59th Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD) - Statement by H.E. Mohan Peiris, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations - Monday, 15 February 2021-Virtual meeting
Madam Chairperson,
My delegation takes this opportunity to extend warm felicitations to you and the members of the Bureau on your election. Sri Lanka aligns with the statement made by Guinea on behalf of the Group of 77 & China.
The Commission for Social Development is convening this year while we are at a juncture in our efforts to realize the 2030 Agenda whilst mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is indeed a moment to reflect on how we got here and what the future holds for us. Though we committed in 1995 to implement and monitor the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development, we find ourselves in a situation where poverty, unemployment and social exclusion continue to be rampant unabated in every part of the world. Did we really need to wait until a microscopic virus exposed to us the inequalities that exist in our world order and weaknesses of our current systems to do something about this?