Mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, 17 June 2025 

 

WELCOMING THE FINAL DRAFT OF THE FFD4 OUTCOME DOCUMENT:

COMPROMISO DE SEVILLA

 

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I welcome the final draft of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) Outcome Document – the Compromiso de Sevilla – set to be adopted at FFD4 in Seville, Spain (30 June – 3 July 2025).

Since negotiations on the outcome document began last year, I have upheld that the FFD4 offers a unique opportunity to reaffirm commitments made in the past to put international solidarity in the service of strengthening social protection. Social protection is increasingly recognised as our greatest tool in the fight against poverty, yet nearly half of the world’s population lack any coverage whatsoever, and financing for social protection represents a negligible proportion of global aid.

It is therefore encouraging to see investing in social protection positioned front and centre of the final draft of the outcome document, which states: “We will take action to combat inequalities within and among countries, including through investment in social protection systems”. I am also pleased to note the inclusion of a measurable target for developing countries to increase social protection coverage by two percentage points per year – a commitment I campaigned for alongside USP2030 for inclusion in the final text.

I particularly welcome the reference to supporting developing countries in “ensuring predictable, adequate and uninterrupted funding on appropriate terms of social protection and other essential social spending during shocks and crises”.

This pledge is a clear recognition that an international financing mechanism – such as a Global Fund for Social Protection (GFSP) – would be necessary to mobilise and coordinate global support for addressing the critical social protection financing gap facing low-income countries. As I advocated for alongside the International Trade Union Confederation ahead of FFD4, by ensuring “predictable, adequate and uninterrupted funding”, a GFSP would give countries the confidence to adopt multi-year action plans to strengthen domestic social protection systems, while acting as a bridge towards increased domestic resource mobilisation.

The pledge also acknowledges the crucial role of social protection in shielding people from shocks. Designed to anticipate crises (such as unemployment or ill-health), social protection programmes ringfence resources in anticipation of the need to provide support. This is exactly what is needed to protect people in poverty from the climate crisis: predictable support providing people with entitlements that they can rely on when disaster hits. My latest report to the UN Human Rights Council – Weathering the storm: poverty, climate change and social protection – explores in depth how social protection can protect people in poverty from the climate crisis. Together with the Compromiso de Sevilla, I hope it compels governments to leverage climate finance to strengthen social protection systems.

 

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