The Gambia Vice President Muhammed B.S. Jallow, has said that the world is facing numerous crises and a multiplicity of daunting challenges that raise serious questions about the readiness and viability of multilateral institutions and arrangements, in the event of another crisis or pandemic.
He made the statement at the general debate of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly underway in New York, U.S.A.
“The priorities of our times urgently warrant our collective attention and action. We must, therefore, undertake major reforms and organize our institutions better to make them fit for purpose. Achieving this has to begin with renewing our faith in both the Charter of the United Nations and inclusive Multilateralism, he said on Thursday.
He added “For these reasons, we believe that the theme for this Session, “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all,” mirrors The Gambia’s national ethos of peace, progress and prosperity.”
VP Jallow stressed that the world is in dire need of rebuilding that lost trust, and multilateral institutions must assist in regaining it by, first, reforming and retooling themselves.
He also said from underdevelopment to climate change, unsustainable debts to cost-of-living crises, and conflicts to marginalization, “we need to cooperate better and share the burden of solutions equitably through greater partnerships and solidarity.”
“We have seven more years before the Decade of Action ends, yet the story on our global attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is not very positive. It is a story of unfulfilled commitments, weak international cooperation, and a lack of genuine global solidarity. It is a story that is all too common when it comes to implementing global commitments,” he pointed out.
Consequently, he said, “We must recognize these global challenges and redouble our efforts by re-committing ourselves to the attainment of the SDGs in the Global South.”
The Gambian vice President said that “if we remain on our current trajectory without effecting corrective action, the world’s most vulnerable peoples would be left behind much further than we can ever fathom.”
“As Least developed countries (LDCs), we call for the steadfast implementation of the new Doha Program of Action so that it would not be another lost decade of unfulfilled commitments,” he noted.
According to him, in view of the current harsh economic realities across the Global South, many developing countries are contending with unsustainable debt burdens that are compromising their ability to dig themselves out of poverty.
He added that in the quest for post-pandemic recovery, debt servicing is severely shrinking our economies, especially in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
“It is essential to find ways to address this burden urgently, as most of our countries run the risk of being left behind. Our goal is to recover by building back our economies much better and faster and to create the policy space that would, once again, generate growth.
“With a deep sense of urgency, the international community should step up its efforts through new and existing initiatives towards finding durable solutions to the debt problem. In sum, we must get back on track to attaining the SDGs,” VP Jallowsaid on Thursday.
He urged that the issue of debt relief for LDCs is linked to the necessity for greater reform of the international financial institutions (IFIs) and their decision-making mechanisms, particularly those relating to development finance and debt.
“We join other developing countries in calling for reforms that ensure our greater participation and a stronger voice in decision-making. Also, we would like to see mechanisms developed that adequately mainstream our concerns and interests in decisions that affect us.
In this context, we strongly welcome the recent designation of a permanent seat for the African Union at the G20 group. This will immensely amplify Africa’s voice and participation in global geopolitical and development issues that concern the well-being of its people,” he said.