By Holy See Mission
Statement
of Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt
Apostolic
Nuncio
Permanent
Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
in
the Ad Hoc Working Group on
Sustainable
Development Goals
“Interactive exchange of views on
“poverty eradication”
New
York, 18 April 2013
Mr. Co-Chair,
The
centrality of poverty eradication to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
is not only a requirement of the Rio +20 Outcome but is essentially a moral
imperative if we are to address the many forms of poverty present in the human
family and contribute to “the growth of fraternity and peace.”[1]
This preferential option for the poor in sustainable development should
determine the fundamental moral measure of our society.
The
eradication of poverty must be understood first in the context of the equality
in dignity of each and every human person. Further, poverty eradication should
be guided by the principles of natural law which “inspire political and
juridical and economic choices and approaches in international law.”[2]
Placing
the integral development of the human person at the center of all efforts to
eradicate poverty underscores a correct understanding of poverty and of what the best
pathways out of poverty are. The
development of sustainable development goals, therefore, requires that the
centrality of the human person be prioritized, in accordance with its recognition
as first principle of sustainable development by the 1992 Rio Conference, so as
to inspire meaningful programmes which are responsive to the needs of each person
and community. In order to adopt such
action-oriented and human-centered goals, people - particularly the poor and
those on the margins of society, who are most directly affected and should
benefit most - must
be given a voice in their planning and implementation.
Poverty
constitutes a vicious circle of which exclusion is both its cause and
consequence. Poverty results from people
and communities being excluded from participating in the economic, social,
political and cultural life of the societies in which they live as one human
family, as they are unable to develop their capacities and are denied the opportunities
necessary to provide for themselves, their families and their communities. Exclusion
effectively impoverishes the whole human family, since the potential
contributions of the poor to our collective well-being are lost through the goods and services that are left unrealized, political perspectives and
values left unharnessed, and the art, stories and songs for the collective
human history left uncomposed.
Excluding
the poor means denying them from their rightful share in the life of the human
family, in its hopes and dreams, its successes and its accomplishments, all of
which are rooted in our common humanity, and to which no one country, people or
culture can claim exclusive ownership. All people have, on account of their membership
in the human family, the birthright to benefit from this common heritage as
well as a right and a duty to participate in enriching this tremendous legacy.
Since
exclusion is the central cause of poverty, eradicating poverty can only come through
inclusion of the poor[3]. Economic, social, political and cultural
inclusion means first to break down all barriers to inclusion, all exclusionary
privileges that benefit the few at the expense of the many, that generate artificial
and unsustainable wealth for some while creating poverty for others. Exclusion promotes
the monopolization of the collective human intellectual and natural heritage,
unfair trade regimes, chronic economic and political dependence, to name but a
few instances.
Inclusion,
on the other hand, means inviting the poor to participate in the
world’s economic, social, political and cultural systems as full partners,
building up their capabilities so that they can take their deserved seat at the
table for all, as equals, so that economic exchanges will be mutually
beneficial and that politics will involve real partnerships.
This
model of inclusion constitutes a truly human-centered bottom-up approach to poverty
eradication and will help to ensure that sustainable development goals become a
model for fostering partnerships which
capitalize on the vast experience and wisdom of those who daily face the harsh
realities and challenges of poverty with courage and forbearance.
Thank
you, Mr. Co-Chair.
[1]
Address of Pope Francis to the members of The Papal Foundation, 11 April 2013
[2] Address
of Pope Benedict XVI to FAO on the occasion of the World Summit on Food
Security, 16 November 2009.
[3] Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, n. 39: “Paul VI in Populorum
Progressio called for the
creation of a model of market economy
capable of including within its range all peoples and not just the better off.
He called for efforts to build a more human world for all, a world in which
“all will be able to give and receive, without one group making progress at the
expense of the other”[94].
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