Holy See: Unfair international trade rules hold back landlocked nations

August 11, 2025

Addressing an international conference on landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), a Vatican diplomat said that “one systemic barrier to eradicating poverty for many LLDCs is unfair trade.”

The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations attributed the statement to Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. The Vatican newspaper attributed the statement to Msgr. Arnaud du Cheyron de Beaumont, a Vatican diplomat in Turkey, who led the Holy See’s delegation to the conference.

“Poverty is not inevitable; it is the consequence of unjust structures and policy choices, and therefore it can and must be overcome,” said the diplomat. “Trade must be shaped by the demands of justice and solidarity.”

Citing the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the diplomat explained:

Trade must be founded on the principle of the universal destination of goods, that is, “for every person and for all peoples the conditions necessary for integral development, so that everyone can contribute to making a more humane world.” Countries penalized by unfair international trade rules often suffer from a scarcity of capital, which is frequently compounded by the burden of foreign debt. In such cases, intensive and excessive environmental exploitation is almost inevitable, leading to hunger and poverty.

 

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Further information:

• The Holy See Delivers Statement at the Third International Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries Awaza (Turkmenistan) (Holy See Mission)
• Il commercio sleale alimenta la povertà (L'Osservatore Romano)