More than 130 civil society organisations (CSOs) have urged global finance ministers attending International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings in Washington, D.C. to push for an end to ongoing conflict in South West Asia and impose windfall taxes on oil and gas companies benefiting from the crisis.

In a joint statement released last night, the coalition warned that rising energy prices linked to the conflict were worsening global hardship and deepening debt burdens across developing countries, particularly in Africa.

To draw attention to their demands, activists projected the message “No Bombs, No Barrels” on the headquarters of the IMF and World Bank during the meetings, which are taking place amid warnings of a possible global recession.

The coalition argued that governments have failed to address the economic fallout of the war, despite evidence that energy companies were recording significant profits while households struggle with rising living costs.

According to the statement, more than $100 billion was extracted from consumers in a single month through increased energy prices linked to the conflict. The groups called on governments to redirect such profits into public services and support for vulnerable households.

They outlined four key demands: a permanent end to the war, taxation of fossil fuel windfall profits, investment in renewable energy and sustainable agriculture, and cancellation of debt owed by Global South countries.

Executive Director of the Arab NGO Network for Development, Ziad Abdel Samad, said the credibility of global governance institutions was weakening due to their inability to secure a lasting end to violence.

He warned that continued imbalance in power and representation within multilateral systems risked turning global governance into “a tool of dominance rather than a framework for fairness.”

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Managing Director of 350.org, Savio Carvalho, said taxing windfall profits from oil and gas companies could provide immediate relief for struggling households and accelerate the transition to affordable clean energy.

Africa Coordinator of Fight Inequality Alliance, Martha Tukahirwa, highlighted the impact of rising fuel prices across the continent, noting that diesel prices in Nigeria had risen by more than 60 percent, worsening food and transport costs.

She said many households in Malawi and Zimbabwe were already facing difficult choices between basic needs as living costs continued to rise.

Faith leaders also joined the call for action. Executive Director of GreenFaith, Rev. Fletcher Harper, described windfall profits by fossil fuel companies during the crisis as “a moral failure”, urging governments to channel the revenue into energy relief programmes.

Head of Programmes at ActionAid, David Archer, warned that rising interest rates and mounting debt burdens were limiting the ability of developing countries to respond to the crisis.

He called for urgent debt cancellation and a new United Nations framework on sovereign debt to reduce the influence of creditor nations over restructuring processes.

The statement, coordinated by 350.org and Fight Inequality Alliance and backed by more than 130 organisations worldwide, urged finance ministers to act quickly to stabilise economies, reduce inequality and accelerate the shift to renewable energy. (The Nation)

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