On July 17, José Antonio Ocampo, Chair of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) introduced the CDP’s 2020 report to ECOSOC at the High-Level Segment. He stated that even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, lack of progress in addressing issues that are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda – inequality and climate change – was already holding back the implementation of the SDGs and threatening to reverse advances made. With the pandemic, multiple dimensions of inequality had become even more evident and had been exacerbated as the rift has expanded dramatically between those who had secure jobs, access to social security, adequate housing, sanitation and health care, and those who did not. Despite a temporary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the threat of climate change remained as serious as ever. To advance towards the SDGs during this “decade of action”, States will need to strategically deploy the full range of policy instruments to catalyse and redirect innovation and investments towards equitable and green development. A condition for the success of strategies to recover from COVID-19, address inequality and climate change, and meet the SDGs, Ocampo stated, was a strong, supportive multilateral system, calibrated towards the goals of social and economic stability, shared prosperity and environmental sustainability. The principles proposed by the CDP to guide the design of a new multilateralism are contained in its report. The United Nations’ 75th anniversary is an important moment for the renewal of commitment to multilateral rules and institutions. More immediately, international cooperation needed to be stepped up to enable the poorest countries to address COVID-19. The multilateral response to COVID-19 should include the capitalization of all multilateral development banks; an issuance of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights by at least $500 billion, and for the advanced economies to put their shares into a trust fund to finance programs in emerging market and developing economies; greater debt relief for low income countries and mechanisms to facilitate debt restructuring for other developing countries that may need it; and a coordinated use of regulations (controls) on international capital flows. Critically, rapid universal access to tests, treatments and, when available, quality-assured vaccines must be ensured in all countries with need prioritized over the ability to pay, in line with the 2030 Agenda pledges of leaving no one behind and reaching the furthest behind first. Finally, Professor Ocampo referred to the challenges of least developed countries (LDCs), noting that the COVID-19 pandemic was expected to weigh on the global economy for years to come, which would impose new challenges for the LDCs, including those that had made progress towards graduation. He drew participants’ attention to the statement made by the CDP on May 12 regarding its deep concern about those impacts, which will be taken into consideration at its Triennial Review of the LDC category in February 2021.

Watch the live webcast

Statement by Professor Ocampo

Link to the CDP report