On October 18, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN gave an intervention before the Second Committee of the Seventy-First Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Agenda Item 21, dedicated to “Globalization and Interdependence.”

In its statement, the Holy See said that modern technologies have made possible a globalized interdependence unimaginable in previous periods. At the same time, these technologies can also be used in warfare and terrorism, can abet an individualism that can endanger solidarity and harm the common good, and can increase some inequalities as they eliminate others. It raised the concern that in a globalized, interdependent world, recent austerity policies in some developed economies have led to higher unemployment and rising poverty rates in developing and developed economies both. It said that the greatest challenge to globalized interdependence is the mass movements of refugees and migrants, noting the paradox that while countries keep discussing the reduction of barriers to the circulation of goods and services, they are unfairly and imprudently building walls to block the movement of people. The measures of a successful interdependence in globalization, it said, should be addressing conflicts, violence, poverty and hunger at their roots, protecting the environment, ensuring dignified and productive labor for all, providing access to quality education, protecting the family, and creating the conditions for sound dialogue.

The statement can be found here.