Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations (UN) addressed an Ad Hoc working group on Sustainable Development last week in New York.
The Ad Hoc working group is focusing on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out in the Rio+20 Conference, the 9 day forum held in Brazil on sustainable development.
Archbishop Chullikatt, whose address focused on the “Interactive Exchange of Views on Poverty Eradication”, stated that the centrality of poverty eradication was essentially a “moral imperative” in addressing the various forms of poverty “present in the human family.”
“The eradication of poverty must be understood first in the context of the equality in dignity of each and every human person,” he said. “Further, poverty eradication should be guided by the principles of natural law which “inspire political and juridical and economic choices and approaches in international law.”
The Apostolic Nuncio to the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission emphasized the importance of placing the dignity of the human person at the center of developing the sustainable development goals set out at the Rio +20 Conference. The archbishop also noted that the poor and those that live on the margins of society must be given a voice in planning and implementing those goals.