By Celia Sudhoff

For several weeks now, Germany has been engaged in an intense debate about the welfare state. This was triggered by a statement made by Chancellor Merz at the CDU's North Rhine-Westphalia state party conference in Bonn at the end of August: “We simply can no longer afford the system we have today.” Specifically, he wants to cut welfare payments and relieve the burden on the pension funds by making it more attractive to work into old age.

But the welfare state is not just under pressure in Germany but also in other economically advanced countries – regardless of which political camp is in power. In the UK, the Labour Party recently only reversed drastic cuts in social services, particularly in support for people with disabilities, after intense protests. In the US, President Trump recently passed his “Big Beautiful Bill”, which is the largest social spending cut package in the country's history and particularly affects programmes such as Medicaid and food assistance (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP), jeopardising the health care of millions of citizens. Looking at the global picture, it is clear that, despite certain advances, more than one billion people worldwide still live in poverty and two billion people without any form of social security. This has devastating consequences for them and their families, their opportunities for upward mobility, and stands in contradiction to the sustainability goals of the 2030 agenda.

What can the second World Social Summit achieve?

Against the backdrop of this critical situation, 30 years after the first World Social Summit in Copenhagen in 1995, the international community will meet in Doha, Qatar, in November 2025 for the second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2). The global trend to cut social services makes it all the more important for the UN to send a strong signal in Doha in favor of social rights. Then as now, the political climate is marked by social inequality and pressure on social security systems. Participating states want to reaffirm their commitment to the Copenhagen Declaration and its programme of action as well as provide new momentum to the implementation of the social goals of the 2030 Agenda. It remains to be seen whether the WSSD2 will be able to meet these high expectations and put social policy issues higher on the global agenda.

Initial indications of the summit's potential success can be found in the “Doha Political Declaration of the World Social Summit” under the title “the Second World Summit for Social Development,” which was adopted and published last week. After a second silent procedure ended without any proposed amendments (“silence was not broken”), the final version of the Doha Declaration was published late on Friday evening, September 5, 2025.

WSSD2 promises a fresh start but progress remains limited

In principle, the agreement itself can be viewed as positive. Although the silent procedure was only successful at the second attempt, the changes are marginal. After planned agreements, such as the plastics agreement or the pandemic agreement, failed to materialise after lengthy negotiations and the US withdrew from more and more processes, the unanimous adoption of a text alone can be considered a success.

Given the tensions in multilateral cooperation, the clear commitment to implementing the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration and the 2030 Agenda is also an achievement. The text also mentions and supports other important treaties, such as the Paris Climate Agreement (2015), the Seville Commitment (2025), the Rio Declaration (1992), and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (2015). This supports previous decisions and progress.

There is also relief regarding the follow-up period. At the beginning of the negotiations, it was unclear whether progress would be evaluated every 5, 7, or 10 years. Now it is clear that every 5 years, starting in 2031, progress on the goals of the Copenhagen and Doha Declarations will be discussed and the commitment to the goals will be renewed.

Why the Doha political declaration is an important signal – and why it is not enough

But that is where the list of positives ends. The reference back to Copenhagen is important, but it is not adequate to meet the current challenges. Climate change, digitalisation, wars, migration and pandemics have changed the world significantly since 1995. Therefore, the Doha Declaration not only had the opportunity but also the obligation to move forward ambitiously. However, a new holistic approach, such as a new eco-social contract that balances the needs for social development, economic and technological progress, and combating planetary crises, is lacking.

Overall, the text is also very vague. It lacks quantifiable targets. There is also criticism regarding financing, which is particularly noticeable in the section on health care (paragraph 6g), which cites public-private partnerships (PPPs) as the only concrete example of financing health care systems. However, private financing is not always suitable for achieving progress in the protection of human rights.

In many cases, profit-oriented investments often don't lead to improvements but rather cause deterioration or, in the worst case, even human rights violations. A study by Oxfam from 2023 impressively shows that cooperation between European development banks and private healthcare providers in the Global South does not contribute to better and cheaper healthcare, but rather increases poverty and inequality.

The text also remains vague when it comes to economically sustainable growth, full employment, and fair working conditions (paragraph 3f). Although it explicitly refers to the responsibility and responsible behavior of companies (“in line with [...] international standards and frameworks”), it misses the opportunity to give more weight to binding companies to regulations. A concrete reference to the negotiations on a UN treaty on transnational corporations and human rights, which have been ongoing since 2014, could have strengthened the process. At the same time, it would have been a clear commitment that current regulations, whether national (France/Germany/Brazil), regional (EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence CSDDD) or voluntary (UNGPs), are not sufficient to close the gap in international law and end the impunity of transnational corporations. This would require a globally binding agreement. 

Other important calls from civil society also largely went ignored. For example, the commitments to combating intersectional discrimination, women's rights and the inclusion of people with disabilities could have been addressed in greater detail. This doesn't come as a surprise since the lack of inclusivity of the process has been criticised since the beginning of the year because the text for the political declaration was largely negotiated behind closed doors without any participation of civil society and affected groups.

The organisation of the summit was also a point of friction. In Doha, there are ostensibly very diverse opportunities for participation, including through the organisation of side events, so-called “Solution Sessions,” an exhibition in the “Solution Square” and the Civil Society Forum. However, it's unclear what impact civil society will be able to have at the official summit as round tables will presumably only be accessible to government delegations and, according to the current plan, the Civil Society Forum will take place parallel to the official summit. This could mean that no genuine dialogue will take place and that conversations between the various interest groups will run in silos. It's also not yet clear whether and how the decisions and demands of the Civil Society Forum will be represented in the official report.

Significant doubts remain about the summit's ability to overcome the crises of our time

In view of the attacks on the welfare state in Germany and worldwide, it is a positive step forward that social development issues are once again given a platform at the highest UN levels through the second World Social Summit. This is also reflected in the fact that the process is now more visible in Germany: The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) is actively supporting the preparations and the country's Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Bärbel Bas is scheduled to lead the German delegation in Doha. However, if Germany wants to be a credible pioneer on welfare issues, it must not only actively support international processes but also demonstrate within its own country that it prioritises social security, inclusion and human rights.

While setbacks compared to Copenhagen 1995 or Agenda 2030 have largely been prevented, there have not been any major ambitious leaps forward. There is no sign of a progressive approach such as a new “eco-social contract” that combines social development with economic progress and the management of planetary crises. This leaves considerable doubt as to whether the summit can actually contribute to addressing the central challenges of our time. 

A decisive element will be how inclusive the process ultimately will turn out. Without genuine participation and consultation of those affected, and that includes especially women, the elderly, people with disabilities, migrants and other vulnerable groups, the measures that may be adopted are unlikely to be tailored to their needs and risk losing their intended impact.