Doha: The Doha Political Declaration issued at the Second World Summit for Social Development, currently held in Doha, reaffirmed the commitment to safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, while taking into account the regional contexts of each country.
According to Qatar News Agency, the Declaration also emphasized the urgent need to eradicate poverty and protect the environment. It reiterated that the pursuit of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as the right to development, must be respected, protected, and promoted, without any form of discrimination.
The Declaration further stressed that the elimination of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, remains the greatest global challenge and an indispensable condition for achieving sustainable development. In the same context, the Doha Political Declaration emphasized the necessity of taking urgent and ambitious climate action in line with the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, particularly concerning mitigation, adaptation, and the provision of means of implementation to developing countries, while recognizing the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
The leaders stated in their political declaration that they gathered at a summit driven by renewed hope, commitment, and collective action. While facing urgent and complex challenges, they added, the world sees new opportunities, and genuine progress is possible through true solidarity, effective multilateralism, and comprehensive international cooperation, taking into account the living realities in each country and regional contexts, particularly in developing countries.
The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a political, economic, ethical, and spiritual vision for social development, grounded in human dignity, human rights, equality, respect, peace, democracy, mutual responsibility, cooperation, and full respect for diverse religious, moral, and cultural values. The Declaration welcomed the progress made toward the full implementation of the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action through coordinated national, regional, and global measures.
It highlighted that global wealth has grown significantly since 1995, international trade has expanded further, labor productivity has increased worldwide, and the global unemployment rate has reached a historic low. Extreme poverty has been reduced, and access to education, healthcare, and social protection has significantly improved.