Madam Chair,
Excellencies and Colleagues,

1. Around one billion people – almost 15 percent of the world’s population – survive in poverty, lacking the income and capabilities to live in dignity.

2. Poverty imposes massive human suffering. It is the most pervasive violation of human rights. It is also the root cause of social and economic instability and of most political and security problems across the world.

3. It is thus only right that poverty eradication is the first among the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

4. Over the past 30 years, poverty had visibly declined. However, the multiple crises triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, climate catastrophe have pushed around 100 million people into extreme poverty.

5. More than four years progress against extreme poverty has been erased by the Covid-19.

6. Rising inflation and impacts of geopolitical tensions have further derailed the process.

Madam Chair,

7. I must refer to the Nelson Mandela who once said, “Like slavery, like apartheid, poverty is not natural – it is manmade and can be overcome by actions of human beings”

8. It is obvious that our actions are cause of perpetuating and raising global poverty.

9. We also agree with the Secretary General that “inequality is the hall mark of our time”

10. Today, the 26 richest people in the world own as much wealth as half the world’s population does. The richer countries have mobilized over $17 trillion to recover from the COVID crisis. The developing countries on the other hand are struggling to find even a small fraction of the $4.3 trillion they need to recover from the Pandemic and achieve the SDGs.

11. Ironically, the countries that have contributed the least towards climate degradation are suffering the most from climate change related poverty.

Madam Chair,

12. Seeing the scale of human crisis, governments all over the world compelled to provide relief to their poor and vulnerable people in the form of social protection measures particularly direct cash transfers.

13. An estimated 3,333 social protection measures were planned and implemented in various countries during the Pandemic. The current geopolitical tensions have further exacerbated the socio-economic and humanitarian hardship of the developing countries.

14. The upsurge in food and energy price requires massive and swift financial and logistical support and investments in social protection measures.

15. The international community needs to promote a series of concerted and coordinated actions to address the food crisis building on the resolution 76/264 entitled “State of Global Food Insecurity”.

16. Food producers, especially smallholders in developing countries, must be provided adequate access to seeds, fertilizer and finance to contribute to expanding in local and national food production.

17. The crises have also resulted in the loss of 220 million full-time jobs raising unemployment all around the world. We, therefore, need to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Madam Chair,

18. Apart from the direct attack on poverty, we need to address its systemic causes at national, regional and international levels.

19. Conflicts are on the rise, so is forced displacement, exacerbating socio-economic and environmental vulnerabilities.

20. It is important that structures of finance, production, and trade must be made fair and equitable.

21. The exploitation of the natural resources of the poorer countries must stop including cross-border resources. International law must be enforced and respected. Poorer countries must get their fair share in global development that they have been requesting since long.

22. Developing countries must be helped to recover from the current crises to realize the SDGs and to ward of the impacts of climate change.

23. The financial resources needed by the developing countries must be mobilized, through sound debt management, rechanneling of unutilized SDRs, issuance of additional SDRs, and by expanding grants and concessional finance particularly for the countries in extreme financial difficulties and/or suffering from natural and human-made disasters.

24. The realization of the SDGs can be accelerated, especially through major investments in sustainable infrastructure – in renewable energy, transport, housing, education, water and sanitation. New technologies must be mobilized, and the digital divide bridged to enable developing countries to leapfrog into a modern and inclusive development paradigm.

25. The multiple crises that we are facing today requires fulfillment of the commitments and pledges by the developing countries towards providing financial, technological, and capacity building support to the developing countries to eradicate poverty and achieve the SDGs.

26. The Group also reiterates its call for lifting of coercive unilateral measures.

27. The Group is confident that our discussions this year at the second committee would provide guidance for our collective fight against global poverty and promotion of the SDGs.

I thank you.