Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

July 19, 2025 – The world is officially off track in delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with just five years left until the 2030 deadline. That’s the sobering message from the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, as they launched the SDG Report 2025 on July 14.

“Only 35 percent of SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress. Nearly half are moving too slowly, and 18 percent are going in reverse,” Guterres stated. “We are in a global development emergency.”

The report outlines real, measurable wins: more than 110 million additional children are in school since 2015. New HIV infections are down 40 percent since 2010. Electricity access now reaches 92 percent of the global population, and 45 countries have achieved universal electricity. Internet use has soared by 70 percent in a decade, now reaching 68 percent of the world’s people. Child marriage is declining, and more girls are staying in school. Globally, renewable energy capacity is growing, especially in developing nations.

“These gains show that investments in development and inclusion yield results,” Guterres added.

But the challenges dwarf the progress.

Over 800 million people remain trapped in extreme poverty. Billions lack access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. Women continue to spend 2.5 times more hours than men doing unpaid care and domestic work. Climate change is accelerating, with 2024 confirmed as the hottest year on record—1.55°C above pre-industrial levels. Meanwhile, debt burdens are worsening: in 2023, low- and middle-income countries paid $1.4 trillion in debt servicing—draining resources needed for development.

The Secretary-General pointed to one core issue: financing. The global SDG financing gap for developing nations now stands at $4 trillion annually. Worse still, Haiti is the least-funded of all humanitarian responses globally—an example of how international priorities are dangerously imbalanced.

“There is something fundamentally wrong in the structure of the global economic and financial system,” Guterres said. “We need reforms. Debt relief. Tripling development bank lending. Fairer trade and access to capital.”

The SDG report proposes a shift toward six “transformational pathways” in food systems, energy, digital access, education, jobs, and climate. These, it argues, will accelerate progress across all other goals—if funded properly and backed by political will.

Guterres urged global leaders to use upcoming moments, including the World Social Summit (November 4–6 in Doha, Qatar), the High-Level Political Forum, and the Food Systems Stocktake, to commit to urgent action.

“The Sustainable Development Goals are still within reach,” he concluded. “But only if we act—with urgency, unity, and unwavering resolve.”

July 2, 2025

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Carlos G. Ruiz Massieu of Mexico as his new Special Representative for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).  He succeeds María Isabel Salvador of Ecuador, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedication and service.

Mr. Ruiz Massieu brings to this position over 30 years of experience in public service and diplomacy, both in bilateral and multilateral contexts.  As Special Representative of the Secretary General in Colombia since 2019, he led the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, monitoring the implementation of the Peace Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP guerrilla.  He provided good offices and political leadership in the recent peace dialogues of the Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army, as well as with other illegal armed groups. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Chairperson of the General Assembly’s Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions from 2013 to 2018.

A distinguished career diplomat, Mr. Ruiz Massieu served in different positions in the Mexican Government prior to joining the United Nations, including at the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations. Mr. Ruiz Massieu is a graduate in Law from the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, and holds a Master of Arts in Politics from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom, with a focus on Latin America.  In addition to Spanish, he speaks English and French.

New York, 2 July 2025

Deandrea Hamilton| Editor

New York, 25 June 2025 – Speaking before the General Assembly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres marked the 20th anniversary of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) by calling for renewed global commitment to prevent atrocity crimes.

Adopted at the 2005 World Summit, the R2P principle affirms that sovereignty entails a responsibility: the duty of states to shield their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. When states fail, the international community has a duty to act.

Today, the Secretary-General said, that commitment faces severe tests. “We are witnessing the highest number of armed conflicts since the Second World War,” he noted, citing identity-based violence, impunity, and violations of international law as worsening global threats. Emerging challenges—including new technologies and advanced weaponry—require adaptable responses.

The Secretary-General presented his seventeenth report on R2P, highlighting support among Member States and affected communities alike. The report calls for early warning systems, strengthened national and regional prevention mechanisms, and integrated atrocity prevention across UN operations—from humanitarian work to peacekeeping.

He emphasized that R2P is not merely a principle but a moral imperative, urging consistent, timely, and collective international action.

The commemoration, he said, is a call to translate commitment into protection: “Civilians are paying the highest price. We must do better—because protecting people is the heart of our shared humanity.”