Oxfam Urges UN to Tackle $18.3 Trillion Inequality, Climate and AI Ahead of Assembly
Updated
Updated · Democracy Now! · Sep 18
Oxfam Urges UN to Tackle $18.3 Trillion Inequality, Climate and AI Ahead of Assembly
2 articles · Updated · Democracy Now! · Sep 18
Summary
Oxfam used the run-up to the U.N. General Assembly and Climate Week to press for decisive multilateral action on inequality, climate change and AI, arguing the world body can no longer operate with 1945-era structures.
Amitabh Behar said 3,000 billionaires now hold $18.3 trillion while nearly 780 million people go hungry, framing inequality as the core emergency linking climate damage, democratic erosion and conflict.
On reforms, Oxfam backed a G20-born International Panel on Inequality, called for curbing U.N. veto and penholder powers, and said the next secretary-general should be a woman advancing a feminist agenda.
Behar also pushed for global AI rules, warning tech billionaires are converting wealth into political power, and tied climate demands to finance gaps that he said remain below 10% of G77 and China expectations.
The appeal lands as António Guterres warns of deep uncertainty before UNGA, with the U.S. war in Iran, higher fuel costs and widening unrest underscoring Oxfam's case for a broader U.N. reboot.
With billionaires controlling AI and immense wealth, can an outdated 1945 global institution truly regulate them before inequality becomes irreversible?
If permanent UN members refuse to surrender their veto power, how can the Global South force meaningful action on climate and war?