STORY: UN chief calls for global rescue plan for SDGsDATELINE: Sept. 19, 2023LENGTH: 0:05:28LOCATION: UN headquartersCATEGORY: POLITICSSHOTLIST:1. various of the SDG Summit at UN Headquarters2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN Secretary-General3. various of delegates4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN Secretary-General5. various of delegatesSTORYLINE:UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for a global rescue plan for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the opening of the SDG Summit. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN Secretary-General”Yet today, only 15 percent of the targets are on track and many are going in reverse. Instead of leaving no one behind, we risk leaving the SDGs behind. So, Excellencies, the SDGs need a global rescue plan.” Guterres called for action to reduce hunger, quicker transition to renewable energy, wider spread of the benefits and opportunities of digitalization, better education for children and youth, decent work and social protection, and climate action. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN Secretary-General”Eight years ago, member states gathered in the hall to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals. You made a solemn promise. A promise to build a world of health, progress and opportunity for all. A promise to leave no one behind. And a promise to pay for it. This was not a promise made to one another as diplomats from the comfort of this chamber. It was always a promise always to people, people crushed under the grinding wheels of poverty, people starving in a world of plenty. Children denied a seat in a classroom. Families fleeing conflicts, seeking a better life. Parents watching helplessly as their children die of preventable disease. People losing hope because they can’t find a job or a safety net when they need it. Entire communities literally on devastation’s doorstep because of changing climate. So, the SDGs aren’t just a list of goals. They carry the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people everywhere. And they provide the surest path to living up to our obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, now in its 75th year.” At the halfway point to the SDG deadline, people around the world are demanding urgent action, he said. “We can prevail — if we act now; if we act together; if we keep our promise to the billions of people whose hopes, dreams and futures you hold in your hands. Now is the time,” said Guterres.Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from UN headquarters.(XHTV)
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