Mr. Vice-President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
I am pleased to join you at the opening of the 2021 ECOSOC Integration Segment. Mr. Vice-President, I commend you for your leadership and for launching an innovative preparatory process, for this year’s Integration Segment.
Through this process, the functional commissions and expert bodies of the Council, and the UN system entities, provided important reflections and recommendations from the unique perspectives of their work. Today, we have an opportunity to reflect on these contributions, and identify key priorities to be conveyed to the High-level Political Forum, next week.
Excellencies,
With surging COVID cases in some countries, and lagging vaccination rates in poorer countries, recovery from the pandemic is in jeopardy. The latest SDG Progress Report notes that the pandemic-related economic downturn has pushed an additional 119 to 124 million people into extreme poverty, of which the majority are women and girls. We need urgent actions to stop the pandemic, minimize its socio-economic impact, and get back on track to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Our synthesis of voluntary submissions by ECOSOC functional commissions and other intergovernmental bodies, identified areas that require urgent attention. Fair, broad, and fast access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, without discrimination, is of utmost urgency. In addition, we need to address the threat of the pandemic that is compounding existing crises, such as conflict, disasters and climate crisis. And there are also stressing food systems.
Recovering better requires global solidarity and a multilateral approach – including through enhanced international cooperation to support countries recovery efforts. Many developing countries require fiscal space to launch effective recovery packages. To enable this fiscal space, we need to address the debt burden of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries.
The pandemic is not only deepening poverty. It is also disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable. Social protection and health systems need to be enhanced to become more resilient to future crises. Policies that target the furthest behind, must be an integral part of the COVID-19 response. They must be gender-responsive, and take into account the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women and girls.
The pandemic also revealed the digital inequalities and the importance of connectivity. Affordable universal connectivity is key for a sustainable recovery. It is key to help reverse the negative impact of the pandemic on education. We must direct science, technology and innovation to health, education, food systems and energy, for the benefit of humanity.
Excellencies,
We are united in our commitment to realize the SDGs, but we need new approaches to get there. And these new approaches must be more integrated, coherent, inclusive, and informed by quality data. We need multidimensional policies that can address intersecting inequalities, based on:
- race,
- gender,
- age,
- ethnicity,
- culture,
- religion,
- socioeconomic status,
- disability,
- geographical location and
- sexual orientation.
I reiterate the Secretary-General’s call for a new social contract between Government, people, civil society, business and other stakeholders, based on equal rights and opportunities for all. It must involve new forms of robust social protection systems that eliminate systemic inequalities and economic insecurity.
UN DESA, together with the UN system, stands ready to support Member States respond to the socio-economic fallout from the pandemic. Together, let us get back on track to implementing the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, and build a more inclusive, equal and sustainable world.
I wish you a productive discussion today.
I thank you.