World leaders gathered at the UN headquarters in New York have adopted a political declaration in which they stressed that the eradication of poverty in all its forms is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for achieving sustainable development.
The declaration, which was adopted on September 19, 2023, reaffirms the leaders’ commitment to the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
However, the leaders acknowledge that the achievement of the SDGs is at risk. “Halfway along the path of the 2030 Agenda, we are concerned that progress on the path of most of the SDGs is proceeding too slowly or has fallen back from the limit set in 2015,” the declaration states.
The leaders also note that the world is facing enormous crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and the war in Ukraine. These crises have reversed years of gains in sustainable development and pushed millions of people into poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.
Despite these challenges, the leaders reaffirm their commitment to achieving the SDGs by 2030. They state that the 2030 Agenda remains the roadmap for achieving development and overcoming the multiple crises facing the world.
The declaration also stresses that climate change is one of the biggest challenges of the current era. The leaders express serious concern about the continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the risks to which all countries, especially developing ones, are exposed due to the effects of climate change.
The declaration concludes with a call to action, urging leaders to take bold, ambitious, urgent, and just measures to achieve the SDGs.
