World Leaders Adopt Sweeping Political Declaration Reaffirming Commitment to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals, as Summit Commences
Text Must Become 'More Than a Piece of Paper', Urge Speakers, amidst Calls for Action, International Finance Reform
Kicking off the second half of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, world leaders at the SDG Summit 2023 today adopted a sweeping Political Declaration to reaffirm their shared commitment to end poverty and hunger everywhere, combat inequalities within and among countries and build peaceful societies that leave no one behind.
The adoption of the 10-page document, by the Heads of State and Government and high representatives gathering at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, came at a critical juncture as global crises — including armed conflict, adverse climate impacts and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic — threaten the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
“The SDGs need a global rescue plan,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his opening remarks to the SDG Summit, known formally as the high-level political forum on sustainable development, under the auspices of the General Assembly. “At the halfway point to the SDG deadline, the eyes of the world are on you once again,” he added.
Welcoming the endorsement by the Political Declaration of the need to reform today’s outdated, dysfunctional and unfair international financial architecture, he stressed that “this can be a game-changer in accelerating SDG progress”.
Following the Political Declaration’s adoption, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, and co-facilitator of negotiations on the Declaration alongside Ireland, emphasized that the commitment to the peaceful settlement of differences and respectful dialogue are best for safeguarding development gains worldwide. “Together we can turn out commitments to action,” he asserted.
Supporting that call, Leo Varadkar, Prime Minister of Ireland, also stressed that the text must become “more than a piece of paper”. For its part, his country will provide almost €300 million in 2023 to address “the scandalous food security and nutrition crisis globally”. While Ireland is a small country, it has “always dared to think big”, he stated.
Also addressing the opening segment, Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago), President of the General Assembly, underscored that the most vulnerable communities — including women and girls, young people, persons living with disabilities, older persons, and Indigenous Peoples — are “at the foremost receiving end” of complex and intersecting crises. However, “with concerted, ambitious action, it is still possible that, by 2030, we could lift 124 million additional people out of poverty and ensure that some 113 million fewer people are malnourished,” he said.
Paula Narvaez (Chile), President of the Economic and Social Council, underlined that this week — also featuring the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development and the Climate Ambition Summit — should serve as “a turning point” to rescue the Goals. “We must not let this moment slip away,” she said, stressing that the Council stands ready to support countries’ efforts to turn commitments into action.
Setting the stage for the ensuing discussions, Mayada Adil of Sudan and Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals, declared: “We are ready to take actions rather than promises.” However, the General Assembly Hall is filled with Heads of States, decision-makers and power holders but not youth. “What have you done to include young people in decision-making space?” she asked, stressing the need to involve youth, who make up half of the world’s population, in all decision-making spaces.
Throughout the day, representatives from Member States, UN entities and civil society engaged in plenary and leaders’ dialogue sessions, taking stock of progress and gaps in implementing the Goals while charting the way forward. With only seven years left to the 2030 deadline, the need for scaling up SDG finance emerged as a central theme.
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of Cuba, speaking for the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said that developing countries face multiple challenges and an unfair economic order that perpetuates poverty and inequality, calling for an urgent overhaul of the international financial architecture. Currently, 25 countries of the Global South dedicate more than 20 per cent of their national income to servicing their debts, preventing them from being able to invest in sustainable development, he reported.
Adding to that, Seve Paeniu, Minister for Finance of Tuvalu, said that his country’s habitable land is already succumbing to sea level rise and, according to the lowest projections, most of Tuvalu will become untenable for human habitation by 2100. In response, his country has developed a “survival” adaptation plan designed to provide safe, elevated land territory that can accommodate the national population. However, small island developing States like his require finance provided through an outright grant system as opposed to credit financing, he said.
In that vein, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Prime Minister of Nepal and Chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries, spotlighted the 30 per cent decline in foreign direct investment flows to least developed countries in 2022, resulting in a significant blow to development efforts. Calling on developed nations to provide 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of their gross national product as official development assistance (ODA)to the least developed countries, he emphasized that “finance is the fuel that drives SDG progress”. More so, he stressed, the achievement of the Goals in least developed countries “defines its success or failure”.
The SDG Summit will reconvene at 3 p.m., Tuesday, 19 September to continue leaders’ dialogue sessions and conclude its work.
HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Opening Segment
DENNIS FRANCIS (Trinidad and Tobago), President of the General Assembly, said that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development serves as a beacon of hope to create a more equitable and just world. Now, at the midway point, it is essential to take stock of all progress and assess the remaining challenges in order to chart a course of success, ensuring that the United Nations keep faith and that “no one is left behind”. He urged that partnerships be forged and innovative ideas put forward that drive meaningful change. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the war in Ukraine, among others, have presented complex and intersecting crises. While they have dramatically altered the trajectory of the entire world, those in precarious circumstances suffer the most, including small island developing States, least developed countries and landlocked developing countries. The most vulnerable communities — including women and girls, young people, persons living with disabilities, older persons, and Indigenous Peoples — are at the foremost receiving end of these crises.
Despite the Agenda’s commitments to eradicate poverty and reduce hunger, 1.2 billion people were still living in multidimensional poverty as of 2022, he cautioned. Approximately 8 per cent of the global population — 680 million people — will still be facing hunger in 2030, he said, adding: “Can we accept these numbers? Or, because they make us uncomfortable, should we pretend they do not exist and carry on with business as usual?” Doing nothing would “fan the flames of discord and conflict, with well-known terrible consequences”, he emphasized. “With concerted, ambitions action, it is still possible that by 2030, we could lift 124 additional million people out of poverty and ensure that 130 million fewer people are malnourished,” he underlined, adding: “The world is watching (…) that we will keep our promises and that we are alive to the reality that we have only 7 years left.”
https://press.un.org/en/2023/ga12529.doc.htm
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