World Leaders in Doha Reaffirm Commitment to Decent Work and Social Inclusion

DOHA, Qatar — Over 40 heads of state and government, alongside some 14,000 participants, gathered at the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha from 4 to 6 November 2025 to renew global commitments to end poverty, promote decent work, and advance social inclusion.

Opening the summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underscored that social justice and human dignity must remain at the core of development efforts.

“True development isn’t about prosperity for the few. It’s about opportunities for the many, grounded in social justice, full employment, and human dignity,” he stated.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Doha summit served as an opportunity to renew the promise made 30 years ago to eradicate poverty and promote decent work for all.

“Let us renew the promise to promote decent work and social inclusion,” declared ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo, urging governments, employers, and workers to cooperate in advancing living wages, social protection, and equality.

The ILO emphasized that social protection systems and fair wages are essential pillars of inclusive and sustainable social development. 

The summit, held at Doha’s international convention center, featured two main high-level roundtables:

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   Strengthening the three pillars of social development poverty eradication, full and productive employment, and social inclusion.

   
   


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   Assessing global progress and identifying gaps in implementing commitments made at the 1995 Copenhagen World Summit.

   
   

Delegates from UN member states, international organizations, workers’ unions, employers, youth, and civil society joined the dialogue. The outcome aimed to reaffirm social development as the foundation of peace, prosperity, and equality.

According to UN data, nearly 1.5 billion people have escaped extreme poverty since 1995, and the global working poverty rate has fallen from 27.9% to 6.9% in 2024. However, challenges remain:

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  808 million people still live in extreme poverty.

  
  


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  1.1 billion experience multidimensional poverty.

  
  


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  58% of global workers remain in informal employment.

  
  


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  The gender pay gap could take 50 to 100 years to close at the current pace.

  
  

The summit concluded with the adoption of the Doha Political Declaration, which reaffirms the global commitment to social justice, equal opportunities, and inclusive economic transitions. The declaration calls for expanding social protection systems, promoting fair digital economies, and ensuring that “no one is left behind.”

As the ILO noted, the path forward requires a “new multilateralism rooted in social justice and decent work for all.” The Doha Summit marked a pivotal moment for the international community placing social development not as an accessory to economic policy, but as its moral and structural foundation for the decade ahead.