Chanting calls for debt cancellation, climate finance, and wealth taxes, more than a thousand protesters marched to the U.S. Embassy in Manila on June 27, 2025, joining coordinated demonstrations across five continents to demand sweeping reforms to the global financial system.
The protests come ahead of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), set for June 30 to July 3 in Sevilla, Spain, where world leaders will meet to tackle the growing financing gap faced by developing countries.
Organized by the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), the Manila action formed part of a worldwide mobilization stretching across Asia, Europe, Africa, North and Latin America.
Protesters criticized the current global economic architecture, dominated by the IMF, World Bank, and Global North lenders, as undemocratic and outdated, especially in light of mounting climate-related economic losses.
According to the OECD, the gap between development financing needs and available resources is projected to hit USD 6.4 trillion by 2030 without fundamental reforms. Since 2015, development finance demands have surged by 36%, driven in part by the escalating climate crisis.
Protesters urged rich countries to meet their commitments to climate finance and called for a UN Debt Convention to establish fairer and more democratic debt governance, moving decision-making away from traditional power centers toward more inclusive global processes.
Photos by Kenosis Yap / Mata: Asia Press Photo
