“Come rain or shine, we are here because we are committed to our planet,” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, speaking at the Global Citizen festival, in the context of the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly, which takes place at the headquarters of the Organization.
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She recalled the race led by countries around the world to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), end the climate crisis and promote true gender equality. This 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015 by the member states of the United Nations.
Change the world
“What is happening today is a reflection of the leaders who met all week, the promises made eight years ago, and today we recommit to them,” she said .
Ms. Mohammed asked the crowd gathered in the huge park in the heart of Manhattan if they felt like they were changing the world: “Well, at the United Nations, we join you, we mobilize people around the world.”
Global Citizen’s core mission is to end extreme poverty, through goals that fully align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
At the festival, world leaders pledged $240 million for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), pledged to protect an additional 900,000 hectares of land in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and secured pledges from nine members of Congress and the leader of the UK Labor Party, Kier Starmer, to follow through on national climate commitments.
Keep promises
The Deputy Secretary-General acknowledged that many people around the world are suffering “mentally and physically” because of raging wars and a warming planet.
“Leaders are really struggling to use their power to deliver on the promises of the Global Goals and they risk breaking that promise to billions of people,” she said.
The good news is that with seven years to go before the 2030 deadline, the game can still be won in the second half, but “we can only win if we stop our world from getting warmer,” she added.
Include women and girls
“We need leaders to close the digital divide, because we cannot win if billions of people, especially girls, are left offline and left behind,” Ms. Mohammed stressed.
According to her, if women and girls are left out of the collective effort, it means that half of the team is not even on the field.
“So New Yorkers, this is crunch time. The crucial moment is when champions are formed,” she said. “Let’s come together and fight together – little by little – to deliver on the promise of achieving the global goals by 2030.”
This article is originally published on news.un.org
