The UN General Assembly on Monday adopted a political declaration to accelerate action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)which are unfortunately off track from their 2030 deadline.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigerian President Bola Tinubu is among the leaders who adopted the political declaration to accelerate the 17 goals.
The political declaration includes a commitment to financing for developing countries and clear support for its proposal for an SDG stimulus of at least US$500 billion a year, as well as an effective debt relief mechanism.
He also calls for changing the business model of multilateral development banks to offer private financing at more affordable rates for developing countries, and supports the reform of the international financial architecture, which he has described as “obsolete, dysfunctional and unfair.”
Speaking at the opening of the high-level forum on the SDGs at UN Headquarters in New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “The SDGs are not just a list of goals.
“They carry the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people everywhere.”
World leaders adopted the SDGs in 2015, pledging to leave no one behind.
The goals include ending extreme poverty and hunger, ensuring access to clean water and sanitation as well as green energy, and providing universal quality education and lifelong learning opportunities.
However, the secretary-general said the transition to renewable energy was not happening fast enough, while the benefits and opportunities of digitalisation were not being spread widely enough.
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At the same time, too many children and young people around the world are victims of poor quality education or no education at all, he continued, before highlighting the need for decent work and social protection.
In addition, he called for an end to the war against nature and “the triple planetary crisis” characterized by climate change, pollution and the loss of biodiversity.
“A transversal aspect of all these transitions is the need to guarantee full gender equality.
“It is time to end discrimination, guarantee a place at all tables for women and girls and put an end to the scourge of gender violence,” she said.
Guterres highlighted the UN’s response to each area, including initiatives to transform global food systems so that everyone can have access to a healthy diet.
Other efforts focus on boosting investment in the transition to renewable energy, promoting Internet access for all, creating 400 million new “decent jobs” and expanding social protection to more than four million people.
In his speech, the President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, noted that, despite the commitments, 1.2 billion people were still living in poverty in 2022, and approximately eight percent of the world’s population, or 680 million people will still face hunger at the end of this year. the decade.
“The international community cannot accept these figures.
“With concerted and ambitious action, it is still possible that, by 2030, we can lift 124 million more people out of poverty and ensure that some 113 million fewer people are undernourished,” he said.
Each of the 17 goals contains targets, 169 in total, but the Secretary General warned that currently only 15 percent are on track, while many are going in the opposite direction.
The political declaration “can be a game-changer to accelerate progress on the SDGs,” he said.
The UN chief highlighted the need for action in six critical areas, starting with addressing hunger, which he called “a horrific stain on humanity and an epic violation of human rights.”
“It is an indictment of each one of us that millions of people are hungry today,” he added.
The President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Paula Narváez, was encouraged by the adoption of the declaration, calling it a testament to the leaders’ unwavering commitment to the implementation of the SDGs.
ECOSOC is at the center of the UN system’s work on the three pillars of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) and provides a platform for monitoring and reviewing goals.
The two-day SDG Summit is the centerpiece of the high-level week of the UN General Assembly, the annual meeting of Heads of State and Government, and Narváez also noted two other events on the agenda.
He said the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development will address the need for an international financial architecture that can respond to current needs and emerging challenges.
Meanwhile, the Climate Action Summit presents an opportunity to make decisive progress on climate action and raise the bar for more timely and targeted efforts.
“This week should serve as a turning point to rescue the SDGs,” he said. “We must not let this moment pass.
The theme of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly is: “Rebuilding trust and reviving global solidarity: accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.”
(YAYA)
