New ECOSOC President aims to maximize ‘reach, relevance and impact’

He underscored the importance of international solidarity in recovering stronger and forging ahead with the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).   

“Despite the challenges faced we tin maximize the reach, relevance and interaction of the Council, its segments and subsidiary bodies…to recover stronger from this pandemic”, said Mr. Kelapile, who served arsenic Vice-President to the outgoing top official, Munir Akram. 

Rising to the occasion 

As the world continues to grapple with the unprecedented crisis, the current surge of COVID-19 and its much transmittable variants endanger to further derail global economical recovery, said Mr. Kelapile, who also serves arsenic Botswana’s UN Ambassador.  

He said “ECOSOC’s relation has go adjacent much critical” in helping navigate retired of the pandemic and beyond. 

“ECOSOC indispensable emergence to the occasion” and wage “a spirited warfare against disease, poorness and inequality, impacts of clime change”, as good as mobilize global enactment and resources during the Decade of Action to accelerate implementation of each the SDGs”, said the caller President. 

He besides underscored how it could contribute to the conflict against global geostrategic tensions, mistrust and “the acheronian broadside of the integer world”.   

‘Our top assets’  

As the world inches through a “fragile and imbalanced” recovery, Mr. Kelapile cited the International Monetary Fund successful saying that the pandemic has increased SDG financing needs by an average of 2.5 GDP percentage points per year, across all low-income processing countries. 

At the aforesaid time, vaccines and well-funded stimulus packages are starring developed and emerging economies towards the light astatine the extremity of the tunnel. 

“One of the astir captious lessons we are learning during the ongoing pandemic is that planetary solidarity, multilateralism and practice are so our top assets”, helium said. “When we enactment together, our quality to flooded hardship is unparalleled”. 

By the same token, divisiveness stands as 1 of our biggest threats. Failure to code differences among nations will only worsen geopolitical and socio-economic tensions, he said. 

Closing gaps  

The Botswanan Ambassador outlined immoderate of the wide pillars of his statesmanlike agenda, opening with “swift recovery” from the pandemic. 

Before convening the 2022 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) – the UN’s cardinal planetary forum connected sustainable development – he vowed to hold a dedicated meeting to gauge progress and map out how universal entree to the COVID-19 vaccines can beryllium bolstered. 

And arsenic the pandemic has exposed and exacerbated pre-existing inequalities wrong and betwixt countries, Mr. Kelapile believes that ECOSOC should “decisively address” the basal causes of persistent disparities and reenforce nationalist and planetary efforts to promote equality.   

One of the astir captious lessons we are learning during the ongoing pandemic is that planetary solidarity -- ECOSOC President

While advances in science, technology and innovation person accelerated during the pandemic, so excessively has the request to close the integer divide – or risk festering and further widening inequalities. 

He plans to “leverage the relation of ECOSOC” to assistance countries emerging from struggle towards “long-term and sustainable development” and encourage efforts to incorporated clime resilience into COVID-19 effect and betterment initiatives. 

Upcoming forum 

The incoming ECOSOC President said HLPF 2022 would examine in-depth, SDG Goals 4, on education; 5, on gender; 14 on oceans, 15 on biodiversity and 17 on partnerships. 

He said interlinkages crossed the global goals were “critical” and upheld his steadfast belief that the forum will recover stronger from the pandemic.   

Unique experience 

Outgoing ECOSOC President Munir Akram, besides Pakistan’s Permanent Representative, outlined the challenges of starring the Council “in the midst of the top economical and societal situation that has confronted the satellite successful a century”.  

As the satellite was in the COVID lockdown, he explained that ECOSOC was astatine the centre of the “intense planetary discourse” on ways to respond to the pandemic, and its consequences, while also continuing to implement the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs - all while averting the existential menace of a clime catastrophe. 

“I americium assured that, nether the capable enactment of Ambassador Kelapile, the ECOSOC volition respond actively and boldly to conscionable these challenges during the adjacent year”, concluded Mr. Akram.  MW