OUR FOCUS AREAS
With a cross-cutting focus on fairness, inclusivity and justice, the UN SDG Action Campaign advocates for the reform of the international financial architecture, human rights economy and beyond GDP, gender equality, climate action, sustainable food systems, peace, inclusive digital governance and other policy priorities.
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ARCHITECTURE
The international financial architecture (IFA) is a framework of institutions, policies, rules and practices that govern the global financial system. Set up at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, it has become increasingly unfit for purpose in a world characterized by multiple interlinked crises. Today’s economic and social systems that are largely built on injustice and inequality must be rethought and recalibrated.
This includes setting up global tax policies, preventing illegal financial flows and tax evasion, enabling countries to borrow with confidence, promoting access to affordable credit, prevent unsustainable borrowing, and facilitating timely, coordinated and fair debt restructuring and debt relief. Such reforms can contribute to changing the operating principles of the global economy and ensure that the IFA becomes firmly grounded in accountability, transparency, fairness, inclusion and sustainability.
Human Rights Economy and Beyond GDP
A human rights economy seeks to address and redress root causes and structural barriers to equality, justice and sustainability by integrating human rights principles and obligations, and SDG commitments, into economic decision-making to yield better outcomes for people and planet. In a human rights economy, economic policies, investment decisions, consumer choices and business models are guided by human rights, resulting in measurably enhanced outcomes for all. It requires transparency and accountability, expands space for social dialogue, scrutiny, and participation, especially for affected individuals, groups, and communities.
Human rights economies measure success not by the size of the gross domestic product (GDP), but by the wellbeing of all people. The GDP, the most widely used indicator to measure development progress and allocate resources, fails to account for environmental sustainability, inequalities and vulnerabilities and inadequately measures people’s wellbeing. It is crucial to ground the economy in human rights and measure success by the wellbeing of all people rather than focusing on profit, short-term benefits and the interests of the few.
Gender Equality
Gender disparities affect half of the global population, creating one of the greatest barriers to human development. Women’s choices and opportunities are constrained by a complex interplay of formal and informal social arrangements, as they face inequalities and exclusion in areas such as economic participation, political empowerment and educational attainment, and are exposed to gender-based violence.
Moving towards gender equality requires a range of reforms that empower women and allow them to fully and equally enjoy all their fundamental human rights. This includes setting up universal and gender-responsive social protection and care services and introducing fiscal policies that work for gender equality. Moreover, closing gender gaps in access to and uses of digital technology, gender-responsive management of natural resources, and unlocking public and private investment towards gender equality are crucial measures to improve conditions for women.
Climate Action
Climate change is affecting every country on every continent. Rising temperatures, changing weather patterns and rising sea levels are threatening people’s livelihoods and disrupting our economies. And the poorest and most vulnerable people are affected the most.
As the world struggles to restrict global warming, subsidies for oil, coal and natural gas are costing the equivalent of 7.1 per cent of global gross domestic product. That’s more than governments spend annually on education or healthcare. In 2023, the Fossil-fuel subsidies surged to a record $7 trillion last year.
To address this global challenge and protect the planet for future generations, it’s critical to change current consumption and production patterns, accelerating circular economies, reducing emissions, tackling pollution, and enhancing political will and ownership for reforms across society. As part of a just transition, it is also essential to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations. Furthermore, combatting biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, and increasing resilience to climate impacts are important components of robust climate policies.
Sustainable Food
Systems
Food systems encompass the entire journey from farm to fork and all interlinked value-adding activities involved in the production, aggregation, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of food products. Today, more food is available than ever before. However, more than a billion metric tons of food are wasted annually, agricultural subsidies favour larger farmers while pushing out smaller ones, and current food production makes a massive contribution to climate change.
Therefore, investments in food systems with less waste and broader benefits for humanity and the planet are key to prevent damages to the environment and climate. This also includes changing legal systems to protect women’s land rights, designing loans for small farmers, and integrating women farmers into value chains. With the right policies and investments, food systems can deliver secure and healthy diets to everyone, sustain the livelihoods of farmers and others in food supply chains, protect ecosystems and slow the flow of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Inclusive Digital Governance
Digital and emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, are dramatically transforming the world. They offer immense potential to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs and create benefits for the wellbeing and advancement of people, societies, and our planet. At the same time, if not managed responsibly, science and technology can perpetuate and deepen divides and patterns of discrimination and inequality within and between countries and threaten human rights.
Therefore, it is crucial to manage these risks and harness the benefits of digital technologies through enhanced international cooperation. This means setting up governance systems that leave no one behind and expand inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all while ensuring that human rights, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and fundamental freedoms are respected and protected. Policies such as robust rules on equitable data flows and Artificial Intelligence as well as financing to build digital public infrastructures can ensure an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe and secure digital future for all.
Peace
Global peace is increasingly threatened by growing geopolitical tensions, polarization, inequalities, and the exploitation of nature. In this context, it is crucial to work towards cultivating a Culture of Peace, which is not only the absence of conflict, but encompasses peace in all its dimensions. This requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged, and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation through education, dialogue and cooperation. In addition, a Culture of Peace promotes freedom, justice, democracy, tolerance, solidarity, cooperation, pluralism, cultural diversity, dialogue and understanding at all levels of society and among nations.
Inclusive Digital Governance
Policy Document and Reports
Doha Political Declaration of the “World Social Summit” under the title “the Second World Summit for Social Development”
Doha Political Declaration of the “World Social Summit” under the title “the Second World Summit for Social Development”
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