The EU told the UN General Assembly it remained committed to eradicating poverty and reducing inequality, citing new EU plans and continued development support, according to a statement delivered in New York.
The statement — made on behalf of the European Union and its member states for Nelson Mandela International Day — quoted Mandela saying poverty “is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.”
A number of non-EU countries said they aligned themselves with the EU’s statement, including the UK, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, as well as several EU candidate countries.
In the EU, the European Commission adopted an EU Anti-Poverty Strategy this spring that sets a goal of eradicating poverty in the bloc by 2050 and lifting at least 15 million people out of poverty or social exclusion by 2030.
It also pointed to the European Child Guarantee, an EU initiative it said was intended to help break the cycle of child poverty by improving access to services such as childcare, education, healthcare, mental health support and assistance for vulnerable children and their families.
Development aid and global poverty goals
Beyond Europe, the EU said it works with developing countries towards the UN’s 2030 Agenda — a global plan built around Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including ending poverty — and to ensure “no one is left behind”.
The EU and its member states said they remain the biggest providers of official development assistance through the UN system, while noting “with concern” what it called a historical decline in official development assistance worldwide in 2025.
The statement also highlighted “decent work” — the International Labour Organization’s term for jobs that provide fair income, security and rights at work — as well as universal social protection, which it said reduces poverty and inequality.
The EU referred to last year’s World Social Summit and the adoption of the Doha Declaration, saying it demonstrated multilateral cooperation “remain[s] indispensable.”
