Statement by the Director-General, Ms. Jan Beagle
“UN@80: Catalyzing Change for Sustainable Development”
New York, 23 July 2025
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
It is a pleasure to join this discussion on behalf of the International Development Law Organization.
The 80th anniversary of the United Nations is a milestone that calls for celebration but, also, critical reflection on how we can rise to the challenges of the current moment.
This year’s Sustainable Development Goals Report confirms that the 2030 Agenda is significantly off track and is at the risk of becoming a “mirage” if urgent action is not taken.
At the annual SDG 16 Conference – organised by IDLO, Italy and DESA in May – we heard many powerful examples of how investing in the rule of law and justice can catalyse transformative change.
Allow me to share three.
First, the rule of law is critical to rebuilding trust.
People-centred justice systems empower people and communities to claim their rights, and give them confidence that institutions are working in the interest of all, rather than a privileged few.
Strengthening governance, promoting transparency, addressing corruption, and ensuring participatory decision-making, can attract investment, generate economic opportunity, and lift people out of poverty.
Secondly, the rule of law, most prominently reflected in Goal 16, drives progress across the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
Effective laws and accessible and accountable institutions are needed to implement all the SDGs, from promoting economic growth, to closing the justice gap for women and girls, and reducing health inequalities.
Third and finally, the rule of law is essential to reinvigorate multilateralism and address complex, transnational challenges.
The rule of law offers a framework for joint action based on shared principles of justice, sovereign equality, and respect for human rights.
It can help build fair and efficient mechanisms that incentivize concerted global action, while balancing the needs of the present with the interests of the future, and turn policy agreements – such as those in the Pact of the Future and the Compromiso de Sevilla – into tangible improvements in people’s lives.
IDLO is committed to collaborating with all of you to fulfil the promise that inspired the founding of the United Nations.
There is no better investment that we can make in our collective future, and it is the best way for us to stand in solidarity with “future generations”.