Statement by the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Sérgio França Danese, at the 57th Session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) - May 1st, 2024

In his report, “Our Common Agenda”, the Secretary General said that we must “rethink GDP”, so that economic performance could also be assessed in terms of inclusiveness and sustainability.

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in 1994, anticipated this discussion. By putting human rights at the core of public polices and by recognizing all the complexity of humankind, the ICPD Program of Action called on States to include diversity in their public policies, so that development be inclusive and sustainable.

This year, we will convene the Summit of the Future and, next year, we will organize the Second World Summit for Social Development. We need to find ways to accelerate the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

As we know, the COVID pandemic and its effects on global supply chains caused general inflation, deepened income disparity and increased hunger and extreme poverty. In 2024, we see that the implementation of most of the SDGs not only stagnated, but also retreated.

The 57th Session of CPD aims to contribute to the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda. Since all 17 SDGs are intertwined, we strongly believe goals and targets must be dealt with through an integrated approach.

The Cairo Program of Action provides us important lessons. It marked a fundamental shift in global thinking on population and development issues. It moved us away from a focus on reaching specific demographic targets to a focus on the needs, aspirations and rights of all women and men.

Another aspect so important to our exercise is to consider all sustainable development pillars – economic, social and environmental - as equally important. There will not be a healthy environment without social inclusion and economic development. Poverty and hunger are some of the main causes of environment depletion.

Latin American countries are experiencing rapid population ageing. By the end of the century, it is projected that about 38% of the region’s population will be age 65 or older. This scenario will create additional pressure on social security systems and on health services.

In Brazil, we recently conducted a new Population Census that confirmed not only this trend of ageing, but also captured a more precise dimension of Brazil’s most vulnerable groups, such as indigenous peoples and the population of African-descent, including traditional communities known as “quilombolas”. The valuable information provided by the census empowers policymakers to make informed decisions regarding resource allocation, social welfare programs, and infrastructure development in order for the whole of the population to exercise their full potential, regardless of gender, color, race or ethnicity.

In light of such challenges, last March President Lula decided to reinstate the National Commission on Population and Development, with equal representation from government and civil society. The Commission aims to contribute to the formulation of policies and the implementation of integrated actions related to population and development in Brazil, in accordance with the recommendations of the Cairo Programme of Action.

The reconstitution of the Commission contributes to an improved coordination with civil society with a view to better public policies for the population and development agenda in the country.It is an experience we will gladly share with our UN partners.

Dear friends,

The end of the demographic dividend, aggravated by the migration of young skilled labor, will oblige developing countries to discuss ways of sustainably financing growing demand for social public policies. Access to international financing under fair conditions will be essential for many countries.

In its G20 presidency, Brazil has proposed the reform of global governance, including by expanding the voices from the South in decision-making processes. International financial institutions must continue to focus on helping countries to achieve the SDGs and support social policy implementation.

We hope that the 57th Session of the Commission on Population and Development can join those efforts to make the world socially more inclusive, more democratic and healthier in all its diversity.

Thank you.