
BRUSSELS, Belgium / MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, September 9 (IPS) – When the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) ended in New York in July, it took two recorded votes for states to pass a ministerial declaration that, until recently, would have been adopted without controversy. Uruguay, speaking for the Group of 77 developing countries plus China, pushed through the deletion of a reference to the agreement reached at the COP28 climate summit. Israel forced a vote on a paragraph about self-determination for people under occupation. Russia dissociated itself from the passage on peace and security. The wrangling revealed the extent to which the consensus that in 2015 saw all 193 UN states agree the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a common blueprint to end poverty, tackle climate change and build accountable institutions by 2030 – has been eroded.
Read the full story, “Development Goals Falter as Civil Society Is Shut Out”, on globalissues.org →

Uganda’s UN-supported wildlife forensics lab turns ivory seizures into convictions
World News in Brief: Cycle of violence continues in Haiti, seafarer deaths off Somalia, food insecurity in the Middle East
Ukraine war ‘a human rights catastrophe’ that must end, says Türk
Collective action needed to tackle global information crisis, UN-led dialogue hears
Global life expectancy bounces back to near pre-pandemic levels, WHO says
‘Money alone won’t get us there’: UN steps up aid for 12 forgotten crises