In 2024 global military spending reached $2.7 trillion, while the funding gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains at $4 trillion per year. For every dollar invested in peace, two are spent on war. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations tells the UN that: “Every increase in military spending represents resources that could have been used to meet people’s basic needs and to establish a lasting peace.”
Vatican News
“The vision of multilateralism for the common good is at odds with the current context of rising military expenditure and falling Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments,” said Archbishop Caccia, summarizing the paradox of our times. While military spending has hit $2.7 trillion in 2024, the annual funding gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains at $4 trillion. This means that for every dollar spent on peace, two are spent on war; that resources meant for life continue to be outpaced by those used for destruction.
A paradox that undermines multilateralism
“Every increase in military spending,” Archbishop Caccia warned, “represents resources that could have been used to meet people’s basic needs and to establish a lasting peace.” Instead of being invested in healthcare, education, or food systems, these funds—citing Pope Leo XIV—are diverted toward weapons “that destroy lives and livelihoods.” This paradox, he added, “undermines the spirit of fraternity on which multilateralism depends, making the goal of sustainable development increasingly unattainable.”
Full confidence in the United Nations
The Archbishop noted that a renewed commitment to multilateralism offers “the most reliable basis for lasting-solutions”—and the United Nations “continues to serve as a beacon of hope for multilateralism.” In a world increasingly torn by conflict and division, said Archbishop Caccia, “this institution represents the conviction that dialogue and cooperation are the only lasting paths to peace and development.” Moreover, such cooperation shows “the path to which the entire international community should be committed.”
The burden of debt
Adding to this imbalance is the weight of debt, which especially burdens the least developed countries, landlocked nations, and small island states—condemning them to structural dependence. In a second statement, Archbishop Caccia emphasized that “at stake are both the achievement of integral development for all and the principle that every country must be treated with equal respect and as an equal partner in the international community.”
He denounced “the unsustainable debt burden” and reiterated the need for debt cancellation. In the Jubilee Year, he stressed, this “is not only an economic policy choice, but a above all a moral imperative” for the Holy See. “The global financial system must be directed towards the goal of attaining the common good of the human family.” In this sense, the international community is called to a renewed sense of shared responsibility.
