NEW YORK: Pakistan has emphasized the urgency of addressing the multiple crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic, rising conflicts, and climate change, that have exacerbated existing inequalities between and within nations.
At the Commission for Social Development, one of the eight functional commissions established by the UN Economic and Social Council, Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, spoke of the worsening inequality that has accelerated since the global financial crisis of the first decade of this century.
He highlighted that the gap between rich and poor is growing, despite unprecedented global gains.
The envoy stressed that the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing inequalities has not only lacked progress but has experienced a regression in recent years.
He pointed out that just 26 people own half of the world’s wealth and that the multiple crises triggered by Covid-19, rising geopolitical tensions, and climate change have only exacerbated existing inequalities and vulnerabilities.
Khan called for more international solidarity, emphasizing that developing countries must be provided with the necessary means to recover from the crises and achieve Sustainable Development Goals.
He outlined Pakistan’s employment statistics and the government’s efforts to improve job opportunities for youth, including boosting the private sector, creating a supportive environment for entrepreneurship, improving exports, and expanding access to Internet services.
The envoy proposed several suggestions to help developing countries recover economically, including fulfilling the commitment to the 0.7 percent official development assistance target, redistributing the $650 billion SDRs, providing concessional finance from multilateral institutions and development banks, and offering debt relief and restructuring.
