Ombudsman’s Office at the United Nations Social Forum 2024 on ‘Human Rights and Financing for Development’

The Ombudsman’s Office, the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), took part in the United Nations Social Forum 2024, held on 31 October and 1 November in Geneva. The event, attended by the Office’s Deputy Sofia Duarte, was attended by representatives of governments, NHRIs and civil society organisations from various countries, among others. representatives of governments, NHRIs and civil society organisations from various countries, among others.

Under the theme ‘Human Rights and Development Financing,’ the Forum emphasised the inseparability between the promotion of human rights and sustainable development. The need for a fairer and more inclusive international financial architecture was highlighted, allowing essential resources to be channelled to priority areas such as health, education and social protection.

Held a month after the approval of the Pact for the Future, the Social Forum 2024 served as a platform to prepare for the 4th Conference on Financing for Development, which will take place in 2025 in Seville. The presence of NHRIs highlighted the importance of the contribution of these institutions, as defenders of human rights, to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, with the fundamental aim of placing human rights at the centre of public policy-making and the reform of the international financial architecture.