United Nations: UN gathering to discuss measures to assist the world’s poorest
At a time when vulnerable countries are dealing with a barrage of crises, world leaders gathered on Monday at the UN in an effort to save lofty promises to help the world’s poorest.
However, the development summit, which takes place on the eve of the UN General Assembly, which begins on Tuesday, risks being overshadowed by rising geopolitical tensions, which will be symbolized by the attendance of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the meeting in New York.
The Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 objectives to totally eradicate extreme poverty and ensure that none of the planet’s eight billion people go hungry, were endorsed by UN member states in 2015.
Only 15% of the targets were on pace to be met, and some metrics were going backwards, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said the summit will seek a “global rescue plan” on them.
The objectives are “about people’s hopes, dreams, rights, and expectations as well as the health of our natural environment,” according to Guterres.
“They’re about putting our world on a path to lasting peace,” he added. “They’re about righting historic wrongs, healing global divisions, and restoring harmony.”
Ambitions were diverted
The Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other turbulence, rising climate catastrophes, and rapid rises in the expense of living are only a few examples of the numerous obstacles that have prevented efforts to devote money and attention to the goals from progressing.
The president of the anti-poverty advocacy organization Oxfam America, Abby Maxman, stated that the UN summit “is a vital space to make change.”
“Leaders must be held accountable, heed the calls of those on the front lines, use this time to listen, make meaningful commitments, and follow up with real action,” she said.
She said that one powerful step would be for wealthy nations to back reforms of international economic institutions to address the crushing debts impacting parts of the developing world. A Group of 20 summit in New Delhi this month took initial steps to address representation in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
“But overall, will this SDG summit reignite a sense of ‘hope, optimism and enthusiasm,’ as it’s been billed?” asked Noam Unger, a development expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“Rising authoritarianism, democratic backsliding, but also geostrategic competition and economic distress, those are likely to overshadow other fundamental issues related to climate change and global development,” he said.
‘Counting’ on momentum poorly
The leaders of developing nations will be out in full form on Monday. In order to prove that it is engaged in development as well as defense against Russian invasion, the United States has invested $43 billion in military aid into Ukraine.
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stated, “The world’s most vulnerable are looking to us, like the young woman I met in Chad (in September), who fled unthinkable — unthinkable — violence in Sudan and had to leave her family and her education behind.”
“This young lady depends on us. In her hour of need, she is looking to the globe,” she said.
