Response from Bond’s CEO Anti-racism Group to Andrew Purkis
“When the Bond CEO Anti-racism Group published its statement this summer, marking one year since the UK’s race riots, it was never about repudiating our past. It was about harnessing it. We know from experience that honest reflection on our history – including the parts that make us uncomfortable – is a source of renewal and strength, not weakness.
“We are proud of the long record of international NGOs: resisting apartheid, campaigning for tax and climate justice, advancing education and women’s rights. These achievements matter deeply to us and to the millions of people who have supported our work. Alongside them, however, we must also acknowledge where harm has been done, where power has been unevenly held, and where voices have been marginalised, and look at how this has shaped our organisations and our personal leadership.
This is not a loss; it is a gain. By facing up to our history in full, we become more trusted partners, more relevant organisations and more effective actors for change. Confronting uncomfortable truths about our sector helps us improve how we work, sharpen our focus, and make better decisions. It is a positive, forward-looking practice that strengthens rather than weakens us.
“The Bond anti-racism statement illustrates this powerfully. The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and its impacts since 2020 triggered not only conversation but tangible change: new governance, more equitable funding relationships, and a deliberate redistribution of power and voice. Those changes have already made programmes more responsive and partnerships more resilient. This is what learning from our history looks like in practice. There is more we can do.
“As we said in our original message, anti-racist leadership requires courage, deep reflection and action. But it also offers benefits: greater inclusion, stronger partnerships, higher quality outcomes and more durable impact. We believe it is both possible and necessary to hold complexity – to celebrate what has been done well while also improving where we must do better.
“We stand by a vision of the sector rooted in justice, mutual learning, equitable relationships and global solidarity. This is not about dismantling internationalism but renewing it so that INGOs are not agents of aid but partners in shared empowerment.
“We welcome Andrew Purkis’ challenge, and invite colleagues, supporters and critics alike to join us in this work. By reflecting honestly on how power is held and whose voices we hear, we do not weaken our organisations; we make them stronger. We do not undermine global solidarity; we deepen it. Together we can shape something more just, more effective and more sustainable – honouring our history while embracing the responsibilities of the future.”
ENDS
- Read the July statement.
- This statement has been put together by members of the Bond CEO Group on Anti-Racism.
- Read an open letter from 70 CEOs of UK NGOs re-committing to tackling and dismantling racism following the UK race riots in summer 2024.
- At Bond, we’re working to transform the UK NGO sector. We are prioritising work on how both we as an organisation and the sector need to make tackling and dismantling racism a priority since it is embedded and manifests across the international development sector. Our free online resource, Anti-racism and decolonising: a framework for organisations maps out how systemic racism manifests across all areas of the international development sector and supports organisations to build anti-racist practices and to take steps to decolonise the sector. In Autumn 2024, we launched resources on applying anti-racist & decolonial approaches to policy and advocacy in international development. This is the Work: reimagining policy and advocacy is available online.
- 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 further information, please contact Maryam Mohsin at [email protected].
