Reflections on Justice, Rights, and Development
This issue brings together reflections and analyses from key global and regional advocacy spaces, including the pre-AFSD discussions, the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, and CSW70. Through contributions from activists, researchers, and civil society actors from the Arab region, the newsletter explores questions of economic justice, debt and austerity, feminist organizing, shrinking civic space, and the future of rights-based and people-centered development.
Drawing on the 2026 Regional Civil Society Forum, Bihter Moschini reflects on the structural challenges facing sustainable development in the Arab region and the priorities civil society is carrying from the regional level toward HLPF 2026. The article connects peace, social and economic justice, climate justice, democratic governance and meaningful civic participation.
READ THE EDITORIAL →This analysis examines the structural tension between the policy instruments of international financial institutions and states’ human rights obligations. It considers austerity, conditional lending, unequal decision-making power and the accountability gap within global economic governance.
READ THE ARTICLE →Reflecting on the IMF Spring Meetings, this contribution examines the gap between changing institutional language and the persistence of familiar economic policy tools, particularly in relation to debt, fiscal adjustment and development priorities.
READ THE ARTICLE →Focusing on Jordan, Ahmad Awad calls for a different approach to the country’s relationship with the IMF, placing social and economic rights, national policy space and the lived impact of economic reform at the center of the discussion.
READ THE ARTICLE →Reflecting on participation in the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, Carla Akil explores why feminist actors continue to engage in global advocacy spaces despite their limitations, and what these spaces mean for organizing, solidarity and the struggle for gender justice.
READ THE ARTICLE →Explore the key priorities and recommendations emerging from the 2026 Regional Civil Society Forum, bringing together civil society perspectives on multilateralism, economic and social justice, climate justice, civic participation and sustainable development.
READ THE OUTCOME DOCUMENT → WATCH THE FORUM SESSIONS →A short video produced by ANND member CessRa documents the compounded challenges faced by persons with disabilities who have been internally displaced, including inaccessible shelters and infrastructure, disrupted care and support systems, loss of assistive devices and medication, and gaps in disability-inclusive humanitarian response.
The contribution calls for more inclusive, rights-based humanitarian and protection frameworks that ensure no one is left behind in times of crisis.
