World Summit for Social Development in Doha: everyone has the right to decent work and social protection

From 4 to 6 November 2025, the Second World Summit for Social Development took place in Doha (Qatar). The summit resulted in a renewed global commitment to social justice, decent work, and human dignity. Through its mission in New York, Belgium acted as a neutral co-facilitator and contributed significantly to a solid final declaration.

It is often pointed out that the international order is under pressure. The United Nations (UN) is in crisis, and multilateralism – the willingness to seek solutions within an international framework – is faltering.

Not all hope is lost

However, all hope is certainly not lost. Somewhat behind the scenes, the international community continues to work hard to restore trust in international institutions.

Last year, we reported that the UN General Assembly led to the adoption of a Pact for the Future. While that pact is less ambitious than many had hoped, it outlines a path to adapt the UN to the current global balance of power.

Building on that same momentum, the UN financing conference in Seville earlier this year reached a promising compromise aimed at securing sufficient resources for sustainable development in the Global South.

And from 4 to 6 November 2025, the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha (Qatar) focused on social justice. In a clear final declaration, all UN member states renewed their commitment to fighting poverty, creating decent jobs, promoting equality, and protecting human rights.

Progress is unevenly distributed and fragile

Social justice and inclusive societies – where everyone plays a part – have been on the agenda for a long time. As early as 1995, a first World Summit for Social Development took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. The resulting declaration recognised three intertwined pillars: (1) eradication of poverty, (2) full and productive employment and decent work for all, and (3) social integration.

Since then, considerable progress has been made. Extreme poverty has been halved. Far more children – especially girls – attend school. Thanks to improved healthcare, people live healthier and longer lives. Global unemployment rates are very low, and more women have jobs.

However, this progress remains unevenly distributed and fragile. Inequalities in wealth and income are widening. Around three billion people live in inadequate housing, and 300 million are homeless. Vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, the elderly, and Indigenous peoples remain excluded from full participation in society.

Moreover, new challenges have emerged: conflicts, climate disruption, pandemics, digital inequalities… Last but not least, trust in institutions is eroding.

The final declaration is brief but solid

A second world summit – 30 years after the first – was therefore urgently needed, and it delivered a satisfactory outcome. The brief yet solid final declaration (17 pages), formally adopted at the Doha summit, outlines a clear path to collectively tackle both current and future challenges in the field of social development. This includes:

• Universal social protection that meets everyone’s needs, including some form of social security in case of illness, disability, unemployment, old age, etc.
• Universal health insurance that guarantees access to high-quality physical and mental healthcare for all citizens.
• Societies free from disinformation and hate speech. We must safeguard democratic values such as freedom of expression and the right to privacy.
• Young people, older people, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups must be involved in shaping policy.

Many critical areas are addressed

In addition, many critical areas are addressed, such as poverty reduction (in all its forms), decent work (job creation, training…), food security, health, adaptation to climate disruption, and equal access to digital technologies and financing.

To achieve gender equality, the Doha declaration aims to remove the barriers that prevent women from fully participating in society. It also seeks to ease the burden of unpaid care work carried out by women and to tackle gender-based violence.

As for social integration, it commits to fighting discrimination, promoting solidarity between generations, addressing homelessness and empowering marginalised groups.

Importantly, the declaration explicitly states that social development is not only a moral obligation but also essential for peace, stability, and sustainable growth.

There are hopeful signs for concrete action and results

Will the Doha declaration end up as just another promising text with limited impact? Several hopeful signs suggest that efforts will be made to deliver on its commitments.

First of all, the negotiations took place in a constructive atmosphere. The text was agreed by consensus two months before the summit even started. And while the final text is still a compromise, it rests on a solid foundation. The negotiating countries did not go out of their way to water down sensitive points or remove them altogether. In fact, unanimity on the final declaration was reached as early as 5 September in New York. The main caveat is that the United States distanced itself from the process and did not take part in the negotiations.

Furthermore, the declaration includes a strong follow-up mechanism. In 2031 – and every five years thereafter – there will be a high-level review by the General Assembly. Belgium and Morocco pushed for 2031 as the first review date, as by then the shape of the post-SDG era will be clear (SDGs = Sustainable Development Goals).

All relevant UN bodies – agencies, funds, programmes – will fully integrate the political declaration into their work programmes and be closely involved in the follow-up. The fact that the text is concise and easy to read will help in this regard. The International Labour Organization (ILO), for which decent work is its core mandate, is already actively engaged.

Finally, it is noteworthy that the declaration is supported by society at large and enjoys strong backing from civil society. In Doha, not only government negotiators, ministers, and heads of state were actively involved, but also NGOs, trade unions, employers’ organisations, academics, and young people. These are all essential players for turning decisions into effective action.

Belgium enjoyed very high visibility

During the summit, Belgium enjoyed very high visibility. This was partly due to the presence of King Philippe, who addressed the participants at the opening. He also held meetings with the emir of Qatar and UN Secretary-General Guterres.

The UN had also designated our country to act as (neutral) co-facilitator alongside Morocco. In practice, this meant that Sophie De Smedt, our Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, led the negotiations on the political declaration together with her Moroccan counterpart Omar Hilale. She was supported by her First Secretary, Frederic Van Peteghem.

Afterwards, both co-facilitators received much praise from various quarters: from member states, the secretariat, UN agencies, and civil society. Successfully steering the sometimes intense and complex negotiations as a neutral honest broker contributed to a strong final text.

A key factor in our success was the excellent relationship with our Moroccan partner and the trust we built with all delegations. Morocco and Belgium also kept firm control of the text to ensure a member state-driven process. Through numerous informal contacts during coffee and lunch breaks, we gained insight into what truly mattered to the countries (their red lines) and were better able to forge consensus. Finally, it proved essential to show creativity and apply extra pressure at the end to prevent objections.

In addition, a fairly extensive Belgian delegation was present, including colleagues from the central administration, our embassy in Doha, and the Belgian development agency Enabel. Minister Beenders stood in for our minister Prévot.

Our delegation co-organised five side events that highlighted youth, as well as the role of development cooperation and an inclusive digital economy. Meetings were held with, among others, Congolese President Tshisekedi, ILO Director-General Houngbo, Jacqueline Mugo, the head of the International Organisation of Employers, and Luc Triangle, the Belgian head of the International Trade Union Confederation.

“Social progress can only be achieved if each and every one of us works towards it day by day.”

In short, it was a highly successful summit to which Belgium made a strong contribution. Host country Qatar also played its role as organiser with aplomb and ensured a strong presence, while also recognising the important role of civil society.

We conclude with the words of King Philippe: “Social progress as a cornerstone of a peaceful and sustainable world can only be achieved if each and every one of us works day by day, in our own countries and between Nations, to remove all that is causing division and prejudice. We should spare no effort to build bridges and create a spirit of trust and hope for the future.” The Doha declaration already points the way forward.