UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during the third Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Moment, a high-level event that serves to place an annual spotlight on the SDGs, at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 19, 2022.(Xinhua/Wang Ying)
"We cannot let them down. This is a definitive moment... The perils we face are no match for a world united... Let's get our world back on track," the UN chief stressed.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 19 -- The UN secretary-general and the president of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday joined world leaders and goodwill ambassadors in a global call to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and get back on track to building a better world that "leaves no one behind."
With time running out on the achievement of SDGs, and against the backdrop of calls for bold solutions to solve the world's deepening challenges in this year's UN General Debate, which opens Tuesday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened the third SDG Moment to urgently spur stronger commitments to ensure successful SDGs implementation.
"The world has a long 'to do' list," Guterres told world leaders, asking for more finance and investment from the public and private sectors, to meet growing needs.
Acknowledging the current "moment of great peril" for the world, characterized by conflicts, climate catastrophe, division, unemployment, massive displacement and other challenges, the secretary-general said that although "it was tempting" to put long-term priorities to the side, development could not wait.
"The education of our children cannot wait. Dignified jobs cannot wait. Full equality for women and girls cannot wait. Comprehensive healthcare, meaningful climate action, biodiversity protection -- these cannot be left for tomorrow," he underscored, highlighting that across all these areas, young people and future generations are demanding action.
"We cannot let them down. This is a definitive moment... The perils we face are no match for a world united... Let's get our world back on track," the UN chief stressed.
