Geneva, Switzerland, Sep 22, 2009 / 21:01 pm
The present economic crisis may jeopardize development goals in other countries and could undermine human rights, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi told the Human Rights Council at the United Nations on Tuesday.
Archbishop Tomasi, the Holy See’s permanent representative to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, said the financial crisis shows the degree of global interdependence.
He added that the Human Rights Council’s current debate on the right to development is an opportunity both to strengthen international commitment on the right to development and to transform political will into “concrete action.”
Risks of deteriorating economies and social situations, even in wealthy countries, are resulting in increasing numbers of people suffering new forms of poverty, social exclusion and marginalization, he said.