Pak envoy says social discrimination hindering global efforts to sustainable development
Pakistan at the UN called for global cooperation to eradicate poverty and achieve social development for all.
Speaking in the 56th session of the Commission for Social Development, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi said that despite the tremendous progress made in reducing global poverty, significant disparities remained between and within countries.
She said that social discrimination and exclusion based on religion, race, gender and ethnicity was hindering global efforts to sustainable development. “With growing vulnerability and exclusion, persistence of unaccountable institutions and continuing conflicts and violence, our efforts to transform the world are under threat”, she stressed
Poverty and inequality were multifaceted challenges that needed multi-pronged solutions, Ambassador Lodhi said and added, “It is only through realistic and determined social and economic policymaking and implementation that we can combat poverty. Only inclusive economic growth can provide sustainable jobs and promote equality”.
Arguing that there was an inextricable link between social development and economic growth, Ambassador Lodhi said that both were complementary and mutually reinforcing. Emphasising the importance of social and economic development of the people, she said that it was no coincidence that the overarching objective of the UN’s 2030 agenda has put people and prosperity at the front and center of sustainable development.
She told the commission that Pakistan has put in place a robust results-based monitoring system to evaluate the progress of a wide range of strategies to ensure implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Pakistan, she said, was also implementing ‘people first’ strategies to lift people out of poverty. “Our policies aim to promote financial inclusion, agricultural growth, rural development, provision of educational opportunities and poverty eradication”, she added.
Ambassador Lodhi referred to the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project as an example of South-South cooperation for the achievement of shared economic and development objectives. “This game-changing project will be pivotal to our efforts to combat poverty and achieve SDG targets. A win-win venture, it offers economic opportunities not only for the people of Pakistan but also for the entire region and beyond,” she added.
The Pakistani envoy thanked the secretary general for his comprehensive report, which, she said was an inspiring expression of his vision of promoting the social development agenda to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development for all. “It clearly charts out progress made globally in eradicating poverty and highlights the gaps and challenges in addressing inequalities and poverty in all its dimensions,” she said.
