Global perspective Human stories

Time to turn economic, social systems ‘inside out,’ urges Dominican Republic minister

Jose Manuel Trullols, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Jose Manuel Trullols, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic.

Time to turn economic, social systems ‘inside out,’ urges Dominican Republic minister

The time for words and promises is over; the time for action is now, a Dominican Republic minister told the United Nations General Assembly on the final day of its high-level debate, calling for inclusive development and social justice in a post-2015 sustainability agenda.

The time for words and promises is over; the time for action is now, a Dominican Republic minister told the United Nations General Assembly on the final day of its high-level debate, calling for inclusive development and social justice in a post-2015 sustainability agenda.

In his statement, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Trullols said that in order for development to be sustainable, “we must undertake structural reforms that will change many of our policies and our economic and social systems, turning them inside out, the way a sock is turned inside out.”

The UN is currently working with Governments, civil society and other partners to build on the momentum generated by the MDGs and carry on with an ambitious post-2015 development agenda.

Mr. Trullols said that depending on what is decided will foretell whether the future of humanity will be “promising or miserable.”

He noted that while eradication of extreme poverty correlates to an income of less than $1.25 a day being elevated to $2 per day, “the difference in hardships between the one income range and the other is not very noticeable.”

The Deputy Minister urged the international community to turn good intentions into action and political decisions.

Mr. Trullols also cited the impact of climate change given the Dominican Republic’s geographic location in the path of annual hurricanes and tropical storms.

“For this reason, we have been endeavouring to strengthen and improve our preparedness for the management of risks associated with natural disasters,” he said.

The Dominican Republic is building a collection centre for emergency assistance and working to establish a regional centre dedicated to the education and training of human resources in cases of disaster.