By Holy See Mission
Statement by H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza
Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See
69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Second Committee, General Debate:
Delivering
and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda
New York, 8 October, 2014
Mr. Chair:
As this is my delegation’s first time to address the
Second Committee during the current session, allow me to congratulate you and
the other members of the bureau for your election. My delegation wishes you all
the best!
The Holy See believes that the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals are apt to deliver and help implement a transformative
post-2015 Development Agenda.
The Holy See notes with satisfaction that significant progress
has been made in reducing global poverty, child mortality and maternal deaths.
But it is also aware that more remains to be done, and that it can only be done
if we all work together. As Pope Francis affirmed in his May 2014 address to
the Secretary General of the United Nations and the UN System Chief Executives,
the future objectives for sustainable development should be formulated “with
generosity and courage so that they can have real impact on the structural
causes of poverty and hunger”.
Mr. Chair,
No development goal is more important for the Holy See
than the eradication of extreme poverty. This moral imperative has always
underlain the social commitment of the Catholic Church. Thus, the Holy See
notes with concern that however encouraging recent progress may have been in
reducing global poverty, extreme poverty still remains widespread in many
regions of the developing world. More than one billion people, or 15% of the
world’s population, continue to live on less than $1.25 a day. To fight the
structural causes of extreme poverty, every economic and political policy and
activity must set about providing each person with the minimum wherewithal to
live in dignity and freedom from want. Without this vision, economic and
political policy and activity would be selfish and mere profiteering, and would
not contribute towards attacking the structural causes of extreme poverty.
Within the post-2015 development framework, the Holy
See wishes to highlight the importance of the sustainable development goals
that address the pressing issues of climate change, rising inequality,
productive employment for all, and the promotion of peaceful societies. These
realities must be part of any sustainable development framework, especially because
they tend to affect more severely people living in extreme poverty. They are
also important in an ethical context, since they highlight the global
obligations of developed countries toward less developed ones.
The challenges related to climate change should inform future development policy to a much
greater extent than until today. The world has become a village, a neighborhood.
The decisions and behaviors of one have profound consequences for others. Thus a collective response to this phenomenon is essential if we have to
succeed, a global action that is based on a culture of solidarity and on
conscious individual and communitarian decisions to change lifestyles and
practices that provoke the worsening conditions of our planet. The Catholic
Church, through its vast network of schools and social institutions throughout
the world, is committed to promoting education in environmental responsibility
and to fighting both extreme want and a throwaway culture in rich societies. Also,
we must not put the blame on poor people and countries who cut trees in
order to survive, and who are most vulnerable to the negative effects of
climate change mainly caused by the high consumption and high carbon emissions
in other countries. Instead, they must be helped to overcome or mitigate such
effects.
Rising
inequality indicates that certain economic models and policies
are not working towards promoting equitable development. Indeed, some data show
that the wealth of the world’s 67 richest individuals is equivalent to that of
the bottom half of the world’s population, and that the world’s richest
individual is worth the same as the 156 million people from the bottom. While
recognizing that there are many causes of income inequality, we cannot be
indifferent to the structural causes of this exponentially increasing gap of
the haves and the have-nots, if we are to defeat extreme poverty and achieve sustainable
development. This imbalance results in no small measure from policies and
practices which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial
speculation, denying State authorities the right – indeed, the duty - to
regulate the blind market forces which, left alone, would only heighten uneven
development and work against the common good. Any development model that does
not allow all to equitably share prosperity will not be sustainable in the long
run.
Moreover, we must address vigorously the challenge of
finding productive employment for all as
something integral to sustainable development. The Holy See has always
emphasized the special dignity that gainful employment can provide. Today, we
do not need reminding of the consequences of high levels of unemployment in the
developing world and its impact on international migration. Within developed
countries, too, we need to strengthen our efforts to integrate immigrant
families into our societies to avoid the consequences of social alienation and radicalization.
Finally, Mr. Chair, the most serious setbacks to the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals have been most alarming in
countries ravaged by conflicts. My delegation is convinced that unless peace and reconciliation are
re-established in those countries or regions, the post-2015 sustainable
development goals will never be reached. As Pope Paul VI already affirmed way
back in 1967, the new name of development is peace. War destroys; peace builds.
With war everything is lost; with peace everything is gained.
In closing, Mr. Chair, let me reiterate the Holy See’s
assurance that the development of peoples is in the heart of its concerns,
particularly the development of those who are striving to escape from hunger,
misery, endemic diseases and ignorance; of those who are working for a fairer
share in the benefits of civilization and development. My delegation looks
forward to working closely with you and with all in helping implement a “Transformative
post-2015 Development Agenda”.
Thank
you, Mr. Chair.
Copyright © 2015-2021 The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations