Representatives of the 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries called on Wednesday to accelerate and correct the course toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030.
The call was sent during the opening of the sixth meeting of the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countries on Sustainable Development at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Santiago Cafiero, pointed out that “we are facing a colossal challenge.”
“Even though technological advances dazzle us day by day, providing us in many cases with greater tools and instruments to face the multiple crises, we are going through a sustained process of social, economic, and environmental degradation and deterioration never seen before,” said the Foreign Minister.
In this regard, he urged a new reorganization that places human rights at the center in all sectors, at all levels, in the design of policies and all dimensions of sustainable development.
For her part, United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed also called for boosting cooperation and accelerating the course to fulfill the SDGs. He stressed the importance of investing in sustainable development.
“We must achieve transformative change. World leaders must choose: fulfill their commitment to a better future or let it fall by the wayside,” she remarked.
Likewise, the UN Economic and Social Council vice president, Paula Narváez, also called on the region’s countries to define priorities and commitments to work together and identify the cooperation that can be achieved to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its goals.
“Seven years away from the 2030 horizon, the road ahead is as important as the result to be achieved, as it will lay the foundations for the paradigm shift required to build the world we will inherit to our sons and daughters,” she added.
Meanwhile, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, highlighted the region’s strong commitment to the 2030 Agenda as a roadmap for building a better future that leaves no one behind.
“However, halfway through the 2030 period, only a quarter of the goals have been met or are expected to be met,” the official said.