NEW YORK, AUGUST 4 – Nearly a year ago, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres released his report, Our Common Agenda (OCA), as a blueprint for global cooperation moving forward, and reinvigorated multilateralism. Today, he updated the General Assembly on progress made so far, saying the need for the report’s proposals “has only increased.”
“In addition to the triple planetary crisis of climate breakdown, air pollution and biodiversity loss, and the immense suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts are raging across the world”, he said.
The ripple effects of the war in Ukraine, are contributing to surging food and energy prices, which are hitting vulnerable developing countries the most”, Guterres added, “but while the problems before us are unprecedented, they are not insurmountable”.
Italy’s Ambassador Maurizio Massari praised Guterres’ proactive efforts to strengthen multilateralism through action, vision and effectiveness. “The Common Agenda that you have proposed has the potential to deliver on this objective and has become even more relevant and urgent today at one of the most perilous and challenging times since the creation of our United Nations”. Massari recalled that a few weeks ago, at the High Level Political Forum, Ministers from Member States adopted by consensus an important and comprehensive Ministerial Declaration that “in reaffirming the centrality of multilateralism and international cooperation and solidarity, with the United Nations at its core, took note of Our Common Agenda as a concrete vision and a basis for further consideration by Member States to advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and climate action, inter alia”.
Among others, the Ministerial Declaration also recognized some additional proposals of the Common Agenda, even beyond the existing General Assembly negotiations: “It is now time to accelerate this action and advance on the work streams of the Common Agenda”, said Massari looking forward to the diplomatic momentum, which can be further strengthened during the upcoming High-Level Week of the General Assembly and in the preparation of the SDG Summit in 2023 and “Summit for the Future”, two decisive, complementary and mutually reinforcing processes. (@OnuItalia)
