On Wednesday 19 November, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, sent a message of global unity for peace, sustainability, human rights and justice for all humanity at the event “10th anniversary of the 2030 Agenda: roadmap for peace, human rights and sustainable development".
“If climate change, pandemics, economic or energy crises, threats to human rights or discrimination and violence know no borders, neither should the fight against all these threats", said the minister during his speech, in which he defended multilateralism “as the only effective tool" for responding to global challenges.
The event, held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, took the form of two round tables that reaffirmed the value of the 2030 Agenda as a shared roadmap for a wide range of actors and the international community as a whole. The first panel featured Susana Mabel Malcorra, president of GWL Voices, Ana Peláez Narváez, member of the CEDAW Committee and Commissioner for Solidarity and International Cooperation at ONCE, and Sara Villodre, vice-president of the Spanish Youth Council.
The second panel featured reflections from Magdalena Sepúlveda, director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Penélope Berlamas, vice-president of the NGDO Coordination Committee, and Kattya Cascante, president of the Spanish Network for Development Studies (REEDES).
Involvement of all actors
During his opening speech, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, called for the involvement of all actors, understanding that our goals can be achieved through broad alliances between international organisations, States, the private sector, civil society, citizens and young people.
The minister also warned of the urgency of moving towards the Sustainable Development Goals, given that we are only five years away from the 2030 Agenda deadline. Albares pointed out the need to accelerate the fulfilment of very specific goals at a key moment for our multilateral system, for the climate and political and social stability of the planet, and for millions of lives the quality of which will depend on the decisions we make now.
Albares therefore argued that “it is time to step up the pace and fulfil our commitments, to increase – not cut – the resources allocated to development cooperation". The minister recalled that this is the conviction of the Spanish Government, which has strengthened the framework for international cooperation and sustainable development policies through the Law on Cooperation passed in 2023, “which makes what was for years a social demand a legal mandate: to devote 0.7% of gross national income to official development assistance".
For images of the event, click here.
—NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION—