( Publicada originalmente às 15h 02 do dia 21/11/2020) 

(Brasília-DF, 23/11/2020) O secretário-geral das Nações Unidas, apostando no retorno do multilateralismo com a chegada de Joe Biden nos EUA, diz no evento da 15º Encontro do G-20, organizado pela Arábia Saudita, mas feito de forma virtual, que o mundo em desenvolvimento  vai falir por conta da Covid-19 e faz sugestões para fazer esse enfretamento de muitas dívidas.

“O mundo em desenvolvimento está à beira da ruína financeira, aumentando a pobreza e sofrimento indizível. O efeito dominó das falências pode devastar a economia global.

Não podemos deixar o #COVID19 pandemia leva a uma pandemia de dívida.

Minha mensagem para o #G20”, disse no Twitter nesse final de manhã de sábado, 21.

Veja a íntegra da mensagem, em inglês, da mensagem da ONU ao G-20:

Excellency,

A microscopic virus has brought the world to its knees. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare systemic fragilities in our societies, our global economic system and the frameworks that govern the international system.  The consequences are clear: inequalities are growing ever wider; debt burdens are skyrocketing; and an ever-expanding number of families, communities and economies require essential support and are looking to world leaders in their hour of greatest need. 

The early response of the Group of Twenty (G20) was crucial in easing the initial social and economic fallout from the pandemic.  The Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) was a strong and timely signal of solidarity with the most vulnerable countries – and its extension was welcomed by all.  The adoption of a common framework for debt treatments beyond the DSSI also signals the recognition by the G20 that further debt relief will be needed.  The G20 now needs to scale up ambition and deliver bolder measures to enable developing countries to address the crisis effectively and prevent the global recession from becoming a global depression.

The United Nations has pursued a three-pillar strategy to save lives, protect societies and recover better.  We have redeployed $2.9 billion towards COVID-19 needs and are prioritizing socioeconomic support to developing countries.  But the United Nations needs the full support of its Member States, particularly the G20.

As we tackle this unprecedented pandemic, the world needs unprecedented leadership that is united in its quest to respond to the crisis and recover better. The pandemic must be a wake-up call to all leaders that division is a danger to everyone, and that prevention saves money and lives.  

We will succeed if we cooperate and deliver in each of the following areas:
 

Addressing the current emergency

Recent positive early results on COVID-19 vaccine trials have added a new sense of urgency to the need for equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.  It is also vital to invest in health systems accessible to all, including through Universal Health Coverage.  

I call on the G20 to fill the financing gap of $28 billion needed to fund the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) and its COVAX facility, scale up essential medical commodities and provide basic health care, including in developing countries where health systems and economies are less equipped to cope with the challenge.  We must also resist any form of vaccine nationalism. 

An additional 115 million people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty and acute hunger could almost double, affecting the lives of more than a quarter of a billion people.  Remittances – a vital lifeline for many – have dropped by more than 20 per cent.  Gender-based violence has increased significantly, and women have borne most of the extra care work in the wake of the pandemic.  Children’s education is disrupted across the globe, especially in the poorest countries and communities where digital access is limited.  The pandemic has deepened the harsh impact of humanitarian crises and armed conflicts on civilian populations, with refugees being turned away at closed borders, denied their fundamental human right to seek asylum.  

I call on the G20 to support implementation of social protection floors for all, regardless of age, gender, religion, origin, migration status or sexual orientation, including for those in the informal and invisible care economy. 

The G20 should agree on the removal of specific travel restrictions that prevent respect for human rights and refugee law.  I also call on the G20 to take immediate measures to reduce the cost of remittances to close to zero.  G20 economies should also ensure that a gendered lens is applied to the design of fiscal stimulus packages and social assistance programmes.

This pandemic has also shown how environmental degradation breeds pandemics.  The G20 should scale up investments in biodiversity, climate action and ecosystem restoration as the bedrock of our societies and economies.

Stabilizing economies, safeguarding fiscal space and tackling debt challenges

As the crisis deepens, the urgency for greater action is growing by the day. A potential major sovereign debt crisis next year looms on the horizon.  In late September 2020, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Prime Minister of Jamaica and I convened Heads of State and Government to discuss policy actions to mobilize the international community for a sustainable recovery.   

In line with the menu of options discussed at this leaders’ meeting, I call the G20 to take several important steps:

• Support a new issuance of special drawing rights (SDRs)
  and the reallocation of unused SDRs;
• Extend the duration of the DSSI through the end of 2021
  and expand its coverage to include vulnerable middle-income countries that need it;
• expand eligibility for the common framework for debt treatments to vulnerable middle-income countries and consider further debt relief, including debt cancellations; and
• Build a global architecture to enhance debt transparency and sustainability.  

Safeguarding jobs, especially for women and youth, must be a core component of any socioeconomic response.  I encourage leaders to champion universal social protection, spearhead the 100 per cent decent work initiative
of the International Labour Organization, support developing countries to rapidly implement a temporary basic income, and invest in job creation and re-skilling programmes, especially for youth. 

To maintain the liquidity needed by developing countries, I also reiterate the call against the premature withdrawal of fiscal and monetary support to economies.  Official development assistance must be increased to meet the dire need of all vulnerable countries, including Small Island Developing States, for countercyclical finance.  And steps must be taken immediately to combat illicit financial flows, including by digitalizing tax administrations, taxing the digital economy and bolstering the automatic exchange of information.

Aligning the recovery with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
and the Paris Agreement

This crisis is an opportunity to build an inclusive recovery and a sustainable and resilient future.  I call on the G20 to further implement ambitious recovery measures aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

I am encouraged by the leadership of a growing number of G20 nations that have joined the coalition of countries committing to global net zero emissions by 2050.  I look forward to all G20 members committing to this vision, and submitting, well before COP 26, more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions and carbon neutrality strategies that are consistent with pathways that hold the increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius.  And I invite all G20 leaders to use the Climate Ambition Summit, that I am co-convening on 12 December 2020 with France and the United Kingdom in partnership with Chile and Italy, to announce their plans and policies to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.  Reaching net zero emissions will require all forms of finance.  Public finance — including the pledge by developed countries to provide and mobilize $100 billion for climate action —will support the development of resilient infrastructure and build the renewable energy economy.  But mainstreaming sustainable private finance is essential for the world to access the trillions of dollars needed to transition our economies to net zero emissions.

To that end, G20 countries should:

• Set clear direction for climate policy by turning Paris Commitments into nationally- legislated objectives.

This will provide more certainty to companies and investors on where to channel their investments and minimize the costs of transforming economies for net zero emissions, ensuring a smoother transition while growing jobs and incomes.
 

• Align public spending on COVID recovery with climate targets and sustainable development goals.

Debt swaps can be used to transform public debt into sustainable investments.  Green bonds can help finance environmental sustainability.  Fiscal measures should include carbon pricing and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies.

• Embed a framework to ensure that every financial decision takes climate change into account, first and foremost by mandating climate-related financial disclosures.

Additionally, the creation of standards, norms and certification systems to align public and private finance with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement should be a priority.  The Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance, which
I convened, has helped to pave the way for this with a common definition of sustainable development investing. 

• Utilize multilateral, regional and national developments banks for leveraging and de-risking investment in developing and emerging economies, supporting the mobilization of private finance and investment, and insist that these institutions align their financing and operations with Paris goals.

I look forward to working with the G20 to foster a sweeping transformation of the financial system in support of sustainable development.

• Ensure global solidarity and multilateral cooperation at the centre of our actions

The world is facing its deepest crisis and biggest test since the Second World War.  No single country can go it alone or recover alone; we are in this together.  The only way to overcome this crisis and build a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future is through global solidarity and international cooperation.  It is critical that we commit to a multilateralism that is bold and inclusive, and that puts solidarity before solitary action.  

On this seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, we bear an immense collective responsibility to future generations.  I urge the G20 Leaders’ Summit to heed the call of the broader United Nations membership, adopt ambitious and comprehensive measures with a focus on the most vulnerable countries and people, and strengthen the ability of us all to prevent future crises. 

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

                                                                            António Guterres

( da redação com informações de assessoria. Edição: Genésio Araújo Jr)