Financial Inclusion for Sustainable Development

A/RES/72/206View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 17eFinancial inclusion for sustainable development, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

6 versions · 2016–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/125

2025A/RES/80/125Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/139Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/195Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/205Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/206Financial inclusion for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 topics

Development Finance Financial Services Sustainable Development

What does this mandate say?

13 operative paragraphs

Recalls the inclusion in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of, inter alia, several targets related to the promotion of financial inclusion, recalls that the Sustainable Development Goals and associated targets are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development, and in this regard looks forward to their achievement;

Also recalls the inclusion in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development of, inter alia, several policies and actions intended to ensure a policy and regulatory environment for the promotion of financial inclusion, and in this regard looks forward to their implementation;

Reaffirms its decision to give consideration, as appropriate, to financial inclusion in the follow-up and review framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in the follow-up process of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda;

Takes note of the consideration given to financial inclusion in the report of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development 2017, stresses that, while significant progress has been made in financial market deepening in developing countries, financial depth does not always facilitate widespread access to financial services, and remains concerned that, globally, 2 billion people, primarily in rural areas in developing countries, do not have access to formal financial services and that, despite increased account ownership among women, the financial inclusion gender gap remains;

Notes that there is evidence that countries that adopt national financial inclusion strategies reduce financial exclusion twice as fast as those that do not, and in this regard encourages Member States to consider the convenience of adopting and pursuing national financial inclusion strategies and gender-responsive strategies, to end the structural barriers to women’s equal access to economic resources and to expand peer learning, experience-sharing and capacity-building among countries and regions in this respect;

Recognizes the potential of science, technology and innovation, especially new technologies, for the promotion of financial inclusion, to offer affordable ways to access finance for the financially excluded, and supports concrete actions to advance digital financial inclusion while improving responsible digital financial practices to protect consumers, which can help to improve access to finance;

Acknowledges the efforts and actions on financial inclusion for sustainable development undertaken by a wide range of stakeholders working in partnership, such as the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, the Better Than Cash Alliance and the Group of 20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, urges them to engage in an inclusive and transparent manner with the Member States in their work, in order to ensure that their initiatives complement or strengthen the United Nations system, including the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the regional commissions, and encourages enhanced coordination and cooperation with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development;

Encourages the international community, including Member States, and all relevant stakeholders, including the entities of the United Nations system, international financial institutions, other intergovernmental bodies, regional and national development banks, domestic financial institutions, credit unions, multi-stakeholder partnerships and relevant non-governmental organizations, as appropriate, to further develop financial literacy and financial education programmes that include an emphasis on the impact of finance on sustainable development, as appropriate, in order to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to access financial services, in particular women and girls, farmers and those working in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises;

Acknowledges that, in the absence of strong financial consumer protection, the growth-enhancing benefits of expanded financial inclusion may be lost or severely undermined, and in this regard stresses the importance of scaled-up action to improve financial literacy and effective consumer protection for the most poor and vulnerable, including for women and young people;

Encourages Member States and all relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, in the context of a renewed and strengthened Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, led by Governments, to continue efforts to reduce the transaction costs of migrant remittances to less than 3 per cent by 2030 and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent by 2030, to support national authorities in addressing the most significant obstacles to the continued flow of remittances, such as the trend of banks withdrawing services, and to work towards access to remittance transfer services across borders;

Looks forward to the continuing consideration of financial inclusion in the forthcoming reports of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development, as appropriate and in accordance with existing mandates, as well as in the annual report of the Secretary-General on progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and to the further consideration of financial inclusion for sustainable development at the 2018 Economic and Social Council forum on financing for development follow-up;

Calls upon the relevant organizations of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates and resources, to ensure that no one is left behind and no country is left behind in the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include, under the item entitled “Macroeconomic policy questions”, the sub-item entitled “Financial inclusion for sustainable development”, in the provisional agenda of its seventy-fourth session.

Paragraph content is machine-extracted from UN documents. For authoritative content, please refer to the official UN document.

No headings found in this document.

Who created this mandate?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What does this mandate say?

Table of contents