The Trump administration on Tuesday withdrew from United Nations negotiations on a global pact to finance the world body’s Sustainable Development Goals, rejecting calls for increased lending by development banks and asserting that the text improperly seeks to usurp the existing governance role of international financial institutions.
The withdrawal, while not surprising, set the stage for the broader U.N. membership to approve a declaration for formal adoption at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, FfD4, scheduled to take place in Seville, Spain, from June 30 to July 3.
“We reaffirm our commitment to realize sustainable development, including effectively implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” the 38-page declaration states. “We recommit to end poverty and hunger everywhere, leaving no one behind.”
About the author
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch is an award-winning reporter and Senior Global Reporter for Devex. He covers the intersection of development, diplomacy, and humanitarian relief at the United Nations and beyond. Prior to Devex, Colum reported on foreign policy and national security for Foreign Policy Magazine and the Washington Post. Colum was awarded the 2011 National Magazine Award for digital reporting for his blog Turtle Bay. He has also won an award for groundbreaking reporting on the U.N.’s failure to protect civilians in Darfur.
