Describing a “race to the bottom” in which multinational corporations enjoy lower and lower tax rates around the globe, delegates at the Economic and Social Council’s forum on financing for development follow-up today stressed that such practices are slicing deep into the funds countries need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by their 2030 deadline.
Four years after the roll‑out of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the gap in financing the Sustainable Development Goals has widened, the chief United Nations trade expert told the forum on financing for development follow-up today, as participants explored ways to mobilize domestic resources, curb corruption and create enabling environments for increased investment in their economies.
Citing a fragile world economy and unravelling multilateral alignments, delegates at the Economic and Social Council’s 2019 forum on financing for development follow-up today also spotlighted a crucial window of opportunity to render the global financial system fairer and more fit for purpose.
The Economic and Social Council adopted two decisions today, as it also held its annual Partnership Forum amid calls for engaging a diverse range of actors — from Governments and businesses to academia, civil society and, importantly, local decision-makers — in new forms of collaborations that generate better results for those most in need.
Young people must “have a seat at the table”, youth delegates and high‑level Government officials told the Economic and Social Council today as it concluded its eighth annual Youth Forum.
The Economic and Social Council opened its eighth annual Youth Forum today under the theme “Empowered, Included and Equal”, with youth delegates and Governments alike sharing ideas for ensuring that the benefits of a globalized world — from technological advancement and better connectivity to increased flows of people, finance and goods — unleash the potential of its 1.2 billion young people.
In efforts to address the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, which hit Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe in March, the Economic and Social Council held a special meeting today on the international response, with the Deputy-Secretary General underscoring that additional emergency funding is desperately needed to contain the ongoing crisis and help mitigate similar events in the future.
The Economic and Social Council decided to change the theme of its 2019 session to “Empowering people and ensuring inclusivity and equality”, bringing it into line with that of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development — one of three decisions taken in a day that also featured elections to various subsidiary bodies.
The Economic and Social Council met today to fill regular and outstanding vacancies in 11 of its subsidiary bodies, and to delay action on a draft decision that would change the theme of its 2019 session.
One of the world’s most environmentally degraded areas, the Sahel is suffering from a rise in intercommunal conflict over resources depleted by desertification, drought and other climatic extremes, speakers told a joint meeting of the Economic and Social Council and the Peacebuilding Commission today.
