In September 2015, at the 70th UN General Assembly, the Heads of State and Government unanimously subscribed to the greatest global challenge: the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.
Almost nine years later, the world seems more interested in the war than in the goals that united it in that Assembly.
Proof of this is that, in 2023, global military spending was 52 times greater than Official Development Assistance (ODA).
According to data from “The Military Balance2024” (IISS, 02/13/2024), the armed conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and in the Gaza Strip, among others, have increased industry and defense spending to unprecedented levels since the Second World War. World War.
Investment in weapons amounted to 10.9 trillion dollars, while all net disbursements of credits and donations directed towards development projects reached just 2.10 trillion dollars.
In the current scenario, marked by the post-pandemic, global commitments to eradicate poverty, advance food security, promote well-being for all and at all ages, guarantee inclusive and quality education, promote gender equality, guarantee Access to water, promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth and employment for all, among others, are not considered priorities by most countries in the allocation of resources.
The growing prominence assumed by war and the arms industry in the international arena is worrying.
It is very likely that the world will continue to change in this direction, with important implications for prosperity in all countries and the worsening of the multidimensional crisis that affects politics, the economy and the environment.
Faced with these circumstances, it is important to recover the ethical commitment to sustainable development and return to the message of Pope Francis.
The current development model generates exclusion, perpetuates gaps in development and is harmful to the planet.
The current development style and market rules are based on a false ethic in which the desire for profit predominates, which is unavoidable from the point of view of general well-being.
We will not solve the ethical problems and inequity generated by the current development model through a return to the “Hobbesian state of nature.”
Hostilities and armed conflicts do nothing other than increase inequalities and the number of victims and excluded people, while at the same time they distance us from the achievement of development objectives.
Pope Francis points out that it is necessary to abandon the individualistic nature of modern man and the inability to think about future generations.
In this sense, as the 2030 Agenda states and the papal encyclical Laudato Si reaffirms, nations must address “the urgent challenge of protecting our common home…uniting the entire human family,” to States, civil society, academia and the private sector in the search for a future based on comprehensive sustainable development with the challenge of “leaving no one behind”, a statement that resonates as an inexcusable commitment.
Sebastián Tobar is a sociologist, Professor and Researcher at the Center for International Relations in Health CRIS/FIOCRUZ, Brazil