Pope addressing UN general assembly before adoption of global goals
Agenda consists of 17 goals designed to end poverty and hunger by 2030
Richard Curtis, Shakira and Malala Yousafzai also set to feature
New goals expected to shape political policy worldwide for next 15 years
Email your thoughts to sam.jones@theguardian.com or comment below
4.17pm BST
And here’s what the Guardian’s religion correspondent, Harriet Sherwood, made of the speech
While paying fulsome tribute to the United Nations on its 70th birthday, Pope Francis also appeared to be rebuking the global body for too much talk and not enough action.
On the UN’s achievements, he ticked off the development of international law and human rights norms, conflict resolution, peace-keeping and reconciliation. ‘All these achievements are lights which help to dispel the darkness of the disorder caused by unrestrained ambitions and collective forms of selfishness,’ he said.
4.14pm BST
Here’s some quick reaction to the pope’s speech from my colleague Liz Ford, deputy editor of the Guardian’s global development site:
After all the fanfare, the road closures and the excitement, Pope Francis finally gave his speech to the UN general assembly. It was peppered with applause and at times cheers. But did it go far enough to stir people into action? I’m not sure.
There were important words on protecting the environment, people, particularly the poorest, and ending inequality. There was a strong call to fully implement the non-proliferation of arms treaty in “letter and spirit”, which will go down well with many.
4.12pm BST
It’s the only way out of this awful set of circumstances, where if people are born poor then they die poor, and accept it. I never thought it was fair for an 8-year-old child not to be able to afford shoes, or to wander the streets having to beg for money.
To know that child’s joy would end soon, when they realised there was no future. In Colombia, in Latin America, the kids are still very smiley, enjoy music, have very high spirits. And yet you know that society is one day soon going to crush them and any dreams like… cockroaches.”
4.11pm BST
Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has just addressed a crowd at the UN, standing in front of 193 young people from each of the member states. “Promise us that you will keep your commitments and invest in our future,” she urged.
4.08pm BST
Worth a quick look backwards as the UN prepares to sign off the development agenda for the next 15 years. Just how successful were the millennium development goals, which will soon be replaced by the sustainable development goals? Here’s our take on the UN’s own final progress report:
The millennium development goals (MDGs) have driven “the most successful anti-poverty movement in history” and brought more than a billion people out of extreme penury, but their achievements have been mixed and the world remains deeply riven by inequality, the UN’s final report (pdf) on the goals has concluded.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, said that while the 15-year push to meet the eight goals – on poverty, education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, disease, the environment and global partnership – had yielded some astonishing results, it had left too many people behind.
4.04pm BST
Shakira’s Lennon cover gets the thumbs-up from a former first minister of Scotland
Stunning performance of #Imagine by @shakira starts the opening ceremony of #UNGA70 @GlobalGoalsUN #LeaveNoOneBehind pic.twitter.com/chACpLFgnH
4.00pm BST
And this just in from Liz Ford at the UN:
Shakira’s singing Imagine to the UN general assembly while the pope is being serenaded by other singers outside the room
3.56pm BST
Here’s what WaterAid head Barbara Frost had to say about the pope’s speech and his references to the importance of safe drinking water:
Pope Francis has shone a light on the plight of the poorest and most vulnerable, who are most affected by climate change and by the tremendous inequalities that exist in our world today. He has done much to reaffirm access to safe, drinkable water and sanitation as basic and universal rights essential to health and dignity. And he has asked us all to care for everyone on our planet.
3.51pm BST
Well, that was a thorough and immensely well-received address. Notable that it was as much – if not slightly more – about the environment as about human development. Evidence, perhaps, of the pope’s belief that the two simply cannot be separated.
3.46pm BST
Reactions to the pope’s speech are now rolling in. This from Neil Thorns of Catholic aid agency CAFOD:
Pope Francis’ UN speech served as a metaphor for his whole US visit, focusing on power, inequality and climate change. He was unequivocal that today’s social and economic exclusion is a total denial of human brotherhood and a grave attack on human rights and the environment. Which other leaders will now step up, join Francis and leave a legacy of which we can be proud?”
3.46pm BST
He ends with a blessing of everyone present and is greeted with a long, standing ovation.
3.45pm BST
He quotes from Pope Paul VI on the dangers of man having ever more powerful instruments to bring about ruin as much as progress. We must care for the unborn, for children, for old people, for the abandoned and for all those reduced to mere statistics, says the pope. To quote Paul VI again, “the edifice of modern civilisation has to be built on spiritual principles because they are the only ones capable of not only supporting it it but also of illuminating it”.
And now a Martín Fierro reference. As an Argentinian, no surprise to hear the pope referencing the classic gaucho poem on the importance of sticking together. Up there with maté and asados in Argentinian culture.
3.39pm BST
He now turns to the drug trade: another scourge that is often accompanied by money laundering and the trafficking of people and weapons.
3.36pm BST
The plight of those suffering and dying in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan and the Great Lakes region of Africa must not be forgotten, says the pope. The international community must do all it can to stop and prevent further violence against religious and ethnic minorities.
3.34pm BST
He repeats his appeals for the world to focus on the persecution of Christians and other cultural and ethnic groups – including Muslims – in the Middle East and North Africa.
3.32pm BST
The pope is now talking about nuclear weapons: we must work for a world free of nuclear weapons, otherwise we will be “nations united in a fear” of destruction.
3.29pm BST
There must be respect for life in all its stages. Without that respect, the notion of saving future generations from “the scourge of war” and poverty will become “an unattainable illusion”, says the pope. He says war must be avoided between people and nations and the rule of law must be observed. The past 70 years of the UN’s history – and the first 15 years of this millennium – have shown the need to enforce laws and the UN charter.
3.25pm BST
The “ecological crisis” can threaten the very existence of the human species, says the pope. There must be a forthright reflection on man: he does not create himself; he is spirit and will but also nature – and creation is “compromised when we ourselves have the final word”.
3.23pm BST
If people are to escape from extreme poverty “we must allow them to be dignified agents” of their own development. But government leaders must also make sure everyone has the basic materials to live in dignity and to support a family – “the primary cell of any social development”. The new development agenda must allow easy access to housing, reasonably paid employment, food and water.
3.18pm BST
Now he turns to drug and human trafficking, the sexual exploitation of children, slavery and crime. So serious are these issues and “their tolls in innocent lives”, that we must act decisively and ensure that our institutions are truly effective in the fight “against all these scourges”.
3.16pm BST
A “selfish and boundless thirst for material prosperity” damages the world and excludes the weak, says the pope.
This social and economic exclusion is a complete denial of human fraternity and a very grave offence against human rights and the environment. The poorest are those who suffer most from such offences for three serious reasons; they are cast off by society, forced to live off what is discarded and suffer unjustly from the the consequences of the abuse of the environment. These phenomena are part of today’s widespread and growing culture of waste.
3.11pm BST
The pope urges humankind to understand its relationship with the natural world:
Any harm done to the environment is harm to humanity.
3.10pm BST
“We must forcefully affirm our rights by working to protect the environment and to put an end to exclusion,” says the pope. “We are part of the environment and we live in communion with it.”
3.07pm BST
Law and justice, too, are essential to achieving universal fraternity, says the pope. No humans or groups can consider themselves omnipotent and more important than others.
3.06pm BST
He urges international financial bodies to care about sustainable development and says they must not inflict oppressive lending systems on the developing world.
3.04pm BST
He pays tribute to all those UN workers who have given their lives for peace and reconciliation.
3.03pm BST
He praises the UN’s role in establishing international law, strengthening human rights and bringing an end to wars:
All these achievements are lights that help to dispel the darkness caused by the disorder of unrestrained ambitions and collective forms of selfishness.
3.01pm BST
The pope notes that it’s the fifth time a pontiff has visited the UN, and reiterates his predecessors’ appreciation and esteem for the UN as a global organisation.
2.59pm BST
The pope thanks the secretary general for his kind words and greets those assembled before him, all those in the UN family, and the citizens of all the countries represented in the hall. He thanks them for their service.
2.57pm BST
The pope is speaking in his native tongue - Spanish.
2.56pm BST
The secretary general says the UN is “here to listen” to Pope Francis. Let’s see what he has to say …
2.56pm BST
Ban Ki-moon notes the pope’s identification of climate change as a principal challenge to humanity and calls him “a resounding voice of conscience” on fighting poverty and modern-day slavery.
2.54pm BST
The UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon is now speaking – in Spanish. Now he’s switched back to English. He says the UN assembly is a “sacred space” where leaders can speak to nations. But never has a pope addressed such an opening session or such a groups of world leaders. He praises the pope for his humility, charity and embracing of “selfies with young people”.
2.50pm BST
Pope Francis about to speak at the UN. pic.twitter.com/7q33RqCYPd
2.48pm BST
The pope is now being introduced to the UN general assembly.
2.46pm BST
Here he is
.@Pontifex entering @UN general assembly room. Seems quite subdued after all the cheering elsewhere #globaldev
2.45pm BST
As the cardinals and the papal security detail confer and we wait for the pope’s much-anticipated address, here’s a piece looking at the overall success of the millennium development goals - and their impact in Ghana in particular:
In 2000, the UN adopted theMillennium Declaration, vowing to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected”.
It went on to agree the eightmillennium development goals aimed at narrowing the gulf between the developed and developing world over the course of 15 years. Although the goals were only fixed in the aftermath of the declaration and designed to expire in 2015, many of them used 1990 statistics for their baseline targets, meaning they, in effect, measured progress over a 25-year period.
2.34pm BST
While the spotlight is on global leaders today, last night it was on campaigners who took to the streets in more than 100 countries. The Light the Way rallies aimed to shine a light on the sustainable development goals and call on leaders to make them a reality — which is the tricky part. Take a look at the photos we received from readers who took part.
2.33pm BST
Here’s Shakira arriving a little earlier today
#Shakira arriving at UN to sing. Waiting for #PopeFrancis pic.twitter.com/JGIsffhsiR
2.30pm BST
Meanwhile, elsewhere at the UN
Malala speaking to the UN youth delegation #globalgoals #ONEYA2015 pic.twitter.com/mB99CL7ony
2.26pm BST
Also worth a look as we prepare for the papal address is this take from the Guardian’s environment editor, John Vidal, on the pope’s recent climate change encyclical:
It’s more than 150 pages long with lots of commentary on climate, water scarcity, waste, the state of humanity, poverty, consumption, justice, morality and technology. But for all the papal encyclical’s reliance on peer-reviewed science and state of the art environmental analysis, there is only one brief mention byPope Francis of the massive population growth that has overwhelmed many countries in the past 50 years as a direct result of Catholic teaching. And there are just 11 mentions of women.
These two whopping elephants in the Basilica of St Peter throw some doubt on whether the encyclical is really a radical analysis of the state of the world intended to speak to everyone, as Francis has said he wants it to be, or is aimed at the upper echelons of a divided church in need of fresh teachings ...
2.20pm BST
While we wait for the pope to address the UN, it’s worth reading this handy guide to the summit by my colleague Clár Ní Chonghaile:
For three days this week, New York will be the centre of the world when the pope, presidents and pop stars descend on the city to ratify the sustainable development goals and celebrate the start of a new era.
The summit will adopt a new set of priorities and pledges meant to end poverty and huger, fight inequality and injustice, and achieve gender equality by 2030.Those are some of the broad aims of the 17 sustainable development goals due to be ratified by the UN’s 193 members on Friday.
2.15pm BST
As you can see from the reaction at the UN, Pope Francis’s visit to the US is something of a triumph. Here’s a bit of what my US colleagues had to say about his appearances yesterday:
Even beneath the soaring arches and columns of St Patrick’s cathedral, the atmosphere was one of frenzied adulation rather than solemn reverence. Bishops held up their smartphones to record the historic moment; the cheers, applause and whistles almost drowned out the choir
After a day in which he became the first pope to address a joint session of Congress in Washington DC, exhorting US lawmakers to open their hearts to immigrants and build a country capable of rising above partisan politics, Pope Francis took New York by storm on Thursday evening.
2.09pm BST
Children sing "Light a candle" as pope rides by in airport-style electric car pic.twitter.com/Fn4MuZ6Rx9
Pics of the mini-popemobile from CNS ...
2.07pm BST
The pope is now making his way along a UN corridor in a buggy. Lots of waving, lots of mobile phones be held aloft to capture the visit.
2.02pm BST
That address went down very well - more shouts of Viva el Papa!
2.01pm BST
“My friends, I bless each one of you from my heart,” says the pope and asks them to pray for him. If they aren’t believers, he adds, can they wish him well.
2.00pm BST
The pope calls UN staff “microcosms of the people the UN represents and seeks to serve”. Like others, he adds, they worry about their children, the fate of the planet and the future. He asks them to “care [for] one another; be close to one another; respect one another”.
1.57pm BST
“Long live the pope!” a member of the UN staff has just shouted in Spanish. Not a member of the press. Sorry.
1.55pm BST
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon gets a rapturous round of applause from welcoming the pope in Spanish. He also praises the pope’s call to action on climate change and tackling poverty.
1.55pm BST
But what exactly is today all about? What are the new sustainable development goals? And what were the millennium development goals? My colleague Liz Ford, who’s at the summit on New York, has written this handy overview. Here’s a taste:
On Friday, three years after the idea was first mooted at a summit in Rio, 193 countries are expected to ratify a new set of ambitious global goals that aim to end extreme poverty and hunger, address the impact of climate change and reduce inequality by 2030.
At the UN general assembly in New York, member states will formally adopt the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 accompanying targets resulting from the largest consultation process the UN has conducted in its 70-year history.
1.54pm BST
Podium @UN stands empty, waiting for one and only @Pontifex #PopeinNYC pic.twitter.com/xSNaT26Ozh
Joshua McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter has tweeted this scene-setting pic
1.54pm BST
@Pontifex signs @UN guest book upon arrival as #UNSG Ban Ki-moon looks on #UNGA pic.twitter.com/D8MZjfkW0J
1.53pm BST
My colleague Kary Stewart was outside the UN headquarters in New York last night, where hundreds of people gathered for a rally in support of the sustainable development goals. Among them was Amina J Mohammed, the secretary general’s special adviser on post-2015 development planning. Kary spoke to her about the long road to the SDGs:
1.52pm BST
And Pope Francis has arrived at the UN’s headquarters
Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-moon greets Pope Francis upon his arrival: http://t.co/JG90G9Uw0K pic.twitter.com/1NeVio9mMH
1.37pm BST
Good afternoon/morning/evening (depending on where you are) and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Sustainable Development Summit.
Today, the world’s political leaders – not to mention the pope and a fair few pop stars - are gathering in New York for the adoption of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which will set the global development agenda for the next 15 years.
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