The divided world reminded of its promises to improve the lot of humanity

September 18, 2023

Developing countries on Monday called for reforms to the global system so that their most vulnerable populations, hit hard by an avalanche of crises, have a chance of one day living the better future that was promised to them.

In a context of geopolitical tensions unprecedented in decades, this development summit, which opens the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, risks being quickly eclipsed by the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, arrived Monday afternoon in New York.

The fate of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by UN Member States in 2015 to build a better and more sustainable future by 2030 is nevertheless crucial for “more than half the world” left behind, including countries suffering the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

These goals “carry the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people around the world,” insisted UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “The time has come to prove that you are listening to them.”

At the midpoint, only 15% of these SDGs are on track, many are stagnating and others are regressing.

Like the hope that not one of the eight billion humans will suffer from hunger anymore. “In our world of abundance, hunger is a shocking stain on humanity,” insisted Antonio Guterres.

Getting out of poverty, having access to education, drinking water or clean energy, fighting climate change or achieving peaceful societies, all these development objectives are largely interdependent.

And all of them are undermined by the multiple crises that have swept the world in recent years: Covid-19, war in Ukraine, multiplication of climate disasters.

“If you do not respect your commitments to limit warming below 1.5°C (…), you are putting the lives and the future of our entire generation in danger, and of those who will come after,” launched the young Sudanese activist Mayada Adil took the podium, calling on all these leaders to listen to the “tribe of young people” left on the side of the road.

In a declaration adopted by consensus, UN member states pledged to act “without delay” to realize this “action plan for humanity, the planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships”.

“We support the reform of the international financial architecture,” they assured, while many developing countries are paralyzed by the weight of their debt.

But it’s not just a question of governance, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley insisted. This would mean “cheaper money” to “reduce inequalities and achieve the SDGs”.

“If the secretary general can talk about abundance of food and people dying of hunger, it is because we choose not to act differently, we choose not to share,” she accused.

“Achieving the SDGs depends on fundamental reform of economic and political relations,” added South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Faced with the demands and resentment of the countries of the South, certain Western officials have also taken care to insist on the fact that development is their priority for this annual high mass, to avoid further widening the gap between rich and poor.

“The European Union does not forget other problems. Despite Russia’s war against Ukraine, we must solve urgent problems, climate change, poverty,” declared the President of the European Council Charles Michel.

These existential issues, particularly for the poorest countries, risk giving way to center stage this week to the Ukrainian president who will take the podium at the UN for the first time on Tuesday, on the eve of a Council of security in Ukraine.

A visit which could further upset the countries of the South, such as Brazil, which “clearly say that the time has come for diplomacy”, if it adopts a “hard line” by demanding more arms from its allies, highlights Guard Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group.

President Zelensky will also meet his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday, who is trying to act as a mediator.

“I am aware that for certain leaders, it is important to find a peaceful solution,” noted Charles Michel. But “for this peace to be lasting, it must respect the principles” of the UN.