Summary:
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UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said that billions of people still don’t have the right to development and are “suffering while the earth is burning.”
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Türk said climate change and biodiversity loss are global problems that can only be solved through a multilateral approach.
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He pointed to a “serious pushback” in gender equality and the rights of women and girls, the invasion of Ukraine, and other geopolitical issues as examples.
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He said, “For the first time in two years, the latest Human Development Index, which measures a country’s health, education, and standard of living, has gone down.
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This means that the G20 needs to give an extra $500 billion annually for sustainable development and develop new ways to help developing countries get out of debt.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said that billions of people still don’t have the right to development and are “suffering while the earth is burning.” She was echoing the High Commissioner’s call to action. “The universe cannot wait.”
Mr. Türk, speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva this week to mark the 35th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development, emphasized the historical significance of this accord’s equal weighting of economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights.
“We are witnessing the dangerous escalation of inequities.” Mr. Türk said at the Geneva summit on Tuesday that climate change and the loss of biodiversity are happening much faster than we can fix them.
“I am persuaded that progress in achieving the whole spectrum of human rights will reverse this negative spiral and reestablish the foundation for discussion and sustainable development between and among Member States.”
“One right should not take precedence over another,” concluded the High Commissioner. Political freedom was not more important than social or cultural freedom, and civic space was not less important than economic freedom.
Perilous disparity
The UN rights chief stated that all nations must recognize their “inescapable connection” and work together, as he cautioned that crucial Sustainable Development Goals – agreed upon by all UN Member States in 2015—have been “gravely derailed,” partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Türk said climate change and biodiversity loss are global problems that can only be solved through a multilateral approach. He pointed to a “serious pushback” in gender equality and the rights of women and girls, the invasion of Ukraine, and other geopolitical issues as examples.
Creating resolutions
In charge of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Achim Steiner also gave a sobering message. He said, “For the first time, the latest Human Development Index, which measures a country’s health, education, and standard of living, has gone down worldwide for two years.”
As people “take to the streets… in frustration over a lack of climate and environmental action” and climate activists “are threatened, harassed, and killed,” Mr. Steiner explained that in partnership with UNDP and others, national human rights institutions had been urged to play a pivotal role in addressing inequalities resulting from climate change and environmental degradation.
Individually, the UNDP administrator stated that tens of thousands of people had been assisted in participating in their country’s development through the Climate Promise Program and consultations on nationally determined contributions.
G20 partnership request
Mr. Steiner noted that further progress might be made in securing the right to development of new sources of financing were discovered to promote the right to the action by the UN Secretary-General’s SDG Stimulus Plan.
This means that the G20 needs to give an extra $500 billion annually for sustainable development and develop new ways to help developing countries get out of debt.
“As part of these efforts, countries must recommit to the goal of contributing 0.7% of their gross national income to official development aid,” stated the UNDP administrator.
