UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during the third Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Moment, a high-level event that serves to place an annual spotlight on the SDGs, at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 19, 2022.(Xinhua/Wang Ying)
"Governments need to invest like never before in the health, education and wellbeing of all people -- including refugees and migrants," says Antonio Guterres.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the international community to redouble efforts to put the world "back on track," warning that global development has reached a "decisive moment" as multiple overlapping crises are threatening the timely realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
When addressing the third SDG Moment, a high-level event that serves to place an annual spotlight on the SDGs, Guterres said conflicts, climate catastrophe, mistrust, division, poverty, inequality, discrimination and the rising costs of food and energy are pushing the SDGs "further out of reach."
"Development cannot wait. The education of our children cannot wait. Dignified jobs cannot wait. Full equality for women and girls cannot wait," the secretary-general said, adding that comprehensive health care, meaningful climate action, and biodiversity protection "cannot be left for tomorrow."
"Across all of these areas, young people and future generations are demanding action," said Guterres. "We cannot let them down. This is a definitive moment."
The UN chief said the world has a long "to-do list."
"We need finance and investment from the public and private sectors. We need a reformed financial architecture that benefits developing countries, providing critical financing and debt relief," he said.
"This is the only sustainable pathway to address the obscene inequalities that exist in every country, while ensuring that the world doesn't slide into a recession," the secretary-general said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during the third Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Moment, a high-level event that serves to place an annual spotlight on the SDGs, at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 19, 2022.(Xinhua/Wang Ying)
"Governments need to invest like never before in the health, education and wellbeing of all people -- including refugees and migrants," Guterres said, adding, "we need expanded universal social protection to protect people against economic shocks, while boosting job-creation -- especially in the digital, care and green economies."
The UN chief also urged the international community to save the Earth, "which is quite literally on fire."
Guterres said the world must address "the triple planetary crisis of climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and pollution," adding "it means supporting the Global Biodiversity Framework to transform how we use and preserve our natural gifts for the future. And it means moving away from our suicidal dependence on fossil fuels and jump-starting the renewable energy transition in every country, and supporting developing countries as they make this shift and adapt to the changes around them."
The top UN official underlined the importance of peace in all these endeavors, noting that "there can be no sustainable future without peace."
"By embracing peace and tolerance, and more importantly, by living these values every day, we can move one step closer to the sustainable, equal and just world that every person deserves," he said.
The secretary-general said, "the task before us is immense," noting that "the perils we face are no match for a world united."
"Let's get to work. Let's get our world back on track," he said.
The annual SDG Moment provides a snapshot of progress towards reaching the goals. It was created by a political declaration adopted at the first SDG Summit in 2019, which mandated the UN secretary-general to convene the event as part of every high-level week of the General Assembly from 2020 to 2030. ■
