The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by United Nations member states in 2015 marked a bold global commitment to reimagine a future shaped by justice, equity, peace and sustainability. The agenda’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, have led to critical action on climate change, health and education. Yet progress remains uneven and fragile.
Over more than 40 years of working to protect children, I have seen the harsh reality and can say with certainty that no group bears the weight of injustice more than children. They are disproportionately affected by poverty and conflict, and in many parts of the world, they are pushed into exploitative labour, denied the chance to go to school, face poor health outcomes, and lack access to clean water and nutrition. These are not isolated challenges but interwoven injustices that rob children of their rights and freedom.
Despite many initiatives undertaken and millions of dollars spent, last year’s UN Sustainable Development Goals Report found that the world is on track to meet just 17 per cent of these SDG targets. I feel deeply ashamed that we have betrayed our children yet again by missing this year’s target of achieving SDG 8.7 – a commitment to ending all forms of child labour by 2025 as part of a broader effort to end slavery, trafficking and forced labour, including child soldiers.
Our promise to leave no one behind now seems hollow. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the world was off track with respect to Agenda 2030. It is appalling that in 2021, the number of child labourers worldwide increased from 152 million to 160 million. These are not mere numbers – these are children who have been denied justice, who are not free to enjoy their childhood, and who have work tools in their hands instead of books and toys. These are children who we have left behind.
We have created so many borders, walls and wars. The effect of conflict on children is catastrophic and often irreversible. Children do not create wars, insurgencies or natural disasters, nor are they responsible for any other humanitarian crisis. Nevertheless, they end up caught in the crossfire, often literally. More than 47 million children have been displaced by conflict and violence. Do we really want to pass on this legacy of fear, helplessness and violence to future generations?
As a buzzword, the SDGs remain popular. Corporations, civil society groups and the media have embraced SDGs, often aligning their goals with them. But what real progress are we making? How can we claim to have achieved anything if we leave our children behind? For me, the yardstick of progress is that every child receives their fair share of resources under an umbrella of supportive policies and social protection.
Why have we failed? The gap between those suffering from problems and those who can solve them is vast and continues to grow every day. We lack the moral accountability and the responsibility to bridge this gap.
As global connectivity grows, we are seeing a paradox emerge in the global political environment between aggressive politics, aggressive faith and aggressive capitalism that is fostering a hyper-competitive and commercial society. Our behaviours have increasingly become transactional; often, we do only what will benefit us, even if it is at someone else’s cost.
The real, long-term solution is for us to remind ourselves, constantly, of our capacity for compassion. Based on this philosophy, I founded the Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion (SMGC) last year, which calls for action in a world plagued by inequality, conflict and injustice. We need to “globalise” compassion.
What do I mean by this? The quality of compassion is traditionally perceived – and has been preached for ages – as a soft, gentle emotion. It is, in reality, a powerful force with transformative power. It is like the air we breathe. Without it, humanity will fail. Compassion is the only force that will unite us and allow us to look beyond our differences.
A definition of compassion based on my humble experience of almost half a century’s struggle for liberty, dignity and justice for every child is that it is the force born from feeling the suffering of others as one’s own, a force that drives mindful and selfless action to end that suffering. We need more of this in the world if we are to achieve the SDGs.
To increase the capacity of something, you need to be able to measure it in the first place. We are in the process of developing Compassion Quotient (CQ), which aims to measure individuals’ compassion in a similar way to measuring their Intelligence Quotient (IQ) or Emotional Quotient (EQ). Using a multidisciplinary approach, we are developing a comprehensive framework to measure and enhance the level of CQ in individuals and organisations.
One of our goals at SMGC is to integrate compassion, as a measurable and cultivable trait, into educational curriculums and leadership programmes. We also want to develop indices and metrics to assess compassionate action at a policy level, so as to eventually mainstream the idea of compassion being a guiding principle in global governance.
Compassion is essential to ending suffering, and while many leaders speak of it in their speeches, it is time we turn those words into action and hold ourselves accountable. We no longer have the luxury of merely showing intent. We have no choice now but to act with compassion and urgency.
Collectively, the world has never been wealthier – economically, intellectually or technologically. It is clear that we need to redefine our approach to life and society. We must build compassionate leadership in all walks of life, whether it is education, the judiciary, governance, or healthcare.
This evolution in our thinking would benefit everyone, but, again, most of all, it will benefit our children, who will one day be leaders in their own right, responsible for taking these ideas forward. I refuse to accept that, with all the resources at our disposal, we cannot ensure their freedom, safety, health and education. If we do that, they will be better-placed as adults to ensure it for the generations to follow.
