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STORY: UN / HLPF RAE PRESSER
TRT: 02:59
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 15 JULY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN Headquarters
15 JULY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Various shots, press room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):
“We 've seen significant areas of improvement. We've reduced childhood mortality quite substantially in the last five years, we've had major success on improving maternal and childhood health. These have been very significant. We have more women going to school than ever before, more girls participating in the education system. We can point to many areas in which we're in fact not necessarily on track, but where we have improved, compared to where we were before. It's not a litany of failure.”
4. Med shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):
“Some decisions that have been taken with respect to the global economy and decisions that have been taken with respect to the funding of the critical institutions that we have created since 1945 have and are having a negative impact on the ability of countries to achieve what has to be achieved.”
6. Med shot, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):
“Nation states that have the means to provide greater support for sustainable development have chosen not to do so for their own domestic reasons. And that also represents a significant challenge for all of us and for the global system. A retreat from global solidarity will have a negative impact on our ability to improve the lives of the people of the world.”
8. Wide shot, dais
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):
“It's not a great day when the United States decides to withdraw from the WHO. But it's not the end of the WHO. And frankly, it's not the end of the world, because we have to build organisations that are resilient enough to deal with the impact of short term and, in my view, misguided political decisions by governments.”
10. Wide shot, dais
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC):
“So, let's hold to account the people who should be held to account. It's the member states who have to take responsibility. And yes, some member states more than others. The two largest donors - not donors, the two largest assessed contributions, taxes to be paid to the UN - who have not been paying their taxes are China and the United States. And they are two members of the Security Council. So, we have to have a much more candid conversation about who is responsible for what prescription.”
12. Wide shot, dais
13. Wide shot, end of briefing
The President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Bob Rae today (15 Jul) said, “a retreat from global solidarity will have a negative impact on our ability to improve the lives of the people of the world.”
Rae, who is presiding the 4th meeting of the UN ECOSOC High-level political forum (HLPF) on sustainable development, noted that the world remains off-track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) by 2030, but stressed that “it's not a litany of failure.”
He said, “we 've seen significant areas of improvement. We've reduced childhood mortality quite substantially in the last five years, we've had major success on improving maternal and childhood health. These have been very significant. We have more women going to school than ever before, more girls participating in the education system. We can point to many areas in which we're in fact not necessarily on track, but where we have improved, compared to where we were before.”
The Canadian Ambassador said, “some decisions that have been taken with respect to the global economy and decisions that have been taken with respect to the funding of the critical institutions that we have created since 1945 have and are having a negative impact on the ability of countries to achieve what has to be achieved.”
He said, “nation states that have the means to provide greater support for sustainable development have chosen not to do so for their own domestic reasons. And that also represents a significant challenge for all of us and for the global system.”
Rae said, “a retreat from global solidarity will have a negative impact on our ability to improve the lives of the people of the world.”
Asked about the United States withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) he said it was “It's not a great day,” but added, “it's not the end of the WHO. And frankly, it's not the end of the world, because we have to build organisations that are resilient enough to deal with the impact of short term and, in my view, misguided political decisions by governments.”
The ECOSOC President said, “let's hold to account the people who should be held to account. It's the member states who have to take responsibility. And yes, some member states more than others.”
He said, “the two largest donors - not donors, the two largest assessed contributions, taxes to be paid to the UN - who have not been paying their taxes are China and the United States. And they are two members of the Security Council. So, we have to have a much more candid conversation about who is responsible for what prescription.
The HLPF is convening this week under the theme: “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind.”
