Leaving no one behind: G20 Development Ministerial Declaration for reducing inequalities
We, the G20 Ministers responsible for Development, convened in Rio deJaneiro, on July 22-23, 2024 hosted by Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairsand attended by the Ministers responsible for Development of the G20members, invited countries and partner international organizations, toaddress the urgent need to reduce inequalities within and among countriesand to realize opportunities for all people, irrespective of age, sex, disability,race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
2. Acknowledging the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and theintegrated, universal, and indivisible nature of its 17 SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs), we recognize that inequality within and amongcountries is at the root of most challenges addressed by the 2030 Agenda ormakes them harder to solve. We reaffirm our strong commitment toaccelerating the full and effective implementation of the 2030 Agendaincluding by specifically addressing the drivers of inequality and prioritizingits reduction (SDG 10) in all its forms and dimensions by leaving no onebehind and endeavoring to reach the furthest behind first. We commit toputting sustainable development at the center of the international cooperationagenda.
3. We reiterate that unparalleled multidimensional crises and challenges areimpacting people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership and have stalledor reversed years of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). Inequality amplifies the negative and unequal impacts of shockswith potentially long-term consequences. We note with alarm the firstincrease in extreme poverty and inequality in more than two decades.Approximately 712 million people were living in extreme poverty in 2022,23 million more than in 2019, with higher rates affecting the poorestcountries, and children disproportionately affected, being twice as likely asadults to be living in extreme poverty1. We reaffirm that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatestglobal challenge and indispensable requirement for sustainable development.To promote sustainable development, it is critical to strengthen the means ofimplementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainabledevelopment (SDG 17).
[1] According to World Bank Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report, 2022; UNICEF’s Commitment to EndingChild Poverty and Achieving the SDGs: Measurement, Advocacy and Evidence Based Policies, 2022; ILO,UNICEF, Learning for Wellbeing Institute. The promise of universal child benefits: The foundational policyfor economic and social development. Social Protection Spotlight, February 2024.
4. In this context, challenges and crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic,climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification and land degradation,environmental degradation and pollution, the learning crisis, economicslowdown, rising debt vulnerability, growing poverty and inequalityincluding gender inequality, food insecurity and malnutrition, stallingprogress on access to health services, energy poverty and insecurity,volatility in energy markets, global supply chain disruptions, disasters andconflicts, disproportionately affect persons living in poverty and invulnerable situations and in developing countries, limiting their resourcesand capacity to achieve the SDGs and global development, environment andclimate goals. All people, irrespective of gender, age, race, ethnicity, origin,religion, geographic location and other status, including persons invulnerable situations, persons with disabilities, migrants, children and youth,people affected by disaster or conflict, refugees, persons experiencing or atrisk of homelessness, local communities as well as Indigenous Peoples,should have access to essential services to meet their basic needs, decentwork and other social and economic opportunities that ensure their full, equal,effective and meaningful participation in society.
5. Committed to leaving no one behind, we are striving to promote the social,economic, and political inclusion and empowerment of all, to ensure equalopportunity, and to reduce inequalities, including by eliminatingdiscriminatory laws, policies, and practices and promoting appropriatelegislation, policies, and action in this regard. We commit to acceleratingprogress toward fully and effectively implementing the 2030 Agenda andachieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including throughrecognizing the role of local and regional governments, and other local actors,in a whole-of-society approach. This is in line with the ambitiouscommitments from the 2016 G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development, the G20 2023 Action Plan on AcceleratingProgress on the SDGs, and other past G20 commitments and achievements, especially those focused on development, as well as having also regard tothe UNGA SDG Summit Political Declaration, and the UN GlobalAccelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions. We recognizethe importance of embracing sustainable consumption and production andmainstreaming Lifestyles for Sustainable Development (LiFE).
6. We recognize the importance of policies that promote equal opportunities,empower persons in vulnerable situations, support productivity, and reduceincome inequalities. They are crucial for human well-being and promotingstrong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive economic growth for all countries,full and productive employment, and decent work for all. We reaffirm ourcommitment to help developing countries better integrate into the globalindustrial, value and supply chains and accelerate their industrialization andmodernization process. We recognize that human capital development isessential to tackling poverty and inequality. We note that persistently highinequality is often associated with lower, less durable economic growth andgreater financial instability. Continued inequalities, including in the rural-urban continuum, undermine the potential for development as those invulnerable situations do not have opportunities to learn and develop theirskills and productive capabilities. Inequalities also have an inter-generationalimpact, as the unequal social mobility, opportunities and outcomes of ageneration directly influence those of the next.
7. We reaffirm our shared objective to reduce income inequality and tobenefit the bottom 40% of the income distribution, in line with the targetSDG 10.1, which is an important transformation pursued by the 2030 Agenda.We intend to pursue this objective through a comprehensive set of actions,including the promotion of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusivegrowth; productive employment and innovation supported by adequate skillsand transfer of technology on voluntary and mutually agreed terms; skilldevelopment and capacity building; fair, progressive and efficient taxsystems; redistributive policies and risk management; and the provision ofquality public services, with a focus on those left behind, taking into accountinter-generation impact. We welcome the reconvening of the G20Employment Working Group’s Sub-group on Labor Income Share andInequalities under the Brazilian Presidency this year.
8. We recognize universal social protection, including adaptive socialprotection, is a critical tool for reducing inequalities, mitigating andmanaging risks, and increasing resilience. We acknowledge the importanceof strengthening and expanding coverage of national social protectionsystems and programs, and of increasing the adequacy and shock-responsiveness of programs across the formal and informal economy inresponse to an increase in emergent global challenges and shocks, includingdisasters and the adverse effects of climate change.
9. In this context, as G20 cooperation holds a strategic position and has thepotential to accelerate SDGs progress, we resolve to act in collective andconcrete ways to tackle inequality within and among countries, particularlyin the rural-urban continuum. We reaffirm the importance of ensuringinclusive, equitable, and quality education and promoting lifelong learningopportunities for all due to its crucial role in supporting sustainable humandevelopment and transformations and in breaking intergenerationaltransmission of inequalities. Likewise, it is central to improving essentialhealth services to better than pre-pandemic levels, ideally within the next 1-2 years, and to strengthening health systems, especially at the primary healthcare level, to achieve universal health coverage by 2030. We recognize theimportance of facilitating the development, timely distribution and equitableaccess to safe, effective, quality-assured and affordable vaccines,therapeutics and diagnostics and other health products and medicalcountermeasures as well as the potential role of evidence-based Traditionaland Complementary Medicine. To accelerate strong, sustainable, balanced,and inclusive growth, while leaving no one behind, we also remaincommitted to an inclusive, fair, and sustainable approach that leads to greatersocial justice, equity, and gender equality and empowerment of women inline with SDG 5, and to decent work, and social protection for all, includingadaptive social protection.
10. Recognizing the importance of promoting gender equality andempowerment of all women and girls, in line with SDG 5, we welcome thecreation of the Empowerment of Women Working Group under the G20Indian presidency and the progress of the group´s activities during the G20 Brazilian presidency. We encourage women-led development and remaincommitted to enhancing women’s full, equal, and meaningful participationas decision-makers for addressing global challenges inclusively and incontributing as active participants in all spheres of society, across all sectorsand at all levels of the economy, which is not only crucial for achievinggender equality but also for contributing to global GDP growth. In this regard,we underline the need to promote collective concrete and transformativeactions on gender equality and empowerment of women, including throughinvestment in the care economy and promotion of women-owned MSMEs.We reaffirm the commitment to eliminate gender stereotypes and biases,change norms, attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate gender inequality andundermine the empowerment of women, and eliminate gender-basedviolence including sexual violence. To this end, we commit to enhancingtheir full, equal and effective participation as decision-makers. We alsoreaffirm that gender equality is a cross-cutting issue of fundamentalimportance and that investing in the empowerment of all women and girlshas a multiplier effect in the 2030 Agenda. We recognize that women's rightsorganizations and grassroots initiatives play a crucial role in advocating forand advancing policies, laws and institutions that ensure gender equality andthe empowerment of all women and girls for sustainable development, takinginto account different national contexts and circumstances. We commit toreducing global maternal mortality and to advancing universal access tosexual and reproductive healthcare services, including for family planning,information and education and the integration of reproductive health intonational strategies and programs.
11. We affirm that policies to reduce inequalities are essential to endinghunger and structural poverty. Unprecedented global challenges call forgreater commitment, financing, and coordinated, swift and tangible actionsat all levels, but existing efforts do not seem to be sufficient to achieve thegoals of zero hunger and poverty eradication under the current globalchallenges. We, therefore, look forward to the launch of a Global Allianceagainst Hunger and Poverty to support and accelerate efforts to eradicatehunger and poverty (SDGs 1 and 2) while reducing inequalities (SDG 10),contributing to revitalizing global partnerships for sustainable development(SDG 17) and to the achievement of other interlinked SDGs, andchampioning sustainable, inclusive and just transition pathways. We committo enhancing global food security and nutrition for all in line with the Matera Declaration on Food Security, Nutrition and Food Systems 2021 and G20Deccan High-Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition 2023.
12. We highlight the importance of politically prioritizing efforts to ensurethe availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all,as an important part of the overall effort needed to reduce inequality in all itsdimensions. To this end, we have agreed on the G20 Call to Action onStrengthening Drinking Water and Sanitation and Hygiene Services duringthe Brazilian presidency. We, therefore, support the promotion of water,sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems that are inclusive, integrated,sustainable, and gender-responsive to build resilience to the impacts ofbiodiversity loss, climate change, environmental degradation, water-bornediseases, disasters, and pollution, in order to achieve better health, educationand socio-economic development outcomes. We also emphasize theimportance of specific policies for persons living in vulnerable situations,and responding to all forms of discrimination, especially when consideringpersons with disabilities. We recognize that the lack of access to services,products and education about menstrual health and hygiene for women andgirls, impacts their education, health, safety, and human development. Werecognize the challenges facing financing for resilient and sustainableWASH systems and call for the mobilization of resources to address thischallenge.
13. We reaffirm that a more inclusive and reinvigorated multilateralism andreform aimed at implementing the 2030 agenda is essential. We reiterate ourcommitment to ensure enhanced representation and voice for developingcountries in decision-making in global international economic and financialinstitutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable andlegitimate institutions. We look forward to the ongoing discussions byFinance Ministers to deliver better, bigger and more effective MultilateralDevelopment Banks (MDBs) by enhancing operating models, improvingresponsiveness and accessibility, and substantially increasing financingcapacity to maximize development impact in developing countries, inparticular, the poorest and most vulnerable while acknowledging thesubstantial progress made to date as part of the MDB evolution agenda. Wealso call for a successful International Development Association (IDA) 21replenishment in 2024 to support fighting poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
14. We reaffirm that a rules-based, non-discriminatory, fair, open, inclusive,equitable, sustainable and transparent multilateral trading system, with theWTO as its core, is indispensable to facilitate the integration of developingcountries in the global economy and advance growth, innovation, jobcreation and sustainable development.
15. Mobilization of affordable, adequate and accessible financing from allsources and implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA)remain major challenges for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development and progress has not been shared evenly withinand among countries, further deepening existing inequalities. We call on allpartners to mobilize affordable, adequate and accessible developmentfinance from all sources, including domestic and international, public andprivate, including the use of innovative financing mechanisms such asblended finance, de-risking instruments and other sustainability-relatedfinancial instruments in a timely manner. We reaffirm our commitmenttowards the mobilization of affordable, adequate and accessible financingfrom all sources to support developing countries in their domestic efforts toaddress bottlenecks for implementation of the 2030 Agenda and AAAA. Wealso stress the importance of fair, progressive and efficient tax systems,taking into account national circumstances, to enhance domestic resourcemobilization for combating poverty and inequality. We call upon developedcountries to fully deliver on their respective ODA commitments thatcomplement and encourage development financing from all other sources,including public and private, domestic and international, in a timely manner,and contribute to addressing the financing needs of developing countries.G20 reaffirms the importance of promoting development finance, respectingthe applicable finance-related principles while noting the importance oftransparency and mutual accountability. In this regard, we look forward tothe Summit of the Future in September 2024 and the Fourth InternationalConference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain, in July 2025.
16. We also support the role of international development cooperation intackling inequality. We recognize the need to build capacity in developingcountries at the community level, and in local and regional institutions andauthorities, to strengthen local capabilities, institutions, expertise, and human resources, where appropriate and including education at all levels.This should contribute to national development priorities, be at the requestof developing countries, and recognize the importance of localization ofSDGs, taking into account national circumstances. We also stress the role ofpromoting demand-driven and country-owned development cooperationmodels that are scalable and tailored to local conditions in developingcountries, including by promoting knowledge sharing, transfer of technologyon voluntary and mutually agreed terms and mobilization of adequatefinance. In this regard, we recognize that development cooperation,including North-South, South-South and Triangular cooperation, enablesdeveloping countries to achieve progress towards sustainable development.We reaffirm the BAPA+40 as a major milestone in the evolution of South-South and triangular cooperation, recognizing that this cooperation modalitycontributes to, inter alia, promoting partnership, unity and cooperation whichcontribute to establishing a fair, inclusive and equitable internationaleconomic order and to achieve the SDGs.
17. We reaffirm our commitment to narrow digital divides and promoteinclusive use of data for development, harness the benefits of safe, secure,and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI) for good and for all in aresponsible, inclusive and human-centric manner, improve access to digitalservices and digital public infrastructure, and leverage digital transformationopportunities to boost sustainable and inclusive growth. These can enablerapid transformation, combat inequalities within and among countries andaccelerate the achievement of sustainable development in its threedimensions - economic, social and environmental, as well as public servicedelivery. We recognize that safe, secure, trusted, accountable and inclusivedigital public infrastructure, respectful of human rights, personal data,privacy and intellectual property rights can foster resilience, and enableservice delivery and innovation.
18. We acknowledge the pressing need to strengthen and invest in nationalstatistics institutions and data-driven and evidence-based policies, includingby harnessing Data for Development, and to strengthen international actionsto accelerate progress on SDG 10 and linked targets in other SDGs. In thisregard, we reaffirm the need to enhance capacity-building support, includingfor developing countries, and to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable disaggregated data to ensure that no one isleft behind. We invite consideration on the integration of inequality reductionobjectives in our programs and policies and of possible development ofmeasurement of how our actions contribute to reducing inequalities, inaccordance with national circumstances. The Brazilian presidency hascommissioned studies on reducing inequalities and empowering peopleliving in vulnerable situations from the World Bank, the EconomicCommission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the UnitedNations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and theInternational Labour Organization (ILO) in partnership with the BrazilianInstitute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), African UnionDevelopment Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Global Alliance for LifeEconomies Research and Innovation (GALERI) and partners, andOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). TheBrazilian Presidency looks forward to the participation of our knowledgepartners in the G20 Social Summit.
19. We highlight the importance of data-driven and evidence-basedpolicymaking to address development challenges, including inequalities, andto accelerate progress towards the SDGs through quantitative and qualitativedata insights. This can support constructive decision-making processes,efficient planning and resource allocation, maximized synergies acrossSDGs, improved service delivery, effective monitoring and evaluation ofimpacts, improved accountability, and empowerment of communities andindividuals. We also encourage countries that have effectively implementeddata-driven policies to lead by example by adopting further measures topromote inequality reduction, in accordance with national circumstances. Inthis respect, we note with appreciation Brazil’s adoption of its owncommitment on inequalities, titled “SDG 18 - Combating Racism andPromoting Ethnic and Racial Equality.”
20. We express our appreciation to Brazil for its leadership of the G20 in2024 in accelerating actions towards reducing inequalities. In this regard, werecognize and appreciate the contributions of all the participatinginternational organizations – AUDA-NEPAD, CAF, ECLAC, FAO, IDB,IFAD, ILO, OECD, SHF, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNICEF, UNIDO, WFP, WHOand the World Bank. We welcome the Republic of South Africa’s G20
Presidency in 2025 and the United States of America’s G20 Presidency in2026 to take forward the collective agenda of the G20 DWG.