H.E. Ms. María del Carmen Squeff, Permanent Representative of Argentina to the UN, and Chair of the Bureau of the Commission for Social Development for the 60th session,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this year’s 60th session of the Commission for Social Development.
As we begin our third year of the global pandemic, we do so with both frustration at the rise of the omicron variant, as well as hope that the end we so desperately seek is approaching.
It is this end that we must address today.
What does our world look like in the post-COVID era? What lessons have we learned from our responses?
To be clear, COVID-19 has posed a significant setback to sustainable development: 600 million people are close to extreme poverty and 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. These are startling numbers.
Yet, at the same time, the level of response and the impact of the recovery measures put in place offer signs of encouragement.
Social protection measures have skyrocketed in the last two years. And while implementation has been deeply uneven across the world, particularly between developed and developing countries, the efforts made demonstrate that social safety nets do work and could have huge impacts on the lives and livelihoods of the people we serve.
Excellencies,
We must see the COVID-19 pandemic as both crisis and opportunity. In building back better, we must embrace the goals and targets of the Sustainable Development Goals to ensure we do not simply recreate the systems and institutions we had before – that we enshrine resilience and sustainability in everything we do.
This requires us to be bold and ambitious in our intentions, and generous in our actions.
First, we must invest in and share technologies, resources, and capacities to ensure that our recovery efforts reach all people, in all countries, particularly those in special situations, such as LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS.
Second, we must prioritize universal access to basic services and infrastructure, especially around education, nutrition, and healthcare. These are basic human rights and far too many have had to suffer needlessly during the pandemic.
The recovery period must ensure that no one is left behind. This will allow for an inclusive and equitable recovery that empowers all people, including women and girls, young people, the elderly, and persons living with disabilities.
Third, we must invest in training and education, particularly green skilling. COVID-19 is one crisis, but others await; we cannot ignore the risks of climate change or other crises.
Investing in a green and blue recovery will allow for an economic rebound that strengthens the workforce, builds resilience, mitigates carbon emissions, protects our ecosystems, and invests in new sectors and industries.
Fourth, we must work quickly to close the gaps that have been so clearly exposed. After two years we have the data on who has been left furthest behind; we know how these groups have suffered and why.
Going forward, we must invest in universal social protection systems. This will ensure that future crises are well prepared for, and that all people can access comprehensive social support systems that guarantee a basic level of social security.
We must also acknowledge that members of our communities have felt the pandemic most acutely. This includes women and girls who have lived through a ‘shadow pandemic’ of increased domestic violence, coupled with reduced access to social protection measures. The post-COVID recovery period must recognize these gaps and ensure that social protection, and access to all services, is gender sensitive.
Dear friends,
History is replete with turning points – many of which have been borne out of periods far darker than we would like to admit.
History will undoubtedly remember the pandemic for its loss and for its tragedies. And we will mourn and grieve as we should.
But let us also ensure that history remembers the pandemic as its own turning point; as the moment when humanity embraced a better future, pivoted to sustainability, abandoned tired excuses, and pursued a path that empowered all people, that protected our planet, that built prosperity, and that left a new generation with hope.
I thank you.
