Three decades after the landmark Copenhagen summit, global leaders convened in Doha to confront widening inequality, escalating climate shocks, and the alarming reality that nearly two billion people still lack social protection. They warned that without urgent action, the world risks missing its 2030 targets for inclusive and sustainable development.
The newly adopted Doha Declaration renews and updates the commitments made in 1995, emphasizing the interconnection between poverty eradication, decent work, and social inclusion. It calls for universal, gender-responsive social protection systems, equitable access to health and education, and safe, inclusive digital transformation. The declaration also urges governments to counter disinformation and hate speech, while ensuring that marginalized groups—including youth, older persons, people with disabilities, and Indigenous communities—actively shape policies that affect their lives.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres hailed the declaration as a “booster shot for development,” describing it as a “people’s plan” to reduce inequality, create decent work, and reform global finance. General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock echoed the urgency, noting that economic growth alone has not ended poverty and highlighting climate change as the greatest threat to social development. She called for debt relief, fair trade, technological equity, and greater participation of women in decision-making. Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani emphasized that social development is an “existential necessity,” linking it to peace, stability, and global solidarity, while ECOSOC President Lok Bahadur Thapa reminded delegates that over 800 million people remain trapped in extreme poverty, vulnerable to even the smallest shocks.
In an opening panel on strengthening the three pillars of social development, leaders and experts discussed how to translate commitments into measurable action. Juan Somavia, chair of the 1995 summit, cautioned that ambition must now give way to implementation. Speakers stressed the need for fair taxation, decent work, and equitable transitions to digital and green economies. Youth representative Esther Nagtey underscored that young people with disabilities must be seen not as future leaders but as active changemakers today.
As the summit continues, leaders agreed that the real test of the Doha Declaration lies ahead—turning consensus into action through sustained financing, political will, and coordinated implementation. The focus now shifts from pledges to policies that tangibly improve lives and bring the world closer to achieving social justice and equality for all.
