More than 80% of sustainable development goals are challenged, UN calls on international community to put money into peace instead of weapons

On July 15, United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed called on world leaders to redirect resources from investing in weapons to initiatives for peace and sustainable development.

SDGs logo (left) and UN logo at the General Assembly. (UN News)

UN News said that Ms. Amina Mohammed made the above call when speaking on behalf of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the opening of the ministerial conference of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) at the UN headquarters.

Conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere are causing serious damage and diverting political and resource resources from the urgent task of ending poverty and tackling climate disasters, the UN Deputy Secretary-General said.

Noting that the sustainable development goals are being challenged and that only 17% of targets are currently on track as the 2030 deadline approaches, she stressed the need to cut military budgets and redirect funding to peace and development instead.

The senior UN official also highlighted the importance of promoting green and digital transitions, urging countries to strengthen their pre-2025 climate action plans in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as invest more in expanding digital connectivity.

In addition, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed highlighted the need to prioritize vulnerable groups, protect the rights of persons with disabilities and combat gender inequality.

Speaking at the conference, UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis once again noted that the world has about 1.1 billion people living in multidimensional poverty and if the international community does not take meaningful actions, 8% of the world's population (equivalent to 680 million people) will face hunger by 2030.

Mr. Francis affirmed the importance of the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit, where world leaders adopted a strong political declaration and launched a phase of accelerated action towards the goal of realizing the global development goals by 2030.

As planned, during the 3-day ministerial conference, the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will also hold a plenary discussion on the topic from the SDG Summit to the Future Summit.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/hon-80-muc-tieu-phat-trien-ben-vung-bi-thach-thuc-lhq-keu-goi-quoc-te-don-tien-cho-hoa-binh-thay-vi-vu-khi-278865.html