price to pay for how we currently define economic “success”.   Governments and multilateral institutions have a choice: double down on a failing growth-first model or commit to eradicating poverty by transforming the economic rules that produce it.   Poverty is manufactured. That is the bad news – and the good news. What has been manufactured can be dismantled and replaced. We are putting concrete options on the table, all backed by detailed policy profiles that spell out evidence, implementation steps and real‑world examples.   We call on political leaders at all levels to use them, to listen to those most affected, and to treat the end of poverty, the reduction of inequalities and the effective realisation of human rights as the measure by which economic policy should be judged".   * Olivier De Schutter is the chair of New Economies for Eradicating Poverty; Joseph Stiglitz is a Nobel laureate in economics; Jayati Ghosh is professor of economics at University of Massachusetts Amherst; Thomas Piketty is professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics; Kate Raworth is an economist at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute; Jason Hickel is a political economist and professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.   http://www.neep-poverty.org/roadmap-for-eradicating-poverty-beyond-growth/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc6242add2-roadmap-eradicating-poverty-beyond-growth-report-special http://www.neep-poverty.org/event/world-inequality-conference-2026/ http://www.neep-poverty.org http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/06/rethinking-progress-un-expert-calls-fight-poverty-beyond-growth-and-expand http://www.un.org/beyondgdp http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/05/21/milestone-un-reports-advocate-moving-beyond-gdp http://www.srpoverty.org/2026/01/27/time-opinion-economic-growth-at-any-cost-fails-us-all/http://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2025/10/more-gdp-measuring-what-really-matters-people-and-rights   June 2026   The Global Justice Report: A Plan for Equality & Prosperity within Planetary Boundaries - World Inequality Lab   Imagine a future in which everyone enjoys high levels of wellbeing; where 90% of the world’s population doubles their income but works half the hours we work today. A world in which the bottom half of humanity sees its share of global wealth rise from just 2% today to 30%; a world where we consume enough, but nobody over-consumes. And imagine achieving this on a planet that can comfortably sustain human life without its climate breaking down.   Against the bleak techno-authoritarian futures now being sold to us, a radical new vision for global progress in the 21st century feels urgently needed. The most credible vision is one in which the habitability of the planet is a precondition for human development and equality.   Our new report examines the conditions required for the world to progress towards this ambition on an economically and ecologically compatible path, by the end of the century.   Its conclusion? A global transformation that reconciles planetary habitability and high standards of wellbeing for all is possible – as long as three conditions are simultaneously met.   Fast decarbonisation of energy systems is necessary. But we also need a major shift away from overconsumption towards “sufficiency”. This would involve a sharp reduction in labour hours and the use of raw materials, along with big changes in consumption patterns, food habits, land use and forest cover.   Financing and politically sustaining decarbonisation and sufficiency will require a drastic reduction in inequality of income, wealth and power, between countries and within them. This reduction of global inequality is compatible with deep decarbonisation; indeed, it is a necessary condition for shared prosperity on a finite planet.   The Global Justice Report is the first attempt to propose a fully quantified plan for this transition. It combines four dimensions that today’s debates often treat separately: redistribution at the world scale; a deep reform of the international financial and economic order; a radical transformation of energy systems; and substantial shifts in consumption patterns.   Compared with most climate scenarios (including those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the main novelty is that we model all four dimensions together – and place inequality and sufficiency at the centre of the analysis.   What would this transition deliver? At its heart is convergence between countries. Average per capita national income, today separated by a 16-fold gap between the poorest (€290 a month in sub-Saharan Africa) and richest (€4,590 in North America/Oceania) regions of the world, would rise towards a common level of about €5,000 a month in all countries by 2100.   But this convergence is not just monetary. Annual working hours per employed person would fall from roughly 2,100 to about 1,000, continuing the long shift towards shorter working time; while the share of global working hours devoted to education and health would rise from 11% to 43%. Women and men would converge on equal pay and on an equal share of economic and domestic labour.   All of this would unfold within a habitable climate. Thanks to sustainable convergence and fast decarbonisation, global heating would reach 1.8C, against more than 4C on current trends.   None of this will be possible without a deep contraction of inequality. The income scale between individuals would narrow to a ratio of one to five and the wealth scale to one to 10, prolonging what western and Nordic Europe achieved over the 20th century.   The share of global wealth held by the poorest half of humanity would rise from 2% to 30%, while the share held by the billionaire class would fall from 6% to 0.05%.   These shifts would be financed and governed through new institutions. A global justice fund would spend an average of 10% of world GDP a year from 2026 to 2060 on country dividends and investment, against the less than 0.4% that aid and the combined budgets of the UN, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank represent today.   Its resources would come from a world sovereign fund holding 10% of the world capital stock, a global wealth tax rising to 20% a year on billionaires and a global income tax rising to 90% at the very top, each touching about 1% of the world’s population.   The result is not a transfer from many to few but a gain for almost everyone. Close to 90% of the world’s population would double their income between 2026 and 2100, and once leisure and a habitable planet are counted, more than 99% come out ahead.   The plan also redistributes power. Today, the richest regions hold four times as many votes at the IMF and World Bank as their share of the world’s population would dictate; in the new order, every inhabitant would have equal voice, backed by an international clearing union and a new international currency to end the exorbitant privileges of the dominant powers and to address global trade imbalances.   Our report is part of a broader international agenda for planetary habitability, social justice and reform of the global financial architecture – including the Bridgetown agenda launched by Barbados in 2022, the Sevilla Commitment on development finance, the UN tax convention process, and G20 initiatives led by Brazil and South Africa on global inequality.   The main contribution of this report is to place these proposals within a quantified institutional framework, modelling socioeconomic convergence, temperature change and distributional trajectories up to the year 2100.   A habitable, equal and prosperous 21st century is materially possible. The carbon budget allows it and history offers precedents at comparable scales: universal suffrage, the universalisation of healthcare and education, the halving of working hours and the sharp compression of inequality over the 20th century.   Technical impossibility is not what is standing in the way, but rather the absence of a shared vision of social progress, at once concrete and radical. What it will take instead is political choice, and the hard work of coalition-building behind it.   * Thomas Piketty is a professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics and co-director of the World Inequality Lab; Lucas Chancel is professor of economics at Sciences Po Paris and co-director of the World Inequality Lab; Cornelia Mohren is environmental coordinator at the World Inequality Lab; Rowaida Moshrif is co-director at the World Inequality Lab; Moritz Odersky is an economist at the World Inequality Lab; Anmol Somanchi is global justice coordinator at the World Inequality Lab.   http://globaljusticeproject.wid.world/insight/summary/ http://globaljusticeproject.wid.world http://www.neep-poverty.org/event/world-inequality-conference-2026/   * World Inequality Report 2026   56,000 people own three times more wealth than half of humanity, highlights Ricardo Gomez-Carrera   Consider half of the world’s adult population, about 2.8 billion people, and add up everything they own: their houses, their savings, their belongings, minus their debts. Then do the same for the 56,000 wealthiest adults on the planet, a group small enough to fit inside a single football stadium. The stadium’s wealth would be greater. In fact, the wealth of the people of the stadium would be three times as large as that of half of humanity combined.   That is one of the headline findings of the World Inequality Report 2026, which I co-authored with Lucas Chancel, Rowaida Moshrif, and Thomas Piketty, and which draws on research and data compiled by more than 200 researchers affiliated with the World Inequality Database and the World Inequality Lab.   The report’s central message is simple and astonishing: the world is extremely unequal, and at the very top, extreme wealth inequality is still rapidly increasing.   Income inequality is large, but wealth inequality is extreme   The global top 10%, about 560 million adults, earn around 53% of all global income in a given year. The bottom half of humanity, 2.8 billion people, collectively receives 8%. So, 10% of the world earns more than 6 times what half of the world earns. That alone is a striking gap.   But when you look at wealth, the picture is far more extreme. The top 10% owns three-quarters of whatever there is to own while the bottom half holds only 2%. Meanwhile, the top 1% alone controls 37% of all wealth, roughly eighteen times more than the entire bottom 50%...   http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities/2026/05/12/56000-people-own-three-times-more-wealth-than-half-of-humanity/ http://wir2026.wid.world/insight/executive-summary/ http://wir2026.wid.world/ http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/10/economists-maths-growth-doomed-strategy-un-agencies-political-leaders http://www.neep-poverty.org/roadmap-for-eradicating-poverty-beyond-growth/ http://www.neep-poverty.org/ http://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/the-rich-worlds-rich-problem-9130/ http://ipdcolumbia.org/event/landmark-g20-report-led-by-nobel-laureate-joseph-stiglitz-sounds-alarm-on-inequality-emergency-and-calls-for-international-panel-on-inequality/ Visit the related web page
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