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World’s top 1% own more wealth than 95% of humanity, as “the shadow of global oligarchy hangs over UN General Assembly,” says Oxfam

  • Over a third of world’s biggest 50 corporations —worth $13.3 trillion— now run by a billionaire or has a billionaire as a principal shareholder.
  • Global South countries own just 31 percent of global wealth, despite being home to 79 percent of global population.
  • Oxfam urges multilateral action to advance new global framework on tax, cancel debts and rewrite intellectual property rules for pandemics.

The richest 1 percent have more wealth than the bottom 95 percent of the world’s population put together, new Oxfam analysis of UBS data reveals today ahead of the annual UN High-Level General Debate.

 

Billionaires are exerting new levels of control over economies, with a billionaire either running or the principal shareholder of more than a third of the world’s top 50 corporations. The combined market capitalization of these corporations is $13.3 trillion.

 

Oxfam’s briefing paper “Multilateralism in an Era of Global Oligarchy” warns that multilateral efforts to respond to critical global challenges, including the climate crisis and persistent poverty and inequality, are being undermined by the ultra-wealthy and mega-corporations fueling inequality within and between countries.

 

Despite being home to 79 percent of the world’s population, Global South countries own just 31 percent of global wealth.

 

“The shadow of global oligarchy hangs over this year’s UN General Assembly. The ultra-wealthy and the mega-corporations they control are shaping global rules to serve their interests at the expense of people everywhere. The iconic UN podium is increasingly feeling diminished in a world in which billionaires are calling the shots,” said Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International’s Executive Director.

 

The paper describes a “movement toward a global oligarchy,” where the ultra-rich, often through their increasingly monopolistic corporations, shape global political decision-making and rules to enrich themselves while thwarting vital global progress.

 

The top 1 percent own 43 percent of all global financial assets. Just two corporations control 40 percent of the global seed market. The “big three” US-based asset managers —BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard— hold $20 trillion in assets, close to one-fifth of all investable assets in the world.

 

“While we often hear about great power rivalries undermining multilateralism —it is clear that extreme inequality is playing a massive role. In recent years the ultra-wealthy and powerful corporations have used their vast influence to undermine efforts to solve major global problems such as tackling tax dodging, making Covid-19 vaccines available to the world and canceling the albatross of sovereign debt,” said Behar.

 

Oxfam details three recent examples of extreme inequality eroding multilateral efforts —and where civil society and Global South leaders have offered inequality-busting solutions:

 

  • Powerful corporations undermining tax cooperation. The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) fell short of realizing its potential, with new rules for profit allocation that will deliver only tiny extra revenues for lower-income countries of as little as 0.026 percent of their GDP. The exclusion of financial services from OECD rules is a carve-out attributed to lobbying from countries with large banking and financial sectors. Global South countries, led by African countries, are instead advancing negotiations for a fairer tax convention at the UN that, along with Brazil’s leadership at the G20, offer a pathway for fairly taxing the super-rich and mega-corporations.
  • Big Pharma resisting efforts to break up their monopolies over Covid-19 vaccine technologies to unlock supply. Monopoly control over vaccine production was highly profitable during the pandemic. In 2021 alone, the seven largest manufacturers generated an estimated $50 billion in net profit from the sale of Covid-19 vaccines, resulting in huge payouts to rich shareholders and the emergence of new vaccine billionaires. The CEO of Pfizer Albert Bourla described the call to share Covid-19 vaccine technologies as “dangerous nonsense.” The failure to equitably share vaccines contributed to as many as 1.3 million excess deaths worldwide. A new pandemic treaty with strong provisions to suspend patents and allow for easier transfers of technology offers promise.
  • Private creditors exacerbating the global debt crisis. Low-income countries spend nearly 40 percent of their annual budgets on debt service, over 60 percent more than they spend on education, health, and social protection combined. Over half of low- and middle-income countries’ external debt is owed to private lenders like banks and hedge funds. Some of these creditors are “vulture funds,” which purchase distressed debt on the cheap and exploit legal mechanisms to be repaid in full, reaping outsized profits.

“Only a solidarity-based multilateralism can reverse the movement toward global oligarchy. Some world leaders are showing they recognize this and are stepping up to fight inequality —but we need many more to demonstrate this courage,” said Behar.

“Ultimately, a fairer world and international order —where corporations pay their fair share, global public health is prioritized, and where all countries can invest in their own people— benefits us all. This is not new, and it’s long what leaders especially from the Global South have called for.” 

 

ENDS

 

Notes to editors

 

Download Oxfam’s briefing paper “Multilateralism in an Era of Global Oligarchy..

 

The pandemic has created at least 40 new pharmaceutical billionaires.

 

Oxfam’s recent analysis of more than 180 of the largest US public corporations shows that they collectively spent $746 million on lobbying in 2022, an average of $4.1 million each.

 

Contact information:

Rachel Schaevitz — rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz

 

UN Security Council casts nearly all vetoes last decade on Syria, Palestine and Ukraine, robbing opportunities for peace

Ahead of the UN Summit for the Future, Oxfam calls for reform of the UN Security Council to stop the “Permanent Five” from being their own “judge and jury”  

The UN Security Council (UNSC) is failing people living in conflict, with Russia and the United States particularly responsible for abusing their veto power which is blocking progress toward peace in Ukraine, Syria, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. 

A new Oxfam report, Vetoing Humanity, studied 23 of the world’s most protracted conflicts over the past decade, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Libya, Niger, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen, and found that 27 of the 30 UNSC vetoes cast on these conflicts were on OPT, Syria and Ukraine.  

The report concludes that the five permanent members of the UNSC (the P5) are exploiting their exclusive voting and negotiating powers to suit their own geopolitical interests. In doing so, they are undermining the Council’s ability to maintain international peace and security.  

More than a million people have been killed in these 23 conflicts alone and more than 230 million people are today in urgent need of aid – an increase of over 50 percent since 2015. 

“China, France, Russia, the UK and the US took responsibility for global security at the UNSC in what is now a bygone colonial age. The contradictions of their acting as judge and jury of their own military alliances, interests and adventures are incompatible with a world seeking peace and justice for all,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar.  

For instance, in 2023 Russia vetoed a nine-month extension of cross-border assistance to Northern Syria which left 4.1 million people with little or no access to food, water and medicine. Russia has also used its veto four times on Ukraine, despite being an aggressor in the conflict and by UN rules should therefore be disqualified from voting. 

While the UN General Assembly (UNGA) has passed at least 77 resolutions over the last decade supporting Palestinian self-determination and human rights and an end to Israel’s illegal occupation, the US has used its veto power six times to block resolutions perceived as unfavourable to its ally Israel. The US vetoes have created a permissive environment for Israel to expand illegal settlements in the Palestinian territory with impunity.  

“More often than not the Security Council permanent members’ vetoes have contradicted the will of the UN General Assembly, in which all states are represented,” Behar said. 

The report critiques another of the P5’s powers called “pen-holding”, which allows them to lead on negotiations and direct how resolutions are drafted and tabled, or ignored – again, too often according to their own interests. 

While France and the UK have not used their veto last decade, they and the US have held the pen on two-thirds of resolutions relating to the 23 protracted crises studied by Oxfam. The UK holds the pen on Yemen, for example, where it has a colonial legacy and strategic interests to maintain the maritime routes. In 2023, Mali objected to French pen-holding given what it considered “acts of aggression and destabilization” there. 

Many other initiatives are not even written up or tabled because they would inevitability be vetoed, the report says. As a result, the 23 crises studied by Oxfam are being treated in wildly different ways. Nearly half of them have been largely neglected with fewer than five resolutions each over the last decade, including just one on Myanmar and none on Ethiopia or Venezuela. 

On the other hand, the UNSC has passed more nearly 80 on both South Sudan and Sudan, 53 on Somalia and 48 on Libya. None have led to lasting peace. Despite the Democratic Republic of Congo having had 24 UNSC resolutions in the past 10 years, for instance, the UN mission there (MONUSCO) has been hindered by chronic underfunding and lack of coordination. 

“The erratic and self-interested behaviour of UNSC members has contributed to an explosion of humanitarian needs that is now outpacing humanitarian organizations’ ability to respond. This demands a fundamental change of our international security architecture at the very top,” Behar said. 

Globally, the number of people needing humanitarian assistance has risen nearly four times in the last decade, triggering massive funding needs. Between 2014 and 2023, the UN appeal has nearly tripled from $20 billion to over $56 billion – but less than half of this amount was met last year.  

The report is critical of the fact that humanitarian funding remains entirely dependent upon voluntary contributions. In contrast, UN member state funding for peacekeeping operations is mandatory. 

As the Summit of the Future kicks off this week to envision a revitalized UN, Oxfam calls for a wholesale reform of the UN Security Council, including the abolition of the P5’s veto power.  

“We need a new vision for a UN system that meets its original ambitions and made fit for purpose for today’s reality,” Behar said. “A Council that works for the global majority not a powerful few. This starts with renouncing the veto and pen-holding privilege of the P5 and expanding membership to more countries.” 

Notes to the Editors 

  • Read Oxfam’s “Vetoing Humanity” report (Link will go live once embargo is lifted) 
  • Oxfam looked at 23 crises that were listed in the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)’s “Global Humanitarian Needs Overviews” for at least five consecutive years over the last decade. These are: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen. Source: UNOCHA Global Humanitarian Overview 2024 and UNOCHA 2014-2018.   
  • Over the past decade, the UNSC has passed 454 resolutions and vetoed 30 resolutions on these 23 protracted crises. 8 out of 12 resolutions on Palestine and Israel; 15 out of 53 on Syria; 4 out of 6 in Ukraine; one on Venezuela; one on Malia; and one on Yemen, have been vetoed respectively. Sudan and South Sudan have had 79 resolutions passed since 2015. Oxfam’s vetoes calculations are based on UN data and UNSC data. Analysis of UNGA Resolutions is based on UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library. (n.d.). UN General Assembly Resolutions Tables.  
  • Russia and the United States have together cast 75% of the 88 UNSC vetoes since 1989, with the rest by China – neither France nor the UK have used their veto power over that period. Source: For details on UNSC vetoes, see UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library. (n.d.). UN Security Council Meetings & Outcomes Tables: Veto List. Accessed 20 July 2024. For details on approved resolutions see UNSC Resolutions 
  • 11 of the total 23 protracted crises (48%) had each fewer than five resolutions over the last decade. Source: see above. 
  • Oxfam calculated 1.1 million people died during 2014–23 in the 23 protracted crises using the conflict-level version of the dataset and the best estimates of battle-related deaths (as opposed to the high or the low estimates). Source: The Uppsala University Conflict Data Program Battle Related Deaths dataset version 24.1 
  • Oxfam calculated global funding needs based on the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Financial Tracking Service database coordinated appeals data from 2014 to 2023. Only 43% of the total $54.1bn appeal was met in 2023. 
  •  According to the UN Charter article 27(3), “a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting”.  
  • The number of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance living in these 23 protracted crises has grown by 157% to 233.5 million in 2024, up from 90.84 in 2015. Source: UNOCHA’s Global Humanitarian Overview (2015) and (2024). 
  • According to UNOCHA, the global number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has risen nearly four times in the last decade – from 77.9m in 2015 to 299.4m in 2024. Source: See above. 
  • According to the Global Report on Food Crises 2024, the number of people experiencing acute or worse levels of hunger across 20 of the 23 countries was 199.6 million. Data from Iraq, Libya and Venezuela were insufficient or did not meet the requirements of the GRFC.  

Contacts 

At UNGA Nesrine Aly / Lauren Hartnett  

Oxfam and partners at UNGA79

Oxfam leaders, experts, and partners are joining the UN 79th General Assembly, Summit of the Future, and Climate Action week in New York, hosting and attending events focused on UN Security Council Reform, gender, digital rights, inequality, climate action, and humanitarian issues. They will be urging global leaders to take bold decisions and action as they deliberate the pressing issues of our time.   

This year’s theme is “leaving no one behind: Acting Together for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable Development and Human Dignity for Present and Future Generations.” 

 
Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar said: 

“Our global systems have failed to address the unprecedented challenges we face today, leaving millions behind. Conflict is rampant, the climate crisis is at a breaking point, and inequality is soaring. As we gather at this year’s Assembly, leaders cannot squander the opportunity to restore people’s faith in the UN’s role as the flagbearer for global peace, security, and cooperation. They must move beyond mere rhetoric and make bold choices to create a system that serves all of humanity, not just the powerful few.” 

 
An overview of Oxfam’s key events, including a press conference on a report on UN Security Council Reform, media spokespeople, and products: 

 
A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM OXFAM’S AGENDA (all times in EST) : 

Thursday, September 19: Oxfam will publish a report titled,Vetoing Humanity,” which highlights how the five UN Security Council Permanent Member States’ (P5) have abused the veto and negotiating powers in their own geopolitical interests; and how they have paralyzed the Council’s ability to maintain international peace and security or mitigate prolonged conflicts and human suffering. 

At 8:30am, Oxfam will be hosting a photo call at an art installation in Tudor City outside the UN, featuring a large dove shackled to a “veto” weight, signifying how the Security Council veto has restrained efforts for global peace. Brooklyn-based artist Miles Giordani built the installation with Oxfam.  

At 11:00 am, Oxfam will also hold a press conference on the “Vetoing Humanity” report in the UN Correspondents Association briefing room. 

At 5:30pm, Oxfam and other civil society organizations will be hosting a media happy hour for a chance for experts and journalists to connect. Media can RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unga-media-civil-society-happy-hour-tickets-1009525918197 

Saturday, September 21: Oxfam and partners will host a Summit of the Future Action Days Official Side Event on Reforming the UN Security Council for an Equal and Sustainable Future” at the UN Headquarters.  Speakers will include Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International Executive Director; Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of the New America; Ambassador Lazalous Kapambwe former Zambia Permanent Representative to the UN and 67th President of UN ECOSOC; Wameedh Shakir, Founder and Chairperson of Itar Foundation in Yemen; Augusto Lopez-Claros, Executive Director and Chair – Global Governance Forum and Ishaan Shah co-founded Stolen Dreams. Register to participate or watch the Livestream here: Reforming the UN Security Council for an Equal and Sustainable Future (Side Event, Action Day 2, Summit of the Future) | UN Web TV 

 

Monday, September 23: Oxfam will publish “Multilateralism in an Era of Global Oligarchy: How Extreme Inequality Undermines International Cooperation,” a report highlighting how ultrawealthy individuals — often enabled by the richest countries — exert disproportionate influence over policy decision. The paper proposes the solutions needed for progress and provides new global data prepared for UNGA. On Thursday, September 26, a joint event with the Ford Foundation will outline key aspects the report; the panelists will include: Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar; Ronald Lamola, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation; and Nanjala Nyabola, Kenyan writer, researcher, and political analyst; moderated by The Washington Post’s Karen Attiah. 

 
Reactive Statements: 

Oxfam will be making statements regarding Summit of the Future outcomes, Heads of State Speeches during the High-Level Debate and other developments throughout. 

 
OXFAM SPOKESPEOPLE: 

  • Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International, Executive Director: Sustainable Development Goals, UN Reform, Inequality, Climate, Democracy, Human Rights, war in Gaza 
  • Abby Maxman, Oxfam America President and CEO: Sustainable Development Goals, Inequality, Humanitarian Issues 
  • Lebogang Ramafoko, Oxfam South Africa Executive Director: Summit of the Future, Climate and Inequality 
  • Brenda Mofya, Head of Oxfam New York Office: Sustainable Development Goals, The Summit of the Future, Humanitarian Issues  
  • Dr. Tawanda Mutasah, Oxfam America Vice President of Global Partnerships and Impact: Sustainable Development Goals, UN Reform 
  • Ashfaq Khalfan, Oxfam America Director of Climate Justice: U.S. position and context on climate issues in UN agenda, Climate and Inequality, Future Generations 
  • Nabil Ahmed, Oxfam America Director of Economic and Racial Justice: Economic/Wealth Inequality, Progressive Taxation, Corporate Power, Multilateralism 
  • Pauline Chetcuti, Oxfam International Head of Humanitarian Advocacy and Campaigns; Humanitarian and Climate Financing, Humanitarian Issues 
  • Neal McCarthy, Oxfam America Associate Director of Digital in Program: Summit of the Future Digital Compact  
  • Rebecca Shadwick, Oxfam International Gender Rights & Justice Policy & Advocacy Lead: Gender Justice and Rights in the Summit of the Future 
  • Abdulwasea Mohammed, Oxfam in Yemen Advocacy, Policy, and Campaigns Lead; Yemen, Inclusive Peace and Security 

Partners:  

  • Marinel Ubaldo, Climate Activist from the Philippines; Climate and Youth Activism 
  • Hilda Nakabuye, Climate Activist from Uganda: Climate and Youth Activism 
  • Wameedh Shakir, Chairwoman of Itar Foundation for Social Development in Yemen; Yemen, Gender, UN Reform 

 
FULL LIST OF EVENTS AND MEDIA PRODUCTS: 

Wednesday, September 18: 

YEMEN JOINT NGO BRIEFING NOTE: Humanitarian Situation and Funding in Yemen on the Occasion of the 79th United Nations General Assembly 

Thursday, September 19: 

OXFAM REPORT + PRESS CONFERENCE + PHOTO CALL: Oxfam is publishing the report “Vetoing Humanity: How a few powerful nations hijacked global peace and why reform is needed at the UN Security Council.” 

Embargoed press release and report 

Public press release and report (links will go live at 00:01 EST) 

As detailed above, Oxfam will be presenting the report at a press conference and presenting a temporary art installation featuring a dove of peace shackled by the weight of the veto by Brooklyn-based artist Miles Giordani. 

 

OXFAM JOINT CIVIL SOCIETY MEDIA HAPPY HOUR: Oxfam and civil society partners are hosting a happy hour to connect policy experts with media. Media RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unga-media-civil-society-happy-hour-tickets-1009525918197 
TIME: 5:30-8:30pm 
LOCATION: The Stag’s Head, 252 E 51st Street (at 2nd Avenue) 

 
Friday, September 20: 

FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE + OXFAM EVENT: Youth Climate Strike: Tear Down the Pillars of Fossil Fuels. Oxfam staff and partners will take part; Climate activist Hilda Nakabuye will speak at the rally 
TIME: 2:00-4:00pm 
LOCATION: Meet at Foley Square, RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/youth-climate-strike-tear-down-the-pillars-of-fossil-fuels-2  
 
OXFAM + TRUST AFRICA EVENT: African Civil Society Dialogue on the Summit of the Future 
LOCATION: Jay Suites – Fifth Avenue, 15 W 38th Street  
Note: This event continues to September 21. For more information contact Gail Smith (gail.smith@oxfam.org.za). 
 
Saturday, September 21: 

OXFAM SIDE EVENT: Summit of the Future – “Transforming Economies beyond GDP: towards a caring and feminist future with people, wellbeing and planet at the center.” 
TIME: 9:00-10:45am 
LOCATION: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pmurQXRqTlqJFa4Ysp_AFA  

OXFAM EVENT: “Connecting the Global North and South in fulfilling existing legal obligations on climate finance, including loss and damage” 
TIME: 11:00am-12:30pm 
LOCATION: Oxfam NY Office, 369 Lexington Avenue 
Note: For more information contact Karelia Pallan (karelia.pallan@oxfam.org) 

OXFAM + IMPACT COALITION ON AI EVENT: Oxfam’s Neal McCarthy will be speaking on the Panel on AI & Technology Governance”  
TIME: 4:00-5:15pm 
LOCATION: UNHQ – CR12 
 
Monday, September 23: 

OXFAM REPORT: “Multilateralism in an Era of Global Oligarchy” will outline how extreme economic inequality undermines multilateral efforts to effectively respond to critical global challenges like global taxation, health, and debt and proposes the solutions needed for progress. The paper provides new global data prepared for UNGA. 

OXFAM STATEMENT: Oxfam will issue a media reaction to the Pact of the Future and Summit of the Future outcomes 

OXFAM STATEMENT: Oxfam will issue a statement ahead of President Biden’s address at the General Debate  

Tuesday, September 24: 

OXFAM EVENT: “Building Global Consensus for Justice in Mining for the Energy Transition: Can the UN Critical Energy Transition Minerals (CETM) Panel lead the way?” RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/un-panel-on-critical-energy-transition-minerals-toward-the-change-we-need-tickets-999360422927 
TIME: 3:00-4:30pm 
LOCATION: Oxfam NY Office – Sinatra Room (2nd Floor), 15 W 38th Street  
 
Wednesday, September 25: 

OXFAM SPEAKING ON DEVEX PANEL: “Food as a weapon in the new age of starvation.” Oxfam in Yemen’s Abdulwasea Mohammed, Advocacy, Policy and Media Lead, will speak about the food security crisis in Yemen 
TIME: 10:25-11:00am 
LOCATION: In-person in New York and online at https://pages.devex.com/devex-at-unga-79.html 
 
Thursday, September 26: 

OXFAM + FORD FOUNDATION EVENT: “Multilateralism in an Era of Oligarchy” will explore how extreme economic inequality undermines multilateral efforts to effectively respond to critical global challenges like global taxation, health, and debt; Oxfam panelists will be moderated by The Washington Post’s Karen Attiah. 
TIME: 12:30-2:30pm 
LOCATION: Ford Foundation, 320 E 43rd Street 
Note: Please contact Shelby Bolen (shelby.bolen@oxfam.org) to be added to the RSVP list. 
 
ABOUT OXFAM 

Oxfam is a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty and injustice and will highlight the urgent need in tackling the intersections of rising inequality, humanitarian emergencies, and the climate crisis. 

CONTACT INFORMATION: 

For any media requests or for more information on anything below, please reach out to Lauren Hartnett at lauren.hartnett@oxfam.org and +1 203-247-3920 or Nesrine Aly at nesrine.aly@oxfam.org or +44 750 398 9838 (WhatsApp only). 

To keep up with the Oxfam delegation’s activities, follow @Oxfam 

Amitabh Behar named Oxfam International’s Executive Director

Oxfam International is pleased to announce the appointment of Amitabh Behar as its new Executive Director. Behar is a respected global civil society leader, with three decades of experience and extensive work on human rights, economic inequalities, governance accountability, philanthropy, democracy and social justice. He was selected following a competitive recruitment process.

Behar joined Oxfam in April 2018 as the Chief Executive of Oxfam India. More recently, he served as Oxfam International’s Interim Executive Director.

“Behar is a thoughtful and creative feminist leader, with an in-depth understanding of the causes and complexities of poverty, inequality, discrimination and suffering. We are confident in his ability to convene our confederation, alongside our partners, to deliver our vision for a just and equal world,” said Dr. Aruna Rao, the Chair of the Oxfam International Board of Directors.

Behar said: “I embark on this new chapter acutely aware of the global and interconnected challenges we face in our world today. We require urgent action built on new solidarities, new imaginations, and new dreams to deliver a more equal and sustainable future for all.

“Oxfam carries a rich legacy rooted in working with communities while advocating for systemic change. I am eager to channel our collective energies, boldness, resources, and partnerships in support of peoples’ power for the good of majority of the global population.”

Behar has made valuable contributions to Oxfam’s transformation of its own confederation, decolonizing its decision-making and strengthening its collective structure and policies. He has been widely recognized for his work on people-centric advocacy, governance accountability, social and economic equality, and citizen participation.

Prior to Oxfam, Behar was Executive Director of the National Foundation for India and Co-Chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. He has also served as the Vice-Chair of the Board of CIVICUS and the Chair of Navsarjan (Ahmedabad) and President of Yuva in Mumbai. He currently serves on the boards of several other organizations, including the Global Fund for Community Foundation and the Norwegian Human Rights Fund.

Contact: Rachel Schaevitz, rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz

Timor-Leste’s most destructive floods in recent memory likely worsened by climate change, as COVID-19 threat looms: Oxfam

Almost half of the population of Timor-Leste’s capital has been impacted by severe flooding, according to government figures, after heavy rains fell on Dili and nearby provinces last week. Cyclone Seroja took the people of Timor-Leste by surprise, with the small nation previously not within the range of such extreme weather events. Oxfam in Timor-Leste’s Associate Country Director, Annie Sloman, said the impact of climate change was undeniable.

“The combination of La Niña and climate change this year has resulted in extremely heavy rainfall, and more severe flooding than the Timorese are used to. Climate change is clearly exacerbating the intensity and impact of these disasters.”

At least 36 people were killed by the flooding and landslides caused by the rains, and 10 people remain missing. While thorough assessments are still being completed, the number of people impacted is expected to be more than 100,000, which is close to 10% of the country’s population.

“There’s been significant infrastructure damage, with a third of Dili’s water systems out. This means people don’t have access to safe drinking water, and the risk of water-borne diseases, like Dengue Fever and diarrhea, spreading is high.”

She said the growing risk of an outbreak of COVID-19 in one of the 36 evacuation centres was a major concern.

“A high proportion of those who fled to evacuation centres remain there, because people are struggling to fix and clean their homes to make them habitable.”

Ms Sloman said most of those people are women, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly.

“There are concerns about people following COVID-19 precautions: few are wearing masks, there is limited social distancing and there are challenges with accessing clean water for handwashing. The longer they stay there, the greater the risk of an outbreak among a highly vulnerable population.”

She said the impact of the emergency will be felt for a long time to come, due to the already high levels of poverty and limited access to support services.

“There is still water in some people’s homes. Not only have their possessions been ruined or damaged, but they have lost food, which was already in short supply due to COVID-19 lockdowns and supply chain problems, and people who are informal workers have lost their income.

“Timor-Leste is one of the hungriest and poorest countries in the world – people’s ability to withstand the shock and bounce back is very low. That’s why the Government is asking for support to respond.”

Historically, Oxfam New Zealand has supported Timorese farmers to prepare for and deal with the impacts of climate change on their livelihoods, and currently Oxfam supports Timorese organisations as they work to protect the rights of women, those with disabilities and the rural poor, and bolster their ability to cope with climate breakdown.

In response to these destructive floods, Oxfam is working alongside local partners and the Timorese Government to assess the full impact of the floods, as well as to distribute much-needed items to those most in need in evacuation centres, such as tarpaulins, mattresses, blankets and sanitary products. Oxfam will also distribute items such as kitchen kits and food to support people to move back into their homes.

Media Contact:

Jo Spratt | Communications and Advocacy Director | Wellington, New Zealand | Joanna.spratt@oxfam.org.nz | 0210664210

Timor-Leste Emergency appeal

Your support is urgently needed for our neighbours in Timor-Leste. You can empower families in Timor-Leste to rebuild their lives after these devastating floods. Your donation can help to provide access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene at Evacuation Centres as well as improve access for people with disabilities to critical services. Your support today will ensure that this urgent life-saving work can happen.

Donate now

Profile: Anna Mosley, International Portfolio Manager

As a twenty-something backpacker with a love of languages, Anna Mosley explored remote pockets of China, Cambodia and Laos, piquing an interest in development work.  Now, fifteen years on, she has worked across Latin America and Asia supporting poor communities in remote regions. She tells us about her new role, her abiding love of Timor Leste and her desire to learn Vanuatu’s national language Bislama.

You’re new to Oxfam. What’s your new role?

I work on programmes that Oxfam New Zealand funds in Vanuatu and Timor-Leste with Oxfam’s offices in those countries. Oxfam is shifting the way it works so that decisions about programming are made by people locally. So my role is to liaise with the New Zealand government and other funders and to work with the country offices by applying my knowledge and experience of Timor-Leste, rural development, literacy education, data management and sound development programming.

How did you first get into development work?

I’ve always loved learning languages, but it took me a while to figure out that it was more than languages that interested me – it was the way language opens up windows into culture and how people live. Learning languages has allowed me to understand the issues people face in these countries at a deeper level. As I travelled through Southeast Asia, I met people working with development agencies, and realised that there was a career that would put my love of languages and my desire to understand people’s lives to good use. I thought: “that’s something worthwhile that I could give my life to”, so I headed back to New Zealand to get my Masters in Development Studies.

You first worked in Oaxaca in Southern Mexico after you completed your masters degree, how was that?

It was amazing – Oaxaca has sixteen different ethnicities in the state, many of them strong indigenous cultures with longstanding traditions of organisation and self-determination. After I finished my thesis I worked for a couple of local NGOs doing rural development work. We worked with communities that were four hours walk from the nearest road, so sometimes I would don my backpack and walk into these isolated communities. I remember being astonished that some people had refrigerators that they’d carried in on their backs!… I would stay for three days at a time, listening to the men, and then to the women, and developing community development plans. Roads were always top of the list! One community got a road while I was working there, others started beekeeping programmes, school holiday programmes for the kids, coffee co-operatives, and worm farms for waste management. I loved it! Later on I worked for the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and travelled to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, and ended up living in Timor-Leste for three years. And it’s been great to finally get to the Pacific now I’m working with Oxfam!

Timor-Leste is a country that is close to your heart, why’s that?

It has such a tragic history, and it’s been a privilege to get to understand it a little as a new country that’s charting its own development now, and has such potential to make good choices so that people can feel that all they went through was worth it. It was only when I lived there between 2011 and 2015 that I really began to understand people’s histories, and how things work in Timorese culture. It’s a fascinating and beautiful country. I was privileged to hear little bits of personal and national histories as I travelled around with Timorese colleagues, and hearing what had happened in different places changed the way I saw the landscape – maybe a little bit like how tangata whenua in New Zealand see their history embedded in the land. There are cliffs that were called ‘Jakarta’ because people who were thrown off by the Indonesian military were told they were “going to Jakarta.” At the same time, it was such a great place to live for me and my family – travelling to the beautiful and laid-back Atauro Island, or having brunch at the beach never got old.

What are some of one of the most eye-opening situations that you’ve been in?

In Timor-Leste, I went to visit a financial literacy programme for women running small businesses. It was only then that I began to understand the difficulties  involved in applying the training to their businesses.-Some of them women had been to primary school, others had never been to school.  Some would spend the lesson just practising writing down the numbers. Iit really hit home how hard it is to show the impact of our programmes, because they were all at different levels. The averages really hid the real stories.  Often you don’t understand these things unless you are immersed in the culture and society – and that’s why I think Oxfam’s approach, where decisions are made by the offices in the country concerned and our development programming is run by supporting local organisations, is the right one.

Seeing other peoples’ perspectives is crucial in your work. Do have you any examples of when you’ve come to see things from a different point of view?

Yes, in order to get to grips with development, you need a deep understanding of that culture and your own cultural blind-spots. For example, in the western world, it’s easy to take for granted the management model we’re used to but it’s not one that always works well in other places. Performance management, for example, can be a pretty fraught exercise in a small society where family relationships, status and belief in black magic all come into play, like in Timor Leste.

You’ve got five languages up your sleeve (Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Tetun and Mandarin). What language are you thinking of learning next?

It really has to be te reo, but I’m also tempted by Bislama, one of Vanuatu’s official languages… there are too many interesting languages and places in the world to stop at just one more.