Qatar affirms importance of sporting events in enhancing sustainable development

Qatar has affirmed that major sporting events contribute to accelerating the pace of sustainable development, stressing at the same time its firm belief that the right to development is an inalienable, fundamental human right, and that its implementation requires taking a number of concrete and effective measures at the national, regional and international levels.

This came during the speech read by HE the Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations in Geneva Dr Hind bint Abdulrahman al-Muftah, at the sixth session of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development under article 5-F of the provisional agenda.She said that she personally welcomes all fans to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, with less than three week from the start of the opening match.HE al-Muftah said sports and major sporting events gather developed and developing countries and bring people closer, while also speeding up the implementation of sustainable development goals.She stressed that in view of the growing challenges faced by all countries, especially developing and least-developed countries, such as the environmental effects of climate change, the intensification of armed conflicts, the spread of poverty and unemployment, the emergence of emerging health challenges, and the impact of all of this on the development process and its sustainability, the international collective commitment to the realisation of the right to development and the removal of obstacles to its implementation is indispensable to address these crises and reduce their effects.HE al-Muftah indicated that the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic showed the need for countries to enhance their healthcare capabilities, and that Qatar spared no effort in extending aid to 92 countries, with its contributions exceeding $140mn, in the framework of supporting international efforts.To combat the pandemic, Qatar also provided $10mn to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to support its programme to accelerate the availability of virus control tools in countries most in need.She noted that Qatar's presidency of the 5th United Nations Conference for Least-Developed Countries, of which Doha will host the meetings of the second part of the period from March 5-9, 2023, is the culmination of these efforts.HE al-Muftah pointed out that although there are only eight years left to implement the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and developing countries face real challenges in implementing those goals.She said that at a time when many developing and least developed countries are still struggling to strengthen their national economic policies related to poverty eradication like debt sustainability, climate change adaptation and mitigation, these countries are also facing unprecedented challenges represented in the pandemic, which led to severe setbacks in development, affected vital sectors in these countries.HE al-Muftah noted that developing and least-developed countries need capital and investment in productive sectors that reduce poverty and increase the resilience of societies, such as creating job opportunities, promoting sustainable agriculture to achieve food security, improving access to global markets, and supporting comprehensive healthcare.She said that the Doha Work Programme for Least-Developed Countries for the decade 2022-2031 is a major achievement and an advanced step in strengthening international efforts to support these countries.HE al-Muftah said that Qatar will spare no effort to ensure the success of the 5th United Nations Conference for Least-Developed Countries and called on all countries and stakeholders, including organisations based in Geneva, to actively take part in the conference and mobilise to ensure its success and the implementation of its resolutions in terms of fair international partnerships that empower those countries.