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Conflict and poverty have a close and cyclical relationship. Conflict directly impacts poverty and is also fed by it. Some 40 per cent of the 700 million people experiencing extreme poverty live in conflict-affected settings. Further, none out of 10 countries with the lowest Human Development Index are in a state of conflict currently.
To break this cycle, the world must prioritise investing in development, urged the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. “Poverty breeds despair. Despair fuels unrest. And unrest tears at the fabric of societies — feeding mistrust, fear and violence,” he said, speaking at the United Nations Security Council open debate on “Poverty, underdevelopment and conflict: Implications for the maintenance of international peace and security” in New York on June 19, 2025.
In places with slow development, malices such as inequality, corruption, human rights violations and terrorism thrive, and institutions are weakened, he added. Climate instabilities make it more challenging to effect a change.
The current conditions of taut global tensions are reversing gains, and things may become worse in the coming day, Guterres warned. “Conflicts are proliferating and lasting longer, displacing more than 120 million people from their homes — an unprecedented number of individuals with disrupted lives and futures.”
The scope for solutions is also shrinking amid “rampant geopolitical mistrust and divisions”, the Secretary-General added. If the current trends of economic slowdown, higher trade tensions, dwindling aid budgets and higher military spending continues, Guterres warned, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in conflict-affected or fragile countries by 2030.
Investing in development, he said, is the best way to prevent conflict. “Development gives peace a fighting chance. It’s the first line of defence against conflict. But, right now, we’re losing ground. After decades of steady progress, we’re facing a development emergency.”
It has been a decade since the world adopted the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals. But a shocking two-thirds of the targets to achieve these goals are off-track, pointed out Guterres. “The world is falling short by over $4 trillion annually in the resources developing countries need to deliver on these promises by 2030.”
He highlighted the financial challenges developing countries are already grappling with, as they feel the urgent need to develop. These include “limited fiscal space, crushing debt burdens and skyrocketing prices”.
He called for countries to renew their domestic and global commitments at the upcoming fourth Conference on Financing for Development. This will be needed to channel public and private finance to areas of most need.
He also advocated for urgent debt relief for countries stuck in a debt servicing trap and reshaping the global finance architecture to be more attuned to the realities and needs of developing countries.
Investments should focus on food security, education, healthcare, livelihood generation and social protection, he opined. For meeting climate goals, he proposed stregthening of green technology and extreme weather resilience. He also prescribed more equitable mobility, food, water and internet access and governance systems that are just and trustworthy. These, he stressed, are the pathways to bring peace and address poverty.
