UNGA: Mnangagwa calls for global action on debt and development financing, says Global South bears brunt of inequality

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has called for renewed international action to address global inequality, unsustainable debt and inadequate development financing, saying these challenges continue to undermine the right to development, particularly in the Global South.

Mnangagwa made the remarks during a high-level meeting commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

He said development could only achieve its full meaning when individuals and nations had an opportunity to participate in shaping development and benefit from its outcomes.

“Development requires its fullest meaning when every person and nation has a genuine opportunity to shape its course and share in its benefits,” Mnangagwa said.

He said the principles of people-centred development, equality, participation, and international cooperation remained critical four decades after the adoption of the declaration.

Mnangagwa acknowledged advances in science, technology, health and education but said these gains had not been equally distributed globally.

“However, skewed global development, inequality, unsustainable debt, unfair trade conditions, and inadequate development financing are still prevalent,” he said.

He said climate change and the widening technological divide were also limiting development prospects for countries in the Global South.

“Likewise, climate change and a widening technological divide continue to constrain prospects of many peoples, particularly in the Global South,” Mnangagwa said.

The president said the 40th anniversary of the declaration should serve as an opportunity for countries to renew their commitment to addressing the barriers preventing inclusive development.

He said conducive macroeconomic conditions and an enabling international environment were necessary to ensure that development was inclusive, equitable and sustainable.

“This anniversary, therefore, is an appropriate opportune moment for renewal and action to achieve this,” Mnangagwa said.

He added that countries needed conditions that supported inclusive, equitable and sustainable development as a means of realising the right to development.

Zimbabwe has repeatedly used international platforms to call for reforms to the global financial and trading system, arguing that developing countries face structural constraints that limit their access to financing and markets.

The president’s remarks come as countries at the UN General Assembly debate development financing, climate change and inequalities affecting developing nations.

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