Initiative led by Oxfam Brazil calls for the future panel to ensure diversity, leadership from the Global South, and Brazil as a pilot case
CIPÓ is one of the signatories of the letter supporting the creation of the International Panel on Inequality (IPI). The IPI would be an independent international scientific panel, linked to the United Nations system through the United Nations University. The letter was launched by Oxfam Brazil and brings together civil society organizations, social movements, trade unions and researchers. Its goal is to broaden support for the initiative and strengthen a Brazilian coalition around global responses to inequality.
The letter calls for the panel to be institutionally embedded in the UN system, bringing scientific research closer to multilateral decision-making spaces. It also calls for regional, disciplinary, racial and gender diversity in the panel’s composition, with meaningful participation from the Global South. Another demand is for Black researchers, intellectuals, activists and leaders to play a leading role in producing analyses of inequality. The letter presents this as a condition for the quality and legitimacy of the knowledge produced.
The letter also proposes that Brazil be considered a pilot case for the IPI’s work. It cites the severity and diversity of inequalities in the country, the availability of data, and the expertise of Brazil’s scientific community and civil society organizations.
The mobilization comes at a decisive moment for the proposal. On September 23, Brazil, South Africa, Spain and Norway hosted a high-level event during the UN General Assembly to build political support for the panel. The initiative was born in the G20. Brazil’s presidency of the group placed inequality at the center of the global agenda, and South Africa’s presidency decided to establish the panel. The process now has a Founding Committee chaired by Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz, as well as the backing of the UN Secretary-General and the African Union.
Although the IPI is not yet formally a UN panel, it already has an initial structure and an international coalition of support. The next step is to gather enough support among Member States to present a resolution to the General Assembly, a necessary step toward formally establishing the panel.
