Video Link<\/b><\/a><\/p>\nYour Excellency, Ruchira Kamboj, Chairperson of the Commission for Social Development,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Your Excellency, Robert Rae, Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Mr. LI Junhua, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Ms. Jean Quinn, Chair of the NGO Committee on Social Development<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Excellencies,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nDear colleagues,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nI thank you for the opportunity, indeed the privilege\u00a0 to address the sixty-second session of the Commission for Social Development.<\/span><\/p>\nToday\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\nLet us be candid: we are not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.<\/span><\/p>\nOur setbacks \u2013 evident even before the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 have deepened amid converging global challenges \u2013 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.<\/span><\/p>\nThe result?<\/span><\/p>\nA 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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIndeed, it is expected that a staggering 575 million people will live in extreme poverty in 2030.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe state of global affairs behooves us to move beyond a business-as-usual approach.<\/span><\/p>\nAs the challenges evolve, we must accordingly adapt our approach and our solutions to ensure that they are fit for purpose.<\/span><\/p>\nAll 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.<\/span><\/p>\nWe must now do everything to ensure that this promise delivers real action.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat does this mean?<\/span><\/p>\nIt means, re-orienting our approach to social policy \u2013 especially where it addresses the economy, employment, and the environment. A fragmented approach will not yield progress on social development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIt means making strategic investing investments in peace, which is a prerequisite for sustainable social and economic development.<\/span><\/p>\nIt 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.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd it means dismantling the structural barriers that conspire to leave people behind.<\/span><\/p>\nBut 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 \u2013 and continue to impact \u2013 people differently, creating and perpetuating inequalities.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nTo 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span>Dear Colleagues,<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nBuilding upon the outcomes of the 2023 SDG Summit, I urge Member States to rally around actions that will give rise to meaningful gains.<\/span><\/p>\nAt the General Assembly, the inaugural Sustainability Week, which I will host in April, is one big opportunity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThrough 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.<\/span><\/p>\nI hope you will all join us in elevating this Week and energizing its outcomes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe 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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI 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.<\/span><\/p>\nExcellencies,<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nThe deliberations over the next eight days are not taking place in a vacuum.<\/span><\/p>\nThey will feed into and augment other ongoing intergovernmental processes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWe 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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIt was Nelson Mandela who reminded us that \u201cas long as poverty, injustice, and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWith that, I wish you a productive session and look forward to the outcomes of your important deliberations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI thank you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n