Facing multiple, cascading global crises, the United Nations development system stands committed to “rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals” as the only viable way forward, Secretary-General António Guterres said today, as the Economic and Social Council opened its annual operational activities for development session.
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Economic and Social Council Operational Activities Segment, presentation of the report of the Chair of the UNSDG on the Development Coordination Office, in New York today:
Closing the Economic and Social Council’s two-day Multistakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, senior United Nations officials welcomed the convergence of experts from Governments, the private sector, academia and civil society, and stressed how rapid scientific progress can be leveraged to address pressing global challenges, so long as the technology emerging is accessible to all.
The COVID-19 pandemic and emergence of variant viral strains underscore the importance of science, technology and innovation for the recovery and development of global populations, speakers said today as the Economic and Social Council opened its two-day forum on the topic amid calls to urgently address the widening digital gulf between developed and developing countries.
The Economic and Social Council concluded its annual financing for development forum today with the adoption of an outcome document highlighting the critical need for resources to deliver on the central promise of the United Nations framework for achieving a better, more sustainable future for all by 2030.
Inequalities in financial space and an unfair international corporate tax architecture urgently require reform to foster recovery and growth in developing countries — with private finance and investment key factors — speakers told the Economic and Social Council today as it continued its annual forum on financing for development follow-up with three panel discussions.
The Economic and Social Council continued its annual forum on financing for development today, holding a special high-level meeting with the Bretton Woods institutions (the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to discuss solutions for securing an inclusive and sustainable recovery amidst the economic fallout from COVID-19 and rising geopolitical tensions.
Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the Economic and Social Council special meeting on Sustainable Urbanization and the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda, in New York on 21 April:
The Economic and Social Council opened its annual forum on financing for development follow-up today with speakers warning that a convergence of crises — the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and debt unsustainability — have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, threatening to reverse development gains by a generation.
With more than half the world’s people living in cities and the fastest population growth projected to take place in urban settings, sustainable development will hinge on how countries manage urbanization, the Economic and Social Council President told delegates today, as he opened the special meeting on the New Urban Agenda amid calls for tackling the deep inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
