Author: Maria Fornella-Oehninger
Soroptimist International Representative to the UN, NYHQ
From 4–6 November 2025 in Doha, Qatar, Heads of State and Government will meet for the Second World Summit for Social Development, as mandated by UN General Assembly resolutions 78/261 and 78/318. The aim is to reaffirm and accelerate commitments made in the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, while advancing the 2030 Agenda. Taking place amid widening inequalities, demographic shifts, and rapid technological and environmental change, the summit will provide a high-level platform for governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, and the UN system to coordinate action and ensure no one is left behind.
In 1995, the first World Summit on Social Development took place in an atmosphere of high expectations, in a newly unified Europe. Civil society, governments, and communities came together in unprecedented numbers. The Cold War had ended, economic globalization was advancing rapidly, and borders seemed to be vanishing—people, goods, and services moving more freely across the world. There was hope that democracy and prosperity would take root, with the great tide of globalization lifting all boats. There was a new Human Rights momentum in a climate of multilateral consensus and responsibility. Apartheid had ended in South Africa, and the 1993 Vienna Conference on Human Rights had expanded the scope of Human Rights framework to include women, children and indigenous people. Yet, even amid this celebratory environment, as multilateral consensus and civil society participation flourished, neoliberalism was already recasting the role of the state with its imposed austerity measures, weakening its capacity to ensure protection and equality. Economic growth, trade liberalization and poverty eradication took precedence over environmental concerns.
This new multilateral consensus on development appeared strong, but the winds of deregulation, austerity measures imposed on the South by the North, and market dominance would become their biggest challenge.
The Copenhagen Declaration helped elevate social development as a global priority and resulted in meaningful gains in education, poverty reduction, and women’s political participation. However, its vision of a world free from poverty, with full employment and comprehensive social inclusion, remains far from realized.
Today—thirty years later—the 2025 Doha Summit faces the dual task of closing persistent gaps and addressing new structural challenges, particularly digital transformation, climate change, and an increasingly fragmented global economy. The political environment is far harsher. A polarized geopolitical climate has replaced the multilateral spirit of the 90s and led to “closed door diplomacy” and unprecedented push back against civil society. The promise of peace and free movement has now been superseded by war in Ukraine, anti-immigrant sentiment everywhere, new trade barriers, and rising international tariffs imposed by the United States. The paradox is striking—global problems have deepened, but global solidarity and multilateral governance have deteriorated. In this atmosphere, the private sector dominates international meetings, while civil society’s space contracts.
Still, our role is clear. We will be present at Doha to reaffirm the importance of upholding the commitments made in Copenhagen, emphasizing that equality, gender equity, decent work and inclusion, as well as human dignity, are human rights rather than optional considerations by governments. And we will demand accountability through continuous monitoring and evaluation of progress made and commitments met.
