Justice-led approaches can transform international development: Bond’s Future Dialogues discussion papers

Today, Thursday 18 September, Bond has published discussion papers on justice-led approaches to international development as a second installment of the Future Dialogues project.

In spring 2024, Bond hosted a roundtable with international NGOs, parliamentarians, representatives from academia and think tanks that sparked fruitful discussions on the transformative potential of justice-led approaches to development. Key themes and ideas emerged including, the potential of reparations as an alternative to traditional “aid” to address the structural harms of neo-colonialism, the ways NGOs can relinquish power and adopt a solidarity-based approach, and the need to acknowledge and address system-wide flaws in current development practices and NGOs own roles within these processes.

Following the event, Bond has produced two discussion papers: a provocation on justice-based ideas for the development sector and a summary of the roundtable discussion. These papers capture key insights and explore innovations and possibilities for embracing justice-led approaches to create a more equitable and just future.

The main ideas and principles of justice led approaches that came of the paper and discussions include:

The current international development model is disempowering

Current ‘charitable’ framings of poverty and inequality often disempower communities and depoliticise development, while a justice-led approach fosters solidarity, equity, and social justice by connecting with movements in low- and middle-income countries.

The radical potential of reparations and reforming existing colonial economic structures

The radical potential of reparations, repair, and anti-coloniality to address the structural harms of neo-colonialism and economic dependency. The concept of reparations makes links between historic injustice and present-day issues and if embraced by the international development sector, it could drive transformative changes in power and governance systems including the returning of land and resources.

Repair economic harm: The need for the UK and higher income countries to address the harmful impacts of trade, tax, military, and debt policies rooted in colonial structures attitudes and the role of INGOs in advocating for systemic changes that challenge the colonial dynamics driving economic and environmental exploitation of lower-income countries. Reforming tax regimes for multinationals to pay their fair share in countries of production and reforming exploitative trade rules are vital for economic justice.

Shifting the power

International NGOs giving up their power and changing their roles and purpose by giving up some functions and investing more in others, as well as developing more equitable ways of working. For example, organisations moving towards locally-led models could take a further step and no longer accept funds to implement projects outside of their place of origin, ceding that space, funding and power to communities. Instead, organisations based in the UK and other high-income countries could re-focus their resources on campaigning, advocacy and awareness-raising in their own markets.

The power of diaspora communities in the development of their home countries and how the sector should prioritise partnering with these communities.

The steps the UK sector can take to embrace justice-led approaches to international development:

Fund social movements and collaborate with other actors to create agile social movements that can operate.

Support and fund more ‘South-South’ dialogue.

Build a shared vision, goal and strategy for justice-led approaches to international development .

Organisations originating in high-income countries should shift their practice towards solidarity, advocacy and campaigning.

Invest resources in repairing civic space.

Use technology to serve solidarity and movements, for example:

For translations and organising.

Using AI to create a perfect world as a thought experiment.

Identifying and requiring the use of algorithms that support social justice.

Lena Bheeroo, Anti-Racism and Equity Manager at Bond, said:

We have an opportunity to reshape how we work in international development by centring justice in all we do. Taking a justice-led approach allows us to address long standing inequalities and embedded power imbalances by prioritising building long-term relationships, shifting resources and decision-making to marginalised communities. This isn’t about aid but about solidarity, recognising local expertise and ensuring that development is led by those most affected. The sector can change by making a plan to shift power and committing to it. By listening to communities, hearing them and sharing power, we can create a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future for all.

Priya Lukka, Economist specialising in repair-based approaches at the University of Leeds and author of the provocation paper, said:

These ideas and experiences can encourage a stronger pursuit of justice and equity for marginalised and minoritised communities whose needs and challenges have been peripheralised. By embracing new mandates for repair and reform in development, we can build momentum towards real change and reparatory justice. A key part of this includes unearthing and remedying for the UK’s colonial harms and the role they have played in the inequality that we seek to tackle, in a way that brings empowerment for affected communities.

Rhaea Russell-Cartwright, Racial Justice Lead, Oxfam GB, said:

Justice-led approaches are crucial for driving long-term transformation in global development, particularly in addressing systemic oppression at both societal and community levels. They challenge harmful historical legacies and reframe the sector’s presence in the world. In particular, by adopting a reparative lens, we scrutinise not only our actions but also the root causes of poverty and inequality, leading to a deeper understanding of our role beyond the ‘white saviour’ narrative. To move forward, the sector must prioritise funding for racial justice and decolonisation work, as seen in initiatives by Oxfam GB for the past four years. The sector can also use important materials such as the Bond report on Racism, Power, and Truth, which offers vital insights into how white supremacy culture has shaped practices, mindsets, and attitudes within the sector, and it provides a framework for dismantling these harmful structures. By understanding the different levels of oppression that lives through colonial legacies, can we route justice in all we do and create a unified approach to tackle these interconnected issues.

ENDS.

Notes for editors

Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.

For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Jess Salter at [email protected] or call 07493200979.