Second Committee General Debate 
of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly 
On "Crisis, Resilience and Recovery:
Accelerating Progress toward the 2030 Agenda"
New York, October 8, 2021

Madam Chair,

I would like to congratulate you and the Bureau on your election and assure you of the Holy See’s constructive engagement during the work of this session. 

Crisis

The pandemic has caused a crisis that has engulfed the entire world. In terms of the mandate of the Second Committee, the Holy See is concerned about the negative impact the pandemic has had on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and development programs and activities more broadly. Five years of progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals were halted, and in some cases reversed.

Making sustainable development a reality by 2030, already a bold and  challenging task two years ago, now demands tremendous and concerted efforts on the part of the international community. The same applies to ensuring the implementation of other crucial commitments, such as those set out in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, by complying with our respective obligations to protect the environment.[1]

Beyond the pandemic’s overarching impact on development, the health crisis has exposed the vulnerability of health care systems, exacerbated inequality, and had severe and unprecedented repercussions on the global economy that, in turn, have affected education, employment, livelihoods, and food security.

As Pope Francis has underscored, the pandemic showed us that the most serious crisis that our world faces is the “crisis of human relationships.”[2] Such a crisis flows from an anthropological vision dominated by individualism, indifference and the culture of waste, in which the transcendent dignity of the person is often trampled and human beings are exploited, maltreated, ignored, or even killed.

Resilience

To emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and build back better, the international community must start from a renewed sense of fraternal solidarity and true multilateralism.[3] Mutual understanding and trust are essential ingredients to strengthening the resilience needed to respond to the pandemic and its consequences, as well as to prevent future crises.

In this regard, resilience requires working together to remedy the situation of those who are on the “pharmaceutical margins”[4] and those who continue to endure needless suffering and death.[5] This is particularly the case concerning vaccines, which must be made available to everyone, everywhere. More broadly, resilience requires examining how health care systems have been overwhelmed and in many cases even disrupted by the pandemic and ensuring that every person has access to essential healthcare. 

Resilience also calls for an examination of the fragility and shortfalls of our economic systems, which have pushed millions into poverty. Sadly the poor, already excluded, seem to have become nearly invisible. Strengthening resilience requires advancing economic models that have at their center the human person and the common good and that integrate environmental considerations.

Social protection is a crucial component of building resilience to future shocks. During the pandemic, inadequate or nonexistent social protection for millions of workers, especially those in the informal economy and migrant workers, has been a major concern across both developing and developed countries. Implementing social protection systems and measures is necessary to ensure that all people have access to an adequate standard of living.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the crucial role that the family plays in promoting integral human development. During the pandemic, the family has been, the main, and often the only, source of support for millions of people. Therefore, the international community must provide more tailored assistance to the family through the adoption of family-oriented policies and programs.

Recovery

Much could be said about the necessary measures to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. My Delegation would like to focus on the specific contribution this Committee can make to the important work that the United Nations undertakes.

The Second Committee, by addressing global challenges in the area of sustainable development and by setting out comprehensive development policies, plays a critical role in giving political guidance to the United Nations system and to the international community as a whole. In the recovery phase, ensuring that the Second Committee delivers on its mandate is crucial. The revitalization of the Second Committee is a crucial part of this endeavor. In this regard, the Holy See wishes to underline three points.

First, greater attention must be given to promoting and safeguarding the mandates of UN entities and fora, including that of the Second Committee. The Holy See views with concern the attempt of some “to break down the helpful division of labor among Committees, Commissions, meetings and processes, turning all into bodies that focus on a limited number of disputed issues.”[6] More specifically, while the importance of respecting universal human rights and human dignity in the promotion of integral human development cannot be overstated, the specific considerations on human rights and fundamental freedoms are best left to the discussions in the Third Committee.

Second, any changes to the Committee’s working methods should not only respect the Committee’s mandate but also the holistic nature of its agenda and should be made following inclusive and transparent consultation with the Committee’s membership. The intergovernmental nature of this body can never be overlooked and must remain the cornerstone of the Committee’s work, including of any deliberations about working methods and best practices. 

Third, the special circumstances in which the Second Committee has been operating due to the COVID-19 pandemic and any consequent adjustments to its traditional modalities should never be utilized as a way to change de factothe Committee’s mandate, which is and must continue to be the achievement of sustainable development in its three integrated and indivisible dimensions.

Revitalizing the Second Committee is crucial to provide the United Nations and the international community with a much-needed spirit of consensus and solidarity and to identify sustainable solutions to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, to advance progress towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and to achieve the integral human development of every person. In this respect, the Holy See will continue to engage constructively and contribute to the important work of this Committee.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[1]Cf. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Address to the seventy-sixth session of General Assembly of the United Nations, 25 September 2021.

[2]Pope Francis, Address to the Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, 8 February 2021.

[3]Cf. Pope Francis, Address to the seventy-fifth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, 25 September 2020.

[4]Pope Francis, Address to the Members of the “Banco Farmaceutico” Foundation, 19 September 2020.

[5]Cf. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Address to the seventy-sixth session of General Assembly of the United Nations, 25 September 2021.

[6]Cardinal Pietro Parolin, address to the seventy-sixth session of General Assembly of the United Nations, 25 September 2021.