New York — October 12, 2026

Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) — Agenda Item 17: Sustainable Development

Unofficial Translation

Statement on behalf of the Arab Group, delivered by the State of Libya as Chair of the Arab Group for the month of October

Mr. Essam M. E. Elghffa, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations

Thank you, Madam Chair,

At the outset, on behalf of the Arab Group, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to you, Madam Chair, and to the members of the Bureau for your efforts in steering the work of this session. We also extend our gratitude to the Secretary-General for the reports submitted under this item.

Madam Chair, the Arab Group reaffirms its commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving its 17 Goals. The Group recalls the findings of the Secretary-General’s 2026 report that only 36% of the Agenda’s assessable targets are on track or showing progress, while 15% have regressed below the 2015 baseline. To accelerate implementation, the Group affirms its support for the Sevilla Commitment and calls for closing the financing gap of USD 4 trillion annually in developing countries, as well as expanding concessional finance and technology transfer.

Despite these challenges, the countries of the Group continue to achieve tangible gains. In our countries, the proportion of people using safely managed drinking water services has reached 74%, access to electricity 92%, and internet use 70%. Per capita installed renewable electricity-generating capacity has more than doubled, and the proportion of SDG indicators with sufficient data has risen from 38% to 58% over the past five years. The Group affirms that it will continue to harness these gains to improve services, empower women and youth, and promote decent work opportunities.

Madam Chair, the impacts of conflicts and climate shocks continue to undermine the Group’s efforts, with moderate or severe food insecurity affecting more than 40% of the region’s population over the past year. Accordingly, the Group calls for support for its efforts to strengthen food and water security, protect its water rights, and develop sustainable agriculture and social protection systems.

The success of these efforts depends on ensuring the integrity of supply chains and the security of maritime corridors. The Secretary-General’s report highlighted the repercussions of shipping disruptions on energy, fertilizers, and agrifood systems, and their implications for achieving sustainable development. Accordingly, consistent with Security Council resolution 2817 (2026), the Arab Group reiterates its condemnation of Iran’s actions and threats aimed at closing the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting or otherwise interfering with international navigation therein, or threatening maritime security in Bab el-Mandeb. The Group stresses that any attempt to obstruct lawful transit passage or freedom of navigation in these international waterways constitutes a serious threat to the integrity of supply chains and the security of maritime corridors, and calls on Iran to immediately refrain from such actions and threats in accordance with international law.

The Group affirms that safeguarding development gains and addressing these damages are inseparable from achieving peace and ending occupation. It further calls for an end to the attacks by the Israeli occupation forces on Arab States, the protection of civilians and infrastructure, and support for recovery and reconstruction, in a manner that guarantees the right of their peoples to development and to sovereignty over their natural resources, in particular the permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources.

In line with the above, we call on Member States to support the resolution entitled “Oil slick on Lebanese shores”, to be submitted by the Group of 77 and China under agenda item 17 for the 21st consecutive year, in affirmation of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and environmental justice, and in keeping with our shared commitments to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This resolution recognizes the environmental disaster caused by the Israeli occupation forces’ bombing of the oil storage tanks at the Jiyeh power plant in 2006, which resulted in the spill of approximately 15,000 tons of oil, polluting some 150 kilometers of the Lebanese and Syrian coastlines, with total estimated losses in Lebanon alone of around USD 856 million.

In conclusion, Madam Chair, the Group stresses that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires genuine political will, fair financing, and effective and measurable international cooperation. It affirms its commitment to collective action to translate these pledges into tangible results that ensure a safe and prosperous future for our peoples, leaving no one behind.

Thank you, Madam Chair.