Alliances with the private sector without clear human rights, gender equality and environmental integrity provisions have been aggressively promoted to “enhance implementation” of the Sustainable Development Goals. This, while paying deaf ears to the recommendations of several UN Rapporteurs on poverty and human rights, on debt, on indigenous people’s rights and others. Public-private partnerships and other modalities have undermined the public sector, reduced the benefits for populations, left uncovered crucial sectors in dire need of investment (under the argument of being “high risk”) without taking into consideration the longer-term benefits, and actually led to mega-projects with questionable environmental, social and economic impacts.