Overview
- Member states approved the Doha Political Declaration by consensus at the Second World Summit for Social Development, renewing and updating commitments on poverty eradication, decent work, social inclusion and universal social protection.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the text a “booster shot for development” and highlighted stark gaps, citing nearly 700 million people in extreme poverty and almost four billion without any social protection.
- Calls intensified for a financing push, including a plan at COP30 to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance by 2035, doubling adaptation finance to at least $40 billion this year and capitalizing the Loss and Damage fund.
- Speakers urged reform of global finance, including tripling multilateral development banks’ lending capacity, easing debt burdens and expanding developing countries’ voice in decision-making, alongside stronger national accountability frameworks.
- The Doha gathering drew wide participation — about 40 heads of state, 170 ministers and roughly 14,000 delegates — with participants also linking social progress to peace and stability, including support for Gaza reconstruction and condemnation of atrocities in Sudan.