Pakistan seeks global solidarity to address interlinked challenges
The UN General Assembly Hall is empty before the start of the SDG Moment event as part of the UN General Assembly 76th session General Debate at United Nations Headquarters, in New York, US, September 20, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS
Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" (developing countries) and China, has called for global solidarity to address the interlinked challenges of conflict, climate change and environmental degradation, as well as the socio-economic downturns resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, aggravated further by an increase in inflation.
"To confront these challenges, we need a transformative vision, a strong expression of global solidarity, and a collective will to support the national efforts of developing countries to build resilience against future shocks," Ambassador Aamir Khan, acting Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, told a joint meeting of the executive boards of six UN funds and programmes.
The executive boards represented at the joint meeting were: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Office for Project Service (UNOPS), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN Women and World Food Programme (WFP).
Pakistan is the current chairman of G-77 and China, which now has 134 members and is the United Nations' biggest intergovernmental group of emerging countries.
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In his remarks, Ambassador Aamir Khan said the developing countries were disproportionately impacted by those challenges, particularly because of unsustainable debt burden that many of them had accrued right now.
In this regard, the G77 chairman proposed a collective "call to action" to deal with the challenges.
"The Group is greatly concerned about the visible trend of major cuts in core allocation for development that impedes the critical role of UN development agencies to support efforts of developing countries in achieving the SDGs (sustainable development goals)," Ambassador Aamir Khan said, adding cutting funding for development and defunding the key development agencies of the UN system was the opposite of what the world needed at the moment.
"Executive boards need to play their oversight and guidance role to ensure compliance with the agreed mandates and ensure that the UN entities potential and capabilities are strengthened and fully realized," the G77 chairman added.