UNITED NATIONS: In a world grappling with the ravages of war, climate change, and persistent inequality, leaders from across the globe convened on Tuesday under the auspices of the United Nations to address humanity’s colossal challenges.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the need for concerted, immediate action and urged leaders to provide their assessments on a global platform.
“People are looking to their leaders for a way out of this mess,” remarked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ahead of the annual gathering, emphasizing the urgent need for action rather than mere rhetoric. The challenges faced by humanity, including the climate emergency, escalating conflicts, technological disruptions, and a growing cost-of-living crisis necessitate a united response. However, geopolitical divisions continue to hinder effective global cooperation.
This year’s week-long session, the first comprehensive meeting of world leaders since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, will witness speeches from 145 leaders. This significant number reflects the multitude of crises and conflicts prevalent in the world today. Notably, President Joe Biden will be the sole leader from the five influential veto-wielding nations on the U.N. Security Council to address the assembly, as leaders from China, Russia, France, and Britain are absent.
The absence of leaders from the four Security Council powers has led to dissatisfaction among developing countries, highlighting the importance of major global players listening to their demands, particularly regarding funding to bridge the widening gap between the world’s affluent and disadvantaged. The G77, a major U.N. group of developing countries with 134 members, advocated for this year’s global gathering to focus on the 17 U.N. goals adopted in 2015, which are falling behind schedule.
At a two-day summit aimed at propelling action to achieve the 17 goals, Secretary-General Guterres referenced a grim U.N. report from July. The report revealed that only 15% of the 140 specific targets to achieve the 17 goals are on track, with many heading in the wrong direction, and none expected to be achieved in the next seven years. These goals encompass ambitious aims such as ending extreme poverty and hunger, ensuring universal access to quality secondary education, achieving gender equality, and significantly addressing climate change, all by 2030.
At the present pace, the report predicts that 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty and 84 million children won’t attend elementary school in 2030. Achieving gender equality is expected to take 286 years. Secretary-General Guterres reiterated the commitment made by leaders in 2015 to achieve these 17 sustainable development goals and emphasized the need to build a world of health, progress, and opportunity for all people, with a vital focus on adequate funding. The urgency for collaborative and sustained action from global leaders to address these pressing issues is paramount.
