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UN DESA Voice is an insider's look at the United Nations in the area of economic, social and sustainable development policy. It is produced by the Strategic Planning and Communications Services of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs with articles written by UN DESA staff. This is an electronic publication - no printed edition is generated.
The current edition
November 2024
Global shocks and crises have become more intense, widespread and interlinked, creating consequential challenges to social development. Pandemics, violent conflicts and a spate of climate-related disasters have hit the most vulnerable people and societies the hardest.
2023
A recent United Nations report by an independent group of scientists calls for transformational shifts rooted in science that would urgently reverse course and turbocharge the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on the latest data and scientific insights, the Global Sustainable Development Report 2023, entitled “Times of crisis, times of change: Science for accelerating transformations to sustainable development,” offers practical solutions to accelerate SDG implementation.
Picture a world where poverty recedes, where hunger is but a distant memory, where inequalities dissolve, where girls and boys rise side by side, and where the environment thrives alongside humanity. The SDGs, conceived in 2015 with the world's collective voice, outlined this vision. But midway through our journey, we must confront the hard truths: our progress is slow and the challenges before us loom large.
This month, government representatives, businesses, civil society organizations, young people and other international actors will gather for the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, taking place on 10-19 July 2023 at UN Headquarters in New York. They all come together with one purpose: to review and assess progress to achieve the global goals.
“The SDGs are not just 17 lofty goals. They represent real lives with real needs. They represent women and children, young and old, you and me, and a chance to fullfil our potential,” said UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua. His comment came as the department is supporting preparations for the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July and the SDG Summit in September.
The international community finds itself at the halfway mark of the global race towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Yet, the goals are still far off track in many areas and UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently warned, “unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been.”
At the halfway point to the 2030 Agenda, vulnerable countries have been left reeling by multiple global shocks. The war in Ukraine, sharp increases in food and energy prices, and rapidly tightening financial conditions have increased hunger and poverty and reversed progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 1977, world leaders, water experts and policymakers from around the world gathered in Mar del Plata, Argentina, for the UN Water Conference. Almost 50 years later, the global community will come together from 22 to 24 March in New York for the second ever UN 2023 Water Conference.
“This is not the time for short-term thinking or knee-jerk fiscal austerity,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, as the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2023 released its grim global economic outlook on 25 January 2023.
A series of severe and mutually reinforcing shocks — the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and resulting food and energy crises, surging inflation, debt distress, as well as the climate emergency — battered the world economy in 2022.
As we’re opening the chapter on 2023, we’re entering a new and busy year, which will be critical for people, planet and our shared future. Here are the main sustainable development events to look out for this year.
2022
“Together, we have the tools to tackle the root causes of systemic marginalization of persons with disabilities in every corner of the world. Together, we can make sure that every person – no matter their circumstance – can fully participate in every aspect of life – social, economic, cultural, and political. Together, we can – and we will – advance our common future.”
Our world is approaching a landmark moment in human history. On 15 November 2022, the global population is projected to reach 8 billion people. Thanks to science, technology, and groundbreaking innovations, we now live longer and healthier. It took the human family 125 years to get from 1 billion to 2 billion. But only 12 years to grow from 7 to 8 billion.
It will take 286 years to close gender gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws against women, 140 years for equal representation in positions of power and at least 40 years to achieve gender parity in national parliaments. These numbers are truly alarming and calls for the world’s urgent action.