Economic and Social Council

Invest in people, Secretary-General António Guterres told delegates and leaders at the Economic and Social Council today, underscoring the importance of universal social protection as well as equitable and high-quality education.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the high-level political forum side-event titled “Transforming Learning for a Better Future:  Education for Sustainable Development”, in New York today:

The voices of the truly marginalized must be incorporated into public policymaking, the high-level political forum on sustainable development heard today during its consideration of the role of civil society in post COVID-19 recovery and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The General Assembly was unable this afternoon to elect either the Russian Federation or North Macedonia to sit on the United Nations Economic and Social Council, despite running through five rounds of voting.  As neither of the two States obtained the two-thirds majority required to be elected, the General Assembly postponed the continuation of the process to a later date, while also adopting a resolution on strengthening connectivity between Central Asia and South Asia.

​​​​​​​With agricultural expansion driving 90 per cent of global forest loss and risk of species extinction growing at an unprecedented rate, speakers in the high-level political forum on sustainable development today called for rebalancing the relationship between humans and nature, exploring ways to better protect terrestrial ecosystems, biodiversity and land resources on a large, impactful scale.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the Economic and Social Council’s high-level political forum on sustainable development’s side event on education, in New York today:

Calls to achieve gender equality and preserve the ocean’s vast marine resources dominated the high-level political forum on sustainable development today, as delegates explored the myriad policy, legal, financial and environmental reforms needed to jump-start a holistic transformation of their countries emerging from the COVID-19 crisis, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and create a world that supports all people.

Temporary school closures during the COVID-19 crisis left 1.6 billion children unable to learn — 91 per cent of students worldwide — including nearly 369 million who rely on school meals for daily nutrition, speakers in the high-level political forum on sustainable development stressed today, as they called for the wholesale transformation of education systems towards those that place student needs at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

With food prices at near record highs, rising energy costs triggering fuel shortages and the financial squeeze induced by COVID-19 limiting the ability of the world’s least developed countries to bounce back, Governments must act now to save lives and foster holistic change across their societies, speakers stressed today as the Economic and Social Council high-level political forum opened its 2022 session.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, on key messages from the voluntary national reviews at the Economic and Social Council’s high-level political forum on sustainable development, in New York today: