Economic and Social Council

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the opening of the Ministerial Segment of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, today:

Experts today explored ways to scale up public and private financing for post-pandemic economic recovery, climate action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as the 2021 high-level political forum on sustainable development, convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, entered its second week.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the 2021 high-level political forum on sustainable development’s first session of voluntary national review presentations, held today:

One of the COVID-19 pandemic’s hard lessons demonstrates that the use of technology alone cannot make global development goals a reality, scientists and technology experts said, as the high-level political forum on sustainable development continued its 2021 session.

Inequality and exclusion have deeply impaired the ability to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which, in turn, further widened such disparity, demonstrating the dangerous links between health and inequality, experts warned, as the high‑level political forum on sustainable development moved into the third day of its two-week session.

Long-term social protection measures must replace temporary COVID-19 pandemic responses to help countries regain traction towards realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, delegates and panel experts said today, as the high-level political forum moved into the second day of its two-week session.

Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating socioeconomic consequences must not leave anyone behind, speakers told the high-level political forum on sustainable development as it opened its 2021 session today.

As the COVID-19 crisis has pushed between 119 and 124 million people into extreme poverty, Governments around the world must enact policies that are coherent, inclusive and informed by high-quality data as they emerge from the pandemic and refocus their sights on achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, speakers in the Economic and Social Council integration segment stressed today.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to a joint thematic event of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council on least developed countries, on the theme “Diversifying the financing toolbox to enhance investment in least developed countries”, today:

Beginning its 2021 Management Segment today, the Economic and Social Council adopted eight resolutions and eight decisions while considering several reports on various topics, many of which were sensitive to COVID-19’s unprecedented impact on the United Nations work around the world.