Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, has appealed to nations to urgently adhere to the agreed international commitments to guarantee food security and limit global warming to 1.5°C as outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly Hall during the commemorations of International Nelson Mandela Day, he noted that the number of people going hungry is on the rise, a situation exacerbated by skyrocketing food prices, even for the most basic of goods such as sugar, vegetable oils, dairy products, wheat, and cereals.
“The by-product of this crisis has been outbreaks of civil unrest, conflict over scarce resources, and widespread malnutrition among children. Let us use our collective wisdom as the international community to address, objectively, these food security challenges.
“The consequences of the climate disaster are no longer in the confines of scientific academic journals but are now a lived reality. The extreme weather conditions characterized by rising sea levels, increased heat waves, droughts, and floods caused by climate change are devastating our planet and impact on livelihoods of people all over the world, particularly the poor,” the Minister said.
He said Nelson Mandela would have urged the international community during this period to invest more in diplomacy, mediation, and peaceful resolution of all conflicts.
“He would have abhorred any attempts to prolong instead of stopping conflicts. It is disheartening to note that, as the UN Secretary-General has reminded us, the world today faces more violent conflicts than at any period in the past seven decades, and two billion people live in conflict-ridden areas,” the Minister said.
This year’s Nelson Mandela Day was celebrated under the theme: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”.
Last week, the Minister undertook a working visit to New York leading South Africa’s delegation to the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) Ministerial Segment.
South Africa’s participation in the event was to advance its implementation of the SDGs and to learn from other developing countries that will be presenting their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) in dealing with the developmental agenda. – SAnews.gov.za
