Jakarta, 5 May 2025 – Ahead of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (UN FfD4), which will be held from 30 June to 3 July 2025 in Seville, Spain — the first such conference since 2015 — various Indonesian civil society organizations are urging the Government of Indonesia to take a strategic and proactive role in advancing a global financial system that is fair, transparent, and centered on the needs of people.
The UN FfD4 serves as the United Nations’ official platform for shaping global policy on financing sustainable development. This year’s conference is particularly crucial amid a worsening global debt crisis, deepening fiscal inequality, and chronic shortfalls in climate financing — all of which underscore the urgent need for a more inclusive and democratic international financial architecture, especially for developing countries.
A coalition of Indonesian civil society organizations concerned with public finance issues — including debt, tax justice, and equitable budgeting — have come together to amplify a unified voice in response to these systemic challenges threatening sustainable development. The coalition includes: Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), People’s Coalition for the Right to Water (KrUHA), International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Indonesia, the National Secretariat of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Seknas FITRA), and The PRAKARSA.
These organizations are committed to:
- Monitoring public debt policy to ensure it does not burden future generations and remains centered on the well-being of the people;
- Advocating for progressive tax reform at the global and national levels to address inequality;
- Ensuring public budgets prioritize the fulfillment of basic rights and environmental sustainability.
The upcoming FfD4 is also seen as a key moment for the Indonesian government to:
- Reinforce the role of the United Nations in shaping the rules of global financial governance, while refocusing the global development agenda to better reflect the realities and needs of the Global South. This comes in response to growing criticism of development approaches that are overly Western-centric and neglect local contexts and historical experiences in developing nations.
- Actively support negotiations on the United Nations Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt, as a concrete step toward building a just and transparent sovereign debt resolution mechanism under the UN framework.
- Advocate for global tax justice through the establishment of a United Nations Tax Convention, which would shift global tax policymaking toward a more equitable and inclusive forum, offering equal voice to developing countries that have long been marginalized in exclusive platforms like the OECD.
- Ensure public funds are allocated to productive public spending, aligned with the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national climate targets.
“Debt, tax, and budgets are not just about numbers — they are about people’s sovereignty, social justice, and the future of the planet,” said Komang Audina Permana Putri, Program Coordinator of Indonesia for Global Justice. She also added that “Financial issues are not isolated risks — they are systemic threats to Indonesia’s development.”
They further emphasized that UN FfD4 must not become another stage for empty commitments, but rather a turning point to address deep-rooted structural injustices. The Indonesian government must stand with the people and champion transformative changes at the global level. Now is the time for Indonesia to take on a strategic role in shaping a just and sustainable financial future.
Indonesia must stand in solidarity with other developing countries to ensure future debt crises are resolved through justice, not austerity. Moreover, global tax reform must be advanced as a concrete step toward achieving global fiscal justice and ensuring all nations have the resources to fund their development agendas.
Contacts:
- Komang Audina Permana Putri, Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), audina@igj.or.id
- Meliana Lumbantoruan – Publish What You Pay Indonesia (PWYP) Indonesia – meliana@pwypindonesia.org
- Sigit Karyadi Budiono, Koalisi Rakyat untuk Hak Atas Air (KRuHA), sigit@kruha.org
- Siska Barimbing, Sekretariat Nasional Forum Indonesia untuk Transparansi Anggaran (Seknas FITRA), siska.bar1mb1ng@gmail.com
- Bona Tua Parlinggomon P. – International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) – bona@infid.org
- Ema Kurnia Aminnisa – The PRAKARSA – eaminnisa@theprakarsa.org