Historic UN Resolution Places Animal Welfare at Heart of Sustainable Development

World environment ministers converging in Nairobi, Kenya for the 5th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) have adopted a resolution on Animal Welfare.

The resolution dubbed ‘Animal Welfare – Environment – Sustainable Development Nexus’ was adopted in what marks the beginning of a critical global conversation regarding the inevitable interlinkages across animal welfare, the environment and sustainable development.

The drafting process which began in 2019 concluded with the ultimate tabling of the resolution by Seven sponsoring countries: Ghana, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Senegal, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Democratic Republic of Congo. The resolution gained a near-universal concurrence among Member States.

Tennyson Williams, Country Director, World Animal Protection said: “This is an exciting development since, animal welfare has been neglected in most international sustainable development strategies. There was no better time of adopting this resolution than now.

United Nations Environment Assembly has clearly sent a strong message demonstrating that the world is waking up especially after the ravages of Covid 19. While we might not be sure where coronavirus originated, we do know that habitat destruction, factory farming, and wildlife trade contribute to emergence of infectious diseases.

This is a bold step that should provoke other policy bodies to recognize the sentience of animals as it is inextricably linked to the conservation of the environment and promotion of people’s livelihoods.

The task is now on the implementation of this resolution which will require transformative changes to guarantee success.”