Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,
Mr. Dennis Francis,
at
Opening of the sixty-second session of the Commission for Social Development
[as delivered]
04 February 2024
Your Excellency, Ruchira Kamboj, Chairperson of the Commission for Social Development,
Your Excellency, Robert Rae, Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council
Mr. LI Junhua, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Ms. Jean Quinn, Chair of the NGO Committee on Social Development
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
I thank you for the opportunity, indeed the privilege to address the sixty-second session of the Commission for Social Development.
Today’s theme, which focuses on social development, social justice, and efforts to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, could not be more opportune and, to be sure, more urgent.
Let us be candid: we are not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Our setbacks – evident even before the COVID-19 pandemic – have deepened amid converging global challenges – from conflict and climate change to debt distress, trade shocks, and fraying trust in the institutions meant to represent, and support and lift our societies.
The result?
A world that is fast losing the battle on poverty, hunger and inequality, on quality education for all, on accessible and affordable healthcare, and on social protection systems, to name a few.
Indeed, it is expected that a staggering 575 million people will live in extreme poverty in 2030.
The state of global affairs behooves us to move beyond a business-as-usual approach.
As the challenges evolve, we must accordingly adapt our approach and our solutions to ensure that they are fit for purpose.
All of this, of course, was acknowledged at the 2023 SDG Summit, held here in New York in September, and it is for these very reasons that world leaders adopted the Political Declaration to accelerate implementation of this vital Agenda.
We must now do everything to ensure that this promise delivers real action.
What does this mean?
It means, re-orienting our approach to social policy – especially where it addresses the economy, employment, and the environment. A fragmented approach will not yield progress on social development.
It means making strategic investing investments in peace, which is a prerequisite for sustainable social and economic development.
It means closing the digital divide and empowering people everywhere through this era of digital transformation; we must embrace equitable and inclusive growth and development driven by shared innovation.
And it means dismantling the structural barriers that conspire to leave people behind.
But this can only happen if our policies, frameworks, budgeting, and legislation are socially just, conscious, and responsive to the fact that different common circumstances have impacted – and continue to impact – people differently, creating and perpetuating inequalities.
To close the SDG financing gap, we need innovative policy shifts that create a conducive fiscal space for SDG investments. We need cooperation and the alignment of international and domestic policies to capitalize on funds that may be available, especially through official development assistance as well as domestic resources.
Dear Colleagues,
Building upon the outcomes of the 2023 SDG Summit, I urge Member States to rally around actions that will give rise to meaningful gains.
At the General Assembly, the inaugural Sustainability Week, which I will host in April, is one big opportunity.
Through five high-level engagements, we will explore the challenges and opportunities for delivering sustainable solutions in tourism, transport, infrastructure and connectivity, energy, and, importantly, debt.
I hope you will all join us in elevating this Week and energizing its outcomes.
The goal is to pave the way for the Summit of the Future, in September 2024, where world leaders are expected to accelerate action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and to re-energizing the landmark consensus at the heart of 2030 Agenda.
I urge Member States to use the Summit of the Future and its expected outcomes, the Pact for the Future, as well as the Declaration on Future Generations, and the Global Digital Compact, if intergovernmentally agreed, to advance discussions ahead of the World Social Summit in 2025.
Excellencies,
The deliberations over the next eight days are not taking place in a vacuum.
They will feed into and augment other ongoing intergovernmental processes.
We must join hands to rebuild trust and reignite solidarity; we must boost stakeholder engagement; and we must undertake the work of the Commission through a spirit of inclusion, cooperation and collaboration.
It was Nelson Mandela who reminded us that “as long as poverty, injustice, and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.”
With that, I wish you a productive session and look forward to the outcomes of your important deliberations.
I thank you.
