UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has underscored the need for addressing the multiple crises — including the COVID-19 pandemic, rising conflicts and climate change — that have exacerbated existing inequalities between and within nations.
“The worsening inequality has in fact accelerated since the global financial crisis at the end of the first decade of this century,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, told the Commission for Social Development — one of the eight functional commissions established by the UN Economic and Social Council since 1946 to advise and assist it in carrying its work.
Speaking in the general debate, the Pakistani envoy said one particular Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) — reduced inequalities — has not only lacked progress but has, in fact, experienced a regression in recent years.
The gap between rich and poor, both between and within nations, is growing, despite unprecedented global gains, he said.
“The poor are still poor; the rich are much richer.”
Emphasizing that just 26 people own a full half of the world’s wealth, he said the poly-crises triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising geopolitical tensions and climate change have only exacerbated those existing inequalities and vulnerabilities.
“It is today the pandemic of inequalities that are playing havoc with people’s lives,” he remarked.
While richer nations have injected around $17 trillion to stimulate their economies, developing countries are struggling to find even a fraction of the $4.1 trillion they are estimated to require to recover and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Calling for more international solidarity, Aamir Khan emphasized that the developing countries must be provided with the necessary means to recover from the crises and to achieve the SDGs.
“I call for food, finance, and fuel solidarity at these difficult times.”
Aamir Khan outlined Pakistan’s employment statistics, noting the government is working to improve job opportunities for youth by boosting the private sector, creating a robust environment of entrepreneurship, improving exports and improving the access to Internet services.
Pakistan is also still reeling from the worst natural disaster in its history, namely unprecedented flooding, he pointed out.
Among the suggestion put forward by the Pakistani envoy to enable the developing countries recover economically was for rich countries to fulfill their commitment of the 0.7 percent ODA (official development assistance) target without delay; redistribution of the $650 billion SDRs and allocation of new SDRs; concessional finance from the multilateral institutions and development banks; and debt relief and restructuring.
