A statement issued by Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič urges rich nations to leave no one behind in their response to the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Holy See, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič said on Wednesday 16 September, recognises the profound impact that the crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic has had on society and on world economies and he urged UN member states to “leave no one behind” in the various responses they will give to the current emergency.
The Right to Development
Archbishop Jurkovič, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, was addressing the 45th session of the Human Rights Council, focused on the Right to Development.
Referring to the concern expressed by the Rapporteur on the Right to Development for “the declining levels of assistance,” as well as preoccupation for “the trend of privatisation that in the context of public-private partnerships could turn social services into profit-generating opportunities,” Archbishop Jurkovič highlighted the importance of surveillance measures to prevent and address possible abuses in this area.
Tax policies
“The Holy See welcomes the acknowledgement of the role played by tax policies in the context of financing for development and the opportunities presented for the integration of the right to development and achievement of equality,” said the Archbishop, recalling how tax law and monetary policies represent a powerful means for a just distribution of wealth and the financing of development.
Global approach
The Rapporteur, he continued, also pointed out that States have the primary responsibility for the creation of national and international conditions that favour the right to development. “A global approach is fundamental,” Jurkovič explained, as is the involvement of the most vulnerable populations “both at the policy and project levels in formulating decisions on whether and how to finance development.”
“This must be at the core of the integral human development in order to promote the full exercise of human dignity,” he said.
One human family
Archbishop Jurkovič concluded noting that “This is the time to bring together the entire human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development as the only alternative to the selfishness of particular interests and the temptation to return to the past, at the risk of severely damaging the peaceful coexistence and development of future generations.”
With thanks to Vatican News, where this article originally appeared.
