PURPOSE: The United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation observed every year on 12 September; aims to raise people's awareness of the UN's efforts to work on technical cooperation among developing countries. It also celebrates the economic, social and political developments made in recent years by regions and countries in the south. It is a time for individuals and organizations to agree on the importance of South-South cooperation, in complementing North-South cooperation, to support low-income countries in achieving development goals. On this day political leaders from different countries reaffirm their goals in working with UN leaders to reinforce or strengthen ties on their commitment to South-South cooperation in developing countries.
FORUM: "Solidarity, Equity and Partnership: Unlocking South-South Cooperation to Achieve the SDGs." United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation 2023. This year’s United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation will fall one week prior to the 2023 SDG Summit, and will be an opportunity to raise awareness and accelerate practical actions as we arrive at this halfway point to 2030. The commemoration – organized by the UNOSSC, together with the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations – will be an opportunity to highlight needs emerging from various regions as well as to present transformational initiatives toward achieving the most acute priorities of the 2023 Agenda by Member States, the UN System, private sector, and civil society. During the 21st session of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation, the United Nations Member States recognized the development impacts of robust catalytic collaborations among the countries of the Global South in the areas of trade, investment, regional integration, and digitalization among others. Several reports issued prior to this High-level Committee session illustrated how Southern countries are strengthening institutional capacities while intensifying experience sharing and exchange of good practices toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, recent global discussions – including the 2023 Development Cooperation Forum and High-Level Political Forum – have recognized the urgent need to leverage South-South cooperation as a means to address the challenges the world is facing in an sustainable and equitable manner. By harnessing the power of shared experiences, knowledge, and resources, countries can enhance their capacity to address climate change, ensure equitable development, and secure a sustainable future for all. Through leveraging South-South and triangular cooperation – as envisioned in the outcome of the Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40) – there is an opportunity to address both immediate and long-term needs together, supporting countries to get back on track towards achieving the SDGs. This year’s ‘ 2023 Report of the Secretary-General on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals’reminds us that it will take exceptional efforts and commitments to deliver a “rescue plan for people and planet.” The task ahead is daunting, but still possible. Unlocking the potential of South-South cooperation offers hope for concerted action and results. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #12september, #SouthSouth, #TriangularCooperation, and #SouthSouthCooperation.
EVENTS: Celebration of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation 2023. A High-level Panel Discussion will be hold on September 12th, from 3 pm to 4:30 pm in the ECOSOC Chamber at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
STATEMENTS: Statement by the United Nations Secretary-General on United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation 2023.
PODCASTS: Identifying concrete ways to scale up and adapt solutions to enhance South-South Cooperation. Key Priorities and Future Directions in Advancing South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable COVID-19 Recovery: Towards a Smart and Resilient Future. Listen to the audio podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: Through South-South collaboration, developing countries share knowledge, skills, expertise and resources to meet their development goals through concerted efforts.
WHY WE CELEBRATE THE DAY?
ACTIONS
The objectives of South-South Cooperation are to:
Support the countries of the Global South in collaborative spirit of cooperation
Facilitate South-South initiatives through the provision of funding, training, management and technological systems, as well as other forms of support.
foster and strengthen the self-reliance of developing countries by enhancing their creative capacity to find solutions and technological capacities to their development problems and formulate the requisite strategies to address them;
promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among developing countries through the exchange of experiences leading to a greater awareness of common problems and wider access to available knowledge;
recognize and respond to the problems and requirements of the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States and the countries most seriously affected by, for example, natural disasters and other crises, and enable them to achieve a greater degree of participation in international economic activities.
PARTNERSHIPS
The United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation is organized by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), theOffice of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), the Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (OSAA), the Partners in Population and Development (PPD), the U.N. Children Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank Group - International Finance Corporation, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the Economic and Social Commission for Africa (ECA), the Global South-South Development (GSSD) Expo, the South-South Galaxy, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the BRICS and several International and Regional Organizations; Civil Society Organizations and Non-Governemental organization.
The Unted Nations General Assembly proclaimed September 12th as the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation to highlight the importance of South-South cooperation and to mark the day in 1978 when the United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries adopted the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (A/C.2/66/L.48). Through cooperation and the promotion of the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, the UNOSSC is spreading awareness on the economic, social and political developments made and highlighting United Nations efforts to work on technical cooperation among developing countries.
Many countries in the South have built up significant financial and technical capacities. They have begun to transfer some of these resources, on concessional and non-concessional terms, to other countries in the South in the context of an inclusive approach to the management of global problems, spreading the benefits of globalization more widely, creating new markets, and building a broader foundation for sustainable economic growth. All these efforts were reaffirmed and extended with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the UN General Assembly.