Madam Chair,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me begin by congratulating you, Madam Chair, and the Bureau members, on your elections. In a world facing extraordinary uncertainty, this Committee plays a central role in providing important guidance and coherent policy responses.
Close to two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries continue to experience immense suffering and disruptions. Many developed countries see the end of the tunnel. But the poorer countries are still battling the crisis, with restricted access to the vaccine and scarce financial resources for recovery.
The glaring inequalities in access to the COVID-19 vaccination impact the recovery. To date, about 40 percent of the global population has received at least one dose, according to the World Health Organization. This is the case for only around two per cent of people in low-income countries. COVAX – the global vaccine distribution initiative – recently lowered its forecast vaccine deliveries, from 1.9 to 1.4 billion in 2021. This is bad news for the people of the world. And this is bad news for the recovery.
At the same time, however, the global economy is recovering from the deepest recession since the Great Depression. After a contraction of 3.6 per cent in 2020, it is expected to grow by 5.4 per cent in 2021, and 4.1 per cent in 2022. However, these average figures do not reflect the great disparities between the rich and poor countries, and the challenges confronting the Least Developed Countries, SIDS and LLDCs.
The North/South divergences in the pace of recovery are also driven by the unequal fiscal responses to the crisis – which – between January 2020 and June 2021 – is estimated at a staggering $13,500 US dollars per capita in developed countries. Support in LDCs averaged as little as $21 per capita.
The pandemic has also exacerbated the vulnerabilities of many poor and disadvantaged groups. It is reversing progress in the situation of women, and destroying jobs and livelihoods. At the same time, the threats of biodiversity loss and climate change continue to grow.
Progress toward achieving the SDGs before the pandemic, was insufficient. Now the facts are even more sobering. The Secretary-General said that we risk not only a lost decade for development. But – also a lost generation of poorly educated, unemployed, disaffected young people.
International solidarity is critical as we work to end the inequality that is plaguing the world’s recovery. But it is important to go beyond this. The pandemic has shown what cooperation in science and technology could achieve during adverse times. It has triggered unprecedented social protection measures and economic stimulus. We need to build on this momentum, which is imperative for realizing the 2030 Agenda.
The high-level political forum on sustainable development -HLPF- this past July, and the September SDG Moment, showed the unwavering commitment to the 2030 Agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals are our guideposts for recovering better from this historical crisis.
Madam Chair,
Excellencies,
This Committee has an important agenda that can help inspire the visionary change needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda and put the world on a sustainable path to recovery. But hard choices need to be made. Your work will be critical in providing policy guidance to this end.
Allow me to elaborate briefly.
Eradication of poverty is its overarching goal. In 2020, we saw an additional 119 to 124 million people pushed into extreme poverty, and an increase in the number of those suffering from hunger, to between 720 million and 811 million. The decade of eradication of poverty should galvanize unprecedented actions to turn the tide, and eradicate poverty and hunger by 2030.
Regarding macroeconomic policy questions, and financing for development. The Committee can take stock of the initiatives underway to ease the impacts of the pandemic. It can encourage further actions to lift the constraints faced by developing countries, in using macroeconomic policies to address the crisis and achieve sustainable development.
The recent allocation of $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights, was an important step to address urgent liquidity needs. Countries with strong external positions can strengthen their development impact by donating, or on-lending their unused SDRs.
The G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative has been extended to December 2021. But the rescheduled debt from 2022, could make debt service cost prohibitive going forward. The Common Framework is also an important step to facilitate coordinated debt relief for eligible countries. However, very few countries are likely to benefit from it before year’s end.
The Committee can also encourage scaled-up risk-informed development cooperation and the fulfilment of ODA commitments. It can call for strengthening international tax cooperation, which has great potential to achieve the SDGs as part of the COVID-19 response and recovery.
The Secretary-General has called for stronger international cooperation to tackle tax evasion and:
- aggressive tax avoidance,
- money-laundering, and
- illicit financial flows, including through a new joint structure. The Committee could consider this proposal.
Also critical is helping developing countries to mobilize sufficient internal revenue to allow the investment needed to achieve the SDGs, including climate action.
At the SDG Investment Fair session last week, concrete investments from countries were discussed with private investors. This included the Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance, an Alliance of CEOs convened by the Secretary-General. I encourage you to engage in the dialogue between Member States and the GISD Alliance, on 19 October.
The agenda of the Second Committee can be approached in an integrated manner, following the approach adopted by the 2030 Agenda. For example, the deep interrelations between food, water and energy could be recognized in the Committee’s resolutions. Recent events have put the limelight on their impact on climate change, biodiversity, and decent livelihoods for all.
The UN Foods Systems Summit, the General Assembly High-level Dialogue on Energy, and the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, can all inform the Committee’s resolutions.
We look to the Climate Conference of Parties in Glasgow in just a few weeks, as a time to reach new ambition levels. The UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference, taking place next week, on 14-16 October, will identify measures to reach climate goals. Negotiations on the post-2020 biodiversity framework are also under way, which should set up ambitious targets for beyond 2020. And, the second UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon next year, 2022, will remind us that there is no way to save the ocean without addressing climate change, or stopping biodiversity loss.
With other major meetings on the environment and on desertification in 2022, the world must shift to a higher gear for saving the planet. To this end, this Committee can also prepare the review of Goals 14 and 15 on terrestrial biodiversity and oceans by the HLPF in 2022.
Distinguished Delegates,
Countries in special situations and middle-income countries warrant special attention. Their particular vulnerabilities, lack of fiscal space, and the unique structure of their economies, have maximized the impact of the pandemic and led to the worst socioeconomic performance in 30 years.
It will take several years for LDCs to recover the level of GDP per capita they had in 2019. The LDC 5 Conference, being negotiated as we speak, should be a game changer to lift LDCs out of poverty.
The GDP of small island economies shrunk by approximately 4.7 percent in 2020, due to:
- decrease in tourism revenue,
- remittances and capital flows, and
- pressures of debt servicing.
The Secretary-General’s report elaborates on the development of a multidimensional vulnerability index, which can be a useful tool in recovering from the pandemic. For LLDCs, the pandemic reinforced the need to build transit systems that are resilient to shocks, including climate change.
Many of the vulnerabilities of Middle-income countries have also deepened, as income-earning opportunities were being lost and the debt situation worsened. Many MICs may face persistently higher unemployment rates, growing inequality, and a regression of female labor market participation.
I am pleased to see that the joint meeting between the Committee and ECOSOC, on 20 October, will discuss building productive capacities in LDCs, LLDCs, SIDS, and MICs, for more resilient recovery and sustainable development.
Overall, we look to the Second Committee to consider – as an integral part of the response and recovery – targeted measures to reverse negative trends in:
- poverty,
- hunger,
- loss of learning, and
- gender equalities.
This includes robust social protection programmes and universal health systems that reach the most marginalized, and the consistent provision of essential services. This is part of the new social contract the Secretary-General calls for in his landmark report, Our Common Agenda.
We also expect guidance to leverage scientific knowledge and support technological innovations. Especially in areas like food and energy systems, where innovative breakthroughs can create ripple effects across the 2030 Agenda.
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
I look forward to your debates and outcomes.
I know you have decided to keep your negotiations focused due to the measures related to COVID-19, but will urge you to deliver guidance, that is ambitious and impactful.
The General Assembly must make its voice heard in the current crisis. People expect no less from the United Nations, which cannot be paralyzed by the pandemic when the world is crying for help.
I am confident that this session will succeed in meeting its complex responsibilities. My Department is privileged to support you and the Bureau.
I thank you.