UNITED NATIONS, Pakistan has underscored the need for reforming the international financial architecture that would contain corporate greed, neo-nationalism, right-wing extremists and a global oligarchy.
“Without such reforms, genuine social development will be difficult to realize,” Ambassador Munir Akram told the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), which opened its 78 session on Thursday.
Speaking in a debate on Social Development, the Pakistani envoy said that world inequalities have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is constrained by limited fiscal space.
“Climate change and proliferating conflicts have further exacerbated the food, fuel & finance challenges faced by developing countries like Pakistan,” he pointed out.
Further, Ambassador Akram emphasized that the decisions from various conferences and fora must be implemented regarding debt, ODA (Official Development Assistance), and lending by multilateral banks.
Pakistan, he said, endorses the UN Secretary-General’s SDGs stimulus package designed to rescue the developing countries in economic and financial distress.
The Pakistan envoy said that the international community urgently needs a global compact for economic and social development that will develop people-centered social development and global solidarity.
He said the future can only be realized through such a tool, noting that the upcoming Summit of the Future provides an opportunity to negotiate it.
Earlier, Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, warned that progress at the halfway point was slow or fragile, with only 15 per cent of Sustainable Development Goals on track.
However, he said, with a fundamental shift, “it is still possible to build a world that is just, peaceful, inclusive and sustainable”.
He noted in this regard the importance of the Third Committee, whose consideration of 50 draft resolutions will address issues such as effective humanitarian assistance, gender equality and youth policies as well as the rights of persons with disabilities, older persons and Indigenous Peoples.
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