The co-facilitators of the modalities and outcome of the intergovernmental preparatory process leading up to the Second World Summit for Social Development in November have published a zero draft of the political declaration to be adopted at the Summit. The presentation and first informal discussion of the zero draft, during which delegations provided initial feedback and general comments and proposals, took place on 9 May 2025.

Permanent Representative of Belgium Sophie De Smedt and Permanent Representative of Morocco Omar Hilale made the zero draft available in a letter dated 24 April 2025, circulated by UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Philemon Yang the same day.

The ten-page document outlines a vision for the future and an assessment of progress and gaps in the implementation of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action and the social dimension of sustainable development.

In it, Member States recommit to core principles as reflected in the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA), and the outcomes of the 2023 SDG Summit and the 2024 Summit of the Future (SoF).

Member States reaffirm poverty eradication, full and productive employment and decent work for all, and social integration as the mutually reinforcing pillars of social development, acknowledging poverty eradication as the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. The zero draft declaration leverages these three core pillars of social development to formulate a call to action to close implementation gaps and give momentum to the realization of the 2030 Agenda.

A dedicated section on cross-cutting issues addresses: food security and nutrition; physical and mental health to meet universal health coverage (UHC); ways to harness technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to advance social development; quality education and life-long learning; climate resilience, just transition, and disaster risk reduction (DRR); gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; adequate housing, urbanization, and water and sanitation; migration; and financing for social development.

The draft also includes commitments on follow-up, review, and implementation of the political declaration.

The 2025 World Social Summit follows the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, which established “a vision of people-centred development and a global commitment to social development.” The proposal to convene a World Social Summit in 2025 originates from the UN Secretary-General’s ‘Our Common Agenda’ report. [World Social Summit 2025]