DOHA, Qatar, CMC – Antigua and Barbuda has called for a renewed era of global solidarity, one that recognizes the shared responsibilities of all countries in addressing poverty, inequality, and the climate crisis.
Addressing the second World Summit for Social Development here, Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Barbuda Affairs Minister E.P. Chet Greene underscored his country’s steadfast commitment to inclusive growth, climate resilience, and the protection of human dignity.
Greene said that there was a need for a renewed era of global solidarity, noting that despite strong national initiatives and progressive social policies, “national action, however robust, cannot withstand global headwinds alone”.
He said that the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), which emerged from the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States, presents a framework for a new global partnership rooted not in charity, but in justice.
“We demand that developed nations honour their Official Development Assistance pledges as a moral imperative, not as an act of benevolence,” he said, adding “we insist that access to finance be based on our multidimensional vulnerability, not an outdated GDP (gross domestic product) metric.”
Greene called for the revitalization of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 17), which deals with global partnerships, urging the international community to reignite the promise of Copenhagen by placing people once again at the centre of development.
“Let us vow, here in Doha, that no child’s potential will be stunted by hunger; that no mother’s life will be lost for want of care; and that no island nation will be sacrificed to the rising seas of global inaction.”
Greene reaffirmed Antigua and Barbuda’s determination to translate resilience from concept to action, noting that social development must remain the foundation for peace, prosperity, and stability.
Global leaders meeting here have adopted a landmark pledge to build a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable future for all people, a guiding document the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as “a booster shot for development” and “a people’s plan”.
The UN said that by adopting the Doha Political Declaration by consensus, countries agreed to step up efforts to deliver on the promises made 30 years ago at the first Social Summit in Copenhagen and to accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Declaration renews and expands the 1995 commitments to meet today’s complex challenges, strengthening action on the interlinked pillars of poverty eradication, decent work, and social inclusion. It calls for universal, gender-responsive social protection and equitable access to health and education while emphasizing the need to counter misinformation and hate speech that threaten democratic values.
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