Speakers Urge Creation of New Paradigm for Sustainable Development, as Economic and Social Council Continues Ministerial Review
Using the lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals as a springboard, the post-2015 sustainable development agenda must build a “new paradigm” that left no one behind, stressed speakers as the Economic and Social Council’s Annual Ministerial Review continued with four thematic panels today.
Much had been gleaned from the successes and failures of the past 15 years of development policy, said Zlatko Lagumdžija, former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a Member of the Club de Madrid, who delivered a keynote address today. Among those lessons was that specific issues, including education and health, could not be tackled without dealing with root causes such as poverty and inequality. “We have to work together,” he said, both the rich and the poor, to mobilize efforts towards a new paradigm based on a set of common values.
Indeed, while the Millennium Development Goals had achieved much, more remained to be done, said Vivian Onano, Young Leader for Women Deliver, Education Spokesperson of Moremi Africa, and Member of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women’s (UN-Women) Global Civil Society Advisory Group. More than 800 million people remained hungry and Africa still had the highest number of people living in abject poverty, with women suffering the brunt of that scourge. The 17 proposed sustainable development goals must be inclusive, from planning to implementation, she stressed.
Progress today would have to be made under difficult circumstances, including crises such as conflict, climate change and economic shocks, said Magdy Martínez-Solimán, Assistant Administrator and Director of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. Strengthening capacity for policy coordination was a key area for the new development agenda, he said, stressing the need to end silo tendencies and adopt inclusive approaches.
John W. McArthur, Senior Fellow in Global Economy and Development at the, Brookings Institute and Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation, said that if the Millennium Development Goals had been the Olympics, he would give health a gold medal, education a silver medal and food security would get a bronze. Areas not on the medal podium were the physical aspects of economies, including climate, oceans, urban planning and interactions with the planet. Future development must make use of green growth, including the long-term benefits of sustainable energy sources. “We need 17 gold medals to hand out in 2030,” he said, underlining the importance of commitments made to each of the new goals.
Issues raised during the ensuing discussion included the importance of capacity-building of States, strong leadership and good governance to achieve the sustainable development goal targets. Delegates also spotlighted climate change as a key development concern, noting that the upcoming twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Paris in December, provided an opportunity for robust commitments on the part of States to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Other panels held throughout the day included one entitled, “Headwinds in the global economy” — which teased out elements of today’s global macroeconomic outlook, including growth, trade and foreign direct investment — another on “Managing the transition to the sustainable development goals: what it will take at the regional level”, and a fourth panel on “Implementing a post-2015 development agenda that works for Least Developed Countries”.
In parallel to the panel discussions, the Council also continued the general debate of its high-level segment.
Panel I
The Council held a panel on “Lessons from the Millennium Development Goals for the future”, chaired and moderated by Oh Joon (Republic of Korea), Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council. The keynote speaker was Zlatko Lagumdžija, former Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a Member of the Club de Madrid. The panel featured Magdy Martínez-Solimán, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); John W. McArthur, Senior Fellow in Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institute, and Senior Fellow, United Nations Foundation; and Vivian Onano, Young Leader for Women Deliver, Education Spokesperson, Moremi Africa, and Member, Global Civil Society Advisory Group, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).
Mr. LAGUMDŽIJA said lessons learned had shown that specific issues, including education and health, could not be tackled without dealing with root causes such as poverty and inequality. With the sustainable development goals, a new paradigm should be created that was based on fundamental principles. “We have to work together,” he said, both the rich and the poor, to mobilize and manage efforts to tackle the new goals with a sense of common values.
The sustainable development goals encompassed justice that aimed at, among other things, avoiding the repetition of heinous crimes. The Srebrenica genocide must be recognized as such a crime, as the United Nations system had noted. The Club de Madrid was promoting shared values as an effort to create peace. Today, violent extremism was a threat and the new goals were a tool to stem the spread of those ideologies. Violent extremism started when shared society and values stopped, and vice versa, he said. “We either learn to get along or we are finished,” he said. “We really do not have another alternative.”
Beginning the discussion, Mr. OH asked panellists to consider the Millennium Development Goals’ “hits and misses”, challenges to promoting their implementation, how lessons learned on policy integration in the Millennium Goals’ area could be applied to the post-2015 agenda, how stakeholder engagement had been key to implementation thus far and what role stakeholders would have in the post-2015 process.
Mr. MARTÍNEZ-SOLIMÁN said the Millennium Goals had been successful, but the new goals had a new framework. Progress in the face of crises, such as conflict, climate change affects and economic shocks would be a challenge. UNDP operated under the notion that, if an initiative was not risk-informed, then it was not sustainable. Strengthening capacity for policy coordination was another key area for the agenda. Challenges at the national level included ending silo tendencies and adopting inclusive approaches. Tracking achievements at the national level was equally important and attention should be paid to data reporting and follow up mechanisms.
Mr. MCARTHUR said the Millennium Goals had been an extraordinary success of a generation. Now there were two competing forces: while living standards and technology were improving at a fast rate, as was poverty eradication, poor living standards, inadequate technology and poverty were expanding even faster. For instance, the recent Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hunger report had seen sharp declines; however, 800 million people were still living with hunger. The Millennium Development Goals had resulted from a decade-long global dialogue that addressed gaps in economic growth and failures in health and combating poverty. If the Millennium Goals were the Olympics, he would give health a gold medal, education a silver medal and food security would get a bronze. Areas not on the medal podium were the physical aspects of economies, including climate, oceans, urban planning and interactions with the planet. How to spot the biggest new challenge began with finishing the job on the Millennium Goals and ending poverty. Going forward, partnerships needed to focus on clear goals and on ways to measure performance for development efforts, the private sector and civil society.
Ms. ONANO said that when the Millennium Goals were agreed, she had been nine years old. At the Global Youth Forum in February 2015, it became clear that young people want to be key partners on education, employment, gender equality and peace and security. While targets had been met for primary education, that level of schooling was not enough and investments were needed to ensure girls had access to quality learning. Without empowering girls, the new goals would not be achieved. Unemployment was also a critical issue, one that exacerbated peace and security in certain societies, as could be seen with terrorist groups that were recruiting young people. While the Millennium Goals had achieved much, work remained to be done. More than 800 million people were hungry and Africa still had the highest number of people living in abject poverty, with women suffering the brunt of that scourge. The progress that had been made to date was not enough and the new goals must be inclusive, from planning to implementation.
During the ensuing discussion, speakers made comments and posed questions. The delegate from Palau asked about the “medal podium” and what could be done with regard to climate change, given the upcoming twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Paris in December. A representative of Partners for Population and Development asked about the role of stakeholders in the quest to achieve the new goals.
Speakers, including one from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, highlighted the importance of capacity building of States. South Africa’s representative asked the panellists to expand on that issue, noting that a key lesson learned from the enormous progress that had been seen in Africa since 2000 was the need to have a capable State to galvanize society. She also underlined that such leadership should be a focus in efforts to be taken to tackle the new goals, as should monitoring and evaluation.
Panellists then addressed those issues. Mr. LAGUMDŽIJA said mechanisms must avoid double standards and remain true to the United Nations Charter. Evaluation should consider the environment, actors and the world’s “hotspots”. Challenges must also be evaluated. To motivate and mobilize people, it was important to reach citizens with the reasons behind the actions and the alternative consequences resulting from inaction.
Mr. MARTÍNEZ-SOLIMÁN said “we need a capable State”. Citizens that needed social protection, shelter, food security, public health and education systems needed a capable State. Institutions were where decisions were made and services were delivered. Developing the capacity of those entities was central to the success of the goals. Welcoming private sector partners should coincide with strengthening public institutions.
Mr. MCARTHUR said building capabilities encompassed addressing service delivery and accountability to citizens. The new goals should be accompanied by honest dialogue and peer review. Roles that Governments should play in ensuring that no one was left behind were going to be locally defined. Green growth must take the future into account, including the long-term benefits of development sustainable energy sources. “We need 17 gold medals to hand out in 2030,” he said, underlining the importance of commitments made to each of the new development goals.
Ms. ONANO said citizen engagement was essential to make sure the goals were met in 2030. Clearly defined roles in Government must address local efforts. Lessening the economic gap was mutually beneficial, she said, adding that as the rich needed consumers, more people should move into the middle class so all could reap the benefits.
Panel II
The Council then held a second panel discussion on the theme, “Headwinds in the global economy”. Moderated by Lenni Montiel, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, it featured Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF); Yonov Frederick Agah, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO); and John Panzer, Director, Global Practice for Macroeconomics and Fiscal Policy, World Bank Group. The lead discussant was Raymond Torres, Director of Research Department, International Labour Organization (ILO).
Opening the discussion, Mr. MONTIEL said that, while Member States had not worked out the details to be discussed next week in Addis Ababa, the main elements of a plan for financing for development were already in place. He raised a number of questions for the panellists, including: what was their assessment of the current macroeconomic outlook? What was the macroeconomic outlook for least developed countries? What were the key enablers for ensuring resilience against economic shocks and in support of implementing the post-2015 development agenda? He said the global economy continued to grow at only a modest pace. The economies of most countries around the world would likely remain below pre-crises levels. Growth was projected to be relatively strong in parts of Asia and Africa. However, the projections for Latin America and Central Asia were bleak.
The subdued performance of the global economy had been exacerbated by drops in global trade, he went on. Average growth in least developed countries was expected to slow down before it picked up again, he said, urging countries to redouble their efforts to complete the Doha Development Round negotiations. A smooth transition from the least developed category was likely to become a significant issue on the international stage in the coming years; the international community needed to be prepared to fully support countries as they graduated from least developed status. It should also ensure a smooth transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the sustainable development goals, which would require cooperation to build resilience against economic shocks. The proper enabling environment for the post-2015 development agenda was needed.
Mr. KITUYI said the world was experiencing economic stagnation in many areas. In the two decades leading to the financial crisis, international trade expanded more than twice as fast as global output. Hundreds of millions of people were lifted out of poverty, living conditions improved and some of the Millennium Development Goals were met. Nevertheless, even as the exports of least developed countries grew, those countries remained marginalized, as there was no organic relationship between the growing trade and the rest of their economies.
Since 2009, international trade had barely kept pace with economic growth; it could therefore no longer be a lever to lift people out of extreme poverty, he said. There must be a new emphasis on regional integration, particularly in the developing world, for creating attractiveness for global investment flows. Developing economies now accounted for a larger share of foreign direct investment outflows; developing Asia was now investing more than North America and Europe for the first time. Liberalized investments in infrastructure in developing countries were needed.
Mr. ZHU said global gross domestic product (GDP) had fallen more dramatically during the global financial crisis than expected. “The crisis has left a deeper scar than we thought,” he said. As a result, today, the world was operating below its economic potential. Globally, trade and investment had been weak; only in China and Brazil were investments up. Before the crisis, foreign direct investment was about 4 per cent of global GDP; today that number had fallen by about 2 per cent. Potential growth had also dropped during the crisis and policy support was needed to increase productivity. Extra effort was needed in the case of least developed countries, he stressed. Government debt levels today were almost as high as they were during World War II. Interest rates were low, meaning there was not very much policy space. Monetary liquidity was high while market liquidity remained low, and markets were extremely volatile. Describing two key policy recommendations, he stressed the need to maintain global macroeconomic stability and increase global cooperation to support growth in low-income countries.
Mr. AGAH echoed the fact that there was slow trade growth and “sluggish” global GDP. In spite of that environment, he said, “trade remains a very powerful tool for economic growth and development”. Efforts to reduce poverty should see trade as a driver of growth, and that should be given greater prominence in the post-2015 development agenda. That agenda needed to create jobs, increase productivity and promote sustainable consumption and production. More attention was being paid to integrating countries into local, regional and global value chains. The least developed countries remained the weakest segment of the international community, as they remained heavily dependent on a few export products. Positive measures needed to be taken to help those countries increase their share of world trade.
He described a number of WTO initiatives in those respects, including its “Aid for Trade” initiative, duty-free schemes and service waivers. Global trade policies must support countries as they graduated from least developed status. The global economy remained susceptible to economic shocks, he said, pointing to the current crisis in Greece; the international community needed to ward off such shocks, including by keeping protectionism at bay. Finally, he stressed the need for States to implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
Mr. PANZER said the global economy was expected to grow at 2.8 per cent over 2015. Divergences between the United States, Japan and other countries were narrowing; in Europe, the recovery was gaining traction. With regard to developing countries, the expected growth rate had been downgraded to about 4.4 per cent. The biggest disappointments were in Latin America, developing Europe and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. In East Asia, growth was slowing, reflecting the continued rebalancing in the Chinese economy. India’s strong growth was anchored on very strong reforms to increase productivity.
There would likely be a tightening of the global economy if and when the United States Federal Reserve increased interest rates, he said. Today, developing countries had higher fiscal deficits and less flexible exchange rates than in the past. The path of adjustment would be critical. Growth-enhancing structural reforms were needed to increase productivity. The transition to the sustainable development goals would require adequate financing; there was a need to leverage the billions in official development assistance (ODA), as well as private investment, more strategically. Investments needed to be people-centred, and people needed to be protected by financial safety nets.
Mr. TORRES said the jobs crisis was deteriorating. However, that crisis was starting to have long-term consequences as it reduced the ability of countries to recover. The job crisis also impeded the ability of countries to harness emerging technologies and green growth. Job growth needed to be more inclusive and sustainable. The decent work agenda of the sustainable development goals would relieve the pressure on macroeconomic policy by increasing productivity growth; in addition, by formalizing employment, it would broaden the tax base, providing more financing for development and infrastructure. Policy coherence, implementation support and equity considerations were crucial. Moreover, the post-2015 development was an opportunity to bring decent work to the core of future growth.
Statements
SHIN DONG-IK, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, said the Millennium Development Goals had improved peoples’ lives, notably by halving poverty, but there was still unfinished business. “Ending poverty should be the beginning of the journey to a dignified and sustainable future”, he said, emphasizing a focus on gender equality, protection of vulnerable groups, education, rural development and good governance. He urged political will and resources. Creating an enabling environment with sound institutions was the key to poverty eradication. The outcome of the third International Conference on Financing for Development should constitute the means of implementation pillar of the new agenda, whose success depended on the creation of a universal and inclusive follow-up and review framework. Reliable data was important in that regard. For its part, the Council should play an integral role in assimilating the three dimension of the sustainable development, he said, supporting dialogue on the long-term positioning of the United Nations development system.
CHRISTOPHER M. MVUNGA, Deputy Minister for Finance of Zambia, said development deficits persisted amid his country’s robust economic growth. While reforms had fostered economic stability and growth, they also had brought about social dislocations that had denied the country attainment of some of the Millennium Development Goals. Zambia’s resolve to match its growth to development had shown some positive results. Zambia was on track to meet the target of reducing HIV/AIDS infections in children by 90 per cent by 2015. Young adult literacy had increased, while gender parity in tertiary education had improved in the last five years. The sustainable development goals were framed in an all-embracing, mutually reinforcing manner, a framework that would help Zambia reap the desired outcomes. The Government aimed to put in place a national response that had greater social justice and equity, especially in the areas of education and health, food security and decent jobs, particularly among women and youth. Zambia’s domestication of the new goals would be based on multisectoral stakeholder engagement, recognition of the goals as universally applicable, and promotion of partnerships.
MARIO NÉSTOR OPORTO, Member of Congress of Argentina, associating with the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, urged a human rights-based approach to implementation of the new agenda. There could not be simply monitoring of private institutions or a peer review mechanism. The Forum was called upon to bring together regional forums and commissions. The follow-up mechanism should address all the goals and targets. Processes must be Government-led, bringing together rule-of-law institutions, the executive branch, parliament and the justice sector, as well as include social and community organizations. He cautioned against creating a system that worked on the basis of “punishment and prizes”, where one country was awarded a prize for its development model and another was not. In building solidarity, the mobilization of civil society was essential. As for means of implementation, private financing could be valuable as a complement to public financing, which should be the main funding source. He cited the need for a strategy with the private sector to ensure alignment with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) mandates and targets.
ARSENIO M. BALISACAN, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary of the Philippines, also associating with the Group of 77 and China, said sustainable development must respond to the special needs of developing countries, especially the poor, which meant priority for those in need, while being mindful of the needs of future generations. As the Brundtland Report stated, sustainable development also had to do with managing technologies. He called for a revitalized global policy framework for disaster preparedness and response, welcoming that the new agenda would place people at the centre of development, complete the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals and recognize the different challenges among States. In that context, it was important to prioritize green growth, public-private partnerships, financing, capacity-building, technology transfers, sustainable consumption and production, and better accountability in measuring progress. Global and regional partnerships also must be strengthened, and clear, measurable and verifiable indicators created to ensure that the outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference and the new agenda were coherent and mutually reinforcing.
YAROSLAV GOLITSYN (Ukraine) said a broad stakeholder participation in knowledge sharing to optimize the transition to the sustainable development goals was steadily shaping the shared vision. That vision would be reflected in a transformational strategy fostering peace, stability and development. Maximum efforts should be made to build the agenda that all population groups could relate to. Social accountability and transparent public access to reliable data were needed to establish a truly bottom-up and people-centred approach. Focus should be placed on aligning action plans with the actual needs of communities, which would allow for increased flexibility so critical for rapidly changing environments. It was crucial that the new agenda fully reflected the need for special assistance to countries affected by conflict and humanitarian and environmental crises, in supporting and aligning their strategies and plans. The success of the goals depended on the functionality of the new equitable social contract, which must tackle the existing asymmetries in order to integrate all the States into the global economy.
TAREK EL-NABULSI, Director of Development and Social Policies Development, League of Arab States, said regular engagement between regional organizations and the Forum would establish the body’s pivotal status in the review and follow-up of the post-2015 development agenda. The League’s positive experiences during implementation of the Millennium Development Goals would be a starting point for similar engagement on the sustainable development goals. He reaffirmed the League’s readiness to become a full partner in raising the development profile of region that was mired in political conflict, terrorism and other challenges.
DOREEN BOGDAN-MARTIN, International Telecommunication Union said information and communication technology, which played a small role when the Millennium Development Goals were launched, provided infinite opportunities as the world prepared to embark on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. Progress would be achieved through the smart application of technology across all dimensions and drivers of development, she said, and stressed the imperative of managing such issues as privacy.
STAN KWAIN, Deputy Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the breadth of the sustainable development agenda required everyone to go beyond silos to achieve broader and interlinked goals. Eliminating poverty was not the same as reducing it, he said, stressing the need to take volatility and shocks more seriously, including their root causes. The universality of the goals required common and shared efforts while allowing for policies based on national local specificities. The international community had never attempted such an ambitious agenda in such a short time, which underlined the centrality of a strong base of knowledge and information. The Forum needed to continue consultations with all stakeholders on the implementation of the new agenda.
RICARDO GUIMARAES PINTO of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said specialized agencies were vital to push upstream policy support, build capacity, lead high-quality data collection and analysis, and provide a platform for multistakeholder engagement. “These are UNESCO’s goals,” he said, to unlock the potential of education, the sciences, culture and communication as drivers for sustainability, ownership and empowerment. It was important to act across the board in an integrated manner. He advocated more robust national science, technology and innovation policies and systems, as well as increasing investments and technical support for the sustainable management of water, and establishing a technology facilitation mechanism. The new agenda should build on the role of culture as a driver of sustainable development.
ALIYE CELIK, Deputy Secretary-General, United Cities and Local Governments, on behalf of the major group for local authorities, said the local level deserved special attention, as it would be instrumental in the new agenda’s implementation. Indeed, the power of local and subnational governments responsible for service provision and planning of cities must be harnessed. For its part, the Forum, under the auspices of the Council, should be a monitoring platform that fostered exchange between local and subnational governments. It would need to have a more targeted agenda, as the current format was not yet fit to handle such issues, which required new data and policy making.
TENIN TOURE, President, Action Aide aux Familles Demunies, a group based in Bamako, Mali, said United Nations conferences were a means for bringing the issue of gender equality to the global agenda. She cited successes, such as gender parity for elected posts and the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women in several countries. At the same time, women’s economic freedom must be improved, as they were often excluded from the macroeconomic system. Migrant women were particularly vulnerable. She advocated an inclusive and endogenous economic model that respected women.
JEFFERY HUFFINES, World Alliance for Citizen Participation, on behalf of the major group for non-governmental organizations, said non-governmental groups were ready to partner with States, the United Nations and regional commissions to implement the new agenda, should it reflect the high ambition demanded by society. They looked forward to receiving financial and other support to ensure they were equipped to engage with their Governments in crafting national development plans and indicators best suited to peoples’ needs. Last month, major groups discussed how to ensure that the voices of non-State actors could be brought into the Forum, and preparatory processes in both the Council and the General Assembly. They explored how to strengthen their internal governance to promote openness and accountability.
NEERAJ MISTRY, Managing Director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute, said there had been remarkable gains in reducing poverty based on the Millennium Development Goals. The broader and interlinked 17 sustainable development goals called for innovative and cross-sectoral approaches, he said, and stressed the need to prioritize neglected tropical diseases, which perpetuated poverty and inequality. Globally, 1.8 billion people were at risk for such diseases, with 400,000 deaths every year. The recognition of such diseases in recent development discourses was reassuring and now needed to be translated into policies and programmes that would make practical impact.
GERTRUDE KENYANGI, Director of Support for Women in Agriculture and Environment, speaking on behalf of the major group for women, said a strong, independent, inclusive and transparent Forum was critical to shape policy coherence across Governments and institutions. It should take into account key complementarities of outcomes of international conferences and ensure coherence with the financing for development without compromising its mandate. National reviews should be the cornerstone of the architecture identifying lessons learned and challenges. Non-State actors should be held accountable for the commitments made and robust involvement, funding and capacity-building of major groups should be ensured. The women’s major group, with its diversity of expertise and experience, was ready to work in partnership with other stakeholders in the attainment of the goals.
PHILIP BAILY, representative of CLIPSAS, said sustainable growth provided the world a way out of the crises modern societies created. Such growth would build a sense of social solidarity and the assurance of equitable and balanced growth in all dimensions of development. The Council had the resources to attain such an outcome in the collective interest of humanity and the planet.
VLADIMIR ĆUK, Executive Director, International Disability Alliance and International Disability and Development Consortium, speaking on behalf of persons with disabilities, as well as the International Disability Alliance and International Disability and Development Consortium, said the exclusion of persons with disabilities from national regional and global development policies and programmes meant that their involvement in the Millennium Development Goals could not be assessed. The 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities laid the foundation for the establishment of societies that were fully inclusive of persons with disabilities. A number of high-level commitments had been made to promote their equality and inclusion, and to recognize the Convention as a development instrument. Yet, persons with disabilities remained overrepresented among the poor. Hence, the sustainable development goals must be inclusive of their needs, while national development plans must simultaneously address support services and removal of physical and informational barriers.
The representative of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations said he represented 1.5 million fair trade farmers and workers. To deliver for the poorest, the new agenda must address inclusive trade that benefitted them. Trade liberalization did not guarantee poverty reduction and could in fact undermine it, especially when developed countries demanded access to developing country markets but restricted access to their own. Indicators must assess trade deals not just by GDP forecasts, but by the medium- and long-term impact on the lives of the poorest. Trade pacts must fully align with poverty and sustainability goals. Also, sustainable supply chains must be paid for, meaning that fair prices must be sought. Traders and retailers must pay living wages and meet the costs of sustainable production. Certification as “sustainable” must consider poverty, environment and economic benchmarks. It must be independent and transparent.
CHARLES BADENOCH, Vice-President of Advocacy and Justice for Children, World Vision, on behalf of Beyond 2015, said monitoring of the sustainable development goals would fall to the Council and the Forum, stressing the need for an accountability mechanism. No effort should be spared to reach those left behind by the Millennium Development Goals. The new agenda’s formulation had been marked by the significant contribution of civil society. The Council and the Forum could not be blind to the fact that the current architecture would need to be reviewed to institutionalize a new wave of engagement, generated by the participatory processes of the post-2015 agenda. A bottom-up approach must be the basis for monitoring and review that sought accountability by all
CEMRE ULKER, Gazeteciler ve Yazarlar Vakfi, said simply raising awareness of gender sensitivity was not enough. The new agenda should be marked by the participation of civil society. To institutionalize gender equality, women must be mainstreamed into decision-making. Civil society groups should build capacity for inexperienced women coming into leadership positions and urge political parties to normalize women’s involvement in politics through affirmative action plans. The need for gender disaggregated data in education must be recognized, while women’s financial literacy and access to business services should be promoted as part of their overall empowerment.
MARC JOURDAN, United Nations Representative, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, said social inequalities had diminished popular trust in Governments around the world. A new agenda of enhanced public participation of communities would strengthen the social fabric by keeping sustainability at its core. Offering reliable sustainable development education programmes and engaging civil society in long-term collaborative initiatives through the smart use of information and communications technologies were critical pathways to implementation of the new agenda.
S.B. KARMAKAR, International Committee for Peace and Reconciliation, said the Millennium Development Goals had made a significant impact in people’s lives around the world. However, it was time to reflect upon the lives and needs of people living beyond statistics, he said, underlining such persistent challenges as malnutrition and slave labour. Global efforts must continue to reach the poor, vulnerable and marginalized.
KAY FERRELL, North American/Caribbean Regional Chair, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment, said all children with visual impairment should receive full access to education through appropriate methodologies, special devices and instruction materials. She called for the full implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty and greater efforts to shift the public paradigm against discrimination.
MERCEDES RICHARDS, International Federation for Family Development, stressed the role of the family as a critical agent of sustainable development. Families needed a better institutional framework that recognized their existence without occupying their space. Family policies often targeted children and women individually but not holistically, she said, and underlined her organization’s efforts towards raising public awareness and identifying best practices. The help of families worldwide was required to ensure that the sustainable development agenda left no one behind.
MARGARET MINARD, International Federation of University Women, noting that her organization was now called Graduate Women International, expressed concern at the lack of success in tackling global literacy. Literacy in sub-Saharan Africa had fallen by 3 per cent in the last 15 years. Illiteracy was not simply a generational issue; today, 76 million girls could not grasp the contents of a book. Poverty was among the main reasons. The effects were exacerbated among women and girls. Other factors influencing the gender gap in illiteracy included socioeconomic norms that relegated girls to home caregivers and marginalization of at-risk groups. Literacy should be imparted equally to everyone. Long-term vision, political courage, legislation and sufficient economic resources were needed.
DANILO PARMIGIANI, Legião da Boa Vontade, said that, in the transition to the new development agenda, one challenge was to prepare citizens for a change in attitude. In promoting social transformation, only education could pave the way for a future of prosperity and dignity. Education was a key to address multiple global issues, he said, calling for guaranteed access to education; fostering social and environmental consciousness by giving people the tools to make sustainable decisions; promotion of educational curricula that raised awareness of a culture of peace and fraternal love.
DARREL WEBBER, Secretary-General, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, said many criticized palm oil for causing biodiversity loss and human rights violations. While true, other truths were that it was among the few commodity crops that could bring small farmers out of poverty, and that issues related to unsustainable cultivation could be “a thing of the past.” Ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns — draft goal 12 — was what his group had been working towards since its 2012 inception. It had forged links between buyers and sellers worldwide and was now a platform for information exchange. Twenty per cent of global palm oil production was certified. The Roundtable wanted to move away from certifying individual farms towards whole producer jurisdictions in order to maximize sustainable impacts “on people and planet”.
ARDEVAN YAGHOUBLI, Society to Support Children Suffering from Cancer, said it was important to empower non-governmental organizations to implement the sustainable development goals. As for how to recognize the best organizations for that purpose, she advocated identifying those that were pioneers and innovators through a third-party organization. She also proposed the establishment of a global fund to recognize and evaluate models for future non-governmental organizations.
BETTY LEVY, Soroptimist International, said the Millennium Development Goals had galvanized the principle of achieving development through gender equality. The sustainable development goals should consider gender equality as a means of implementation. Too much flexibility at the national level ran the risk of diluting the common global agenda, she said, and stressed the need to consult — and not co-opt — non-government organizations. If those organizations were marginalized, that would leave groups such as women and girls behind.
NANCY WALLACE, United Nations Representative, World Federation for Mental Health, said mental disorders as a group were one of the leading causes of disability. Suicide was growing as one of the leading cause of death across the world. For the successful attainment of the sustainable development goals, mental health should be recognized as a key priority and accorded proper attention and resources. Physical and mental health was at the heart of a people-centred approach to sustainable development.
CORRADO FACCO, World Jewellery Federation, said the transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the sustainable development goals required multistakeholder partnerships, to which his organization was actively contributing. Education programmes aimed at diamond and jewellery workers were under way in areas concerning common social good. Protection of the environment was a key concern and the organization was addressing such issues as sustainable energy and water management.
DAVID PEREZ, Corporativade Fundaciones, said the Forum, which played a key role in the creation of the sustainable development goals after extensive deliberations, should work towards enshrining civil society organizations as active partners in the implementation, monitoring, review and follow-up of the goals. Enough emphasis must be placed on harmonizing national and local activities with global efforts. While effective institutions were critical to the implementation of sustainable development policies, appropriate resources and capacities and accountability were equally important drivers. Agreements on new goals should not be subjected to state willingness and the Forum should continue to operate in an open and transparent process.
Right of Reply
Exercising his right of reply, the representative of Israel urged Bahrain to focus on its own challenges, such as gender equality. In addition, the conditions of migrant workers in that country were a long way from being considered “decent”. Bahrain should improve the human rights situation in its own backyard, rather than lecture Israel.
Panel III
This afternoon, the Council held a panel discussion on the theme, “Managing the transition to the sustainable development goals: what it will take at the regional level”. Moderated by Juan Somavía, Director, Diplomatic Academy of Chile, and former Director-General, ILO, it featured Rima Khalaf, Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESWCA); Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); Shamshad Akhtar, Executive Secretary, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Europe (ECE); and Abdalla Hamdok, Deputy Executive Secretary for Knowledge Generation, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Opening that discussion was Mr. SOMAVÍA, who said there had been a strong increase in the interest of States to engage the regional commissions over recent years. The outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) had stressed the importance of regional frameworks for sustainable development, he said, as did the zero drafts of the sustainable development agenda and the Addis Ababa outcome document. “There is no doubt that the regions are alive,” he said, noting that when one related to the regions, one related to the local realities of people. Citing three issues on which the panel could focus, he listed balanced integration of the three elements of sustainable development; mobilizing the means of implementation; and the effective follow-up and review of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ms. KHALAF focused on the issue of integration, which meant the ability to pursue the three pillars of sustainable development simultaneously and the 17 sustainable development goals at the same time. Those goals were interlinked, she said, adding that there was no one-to-one correlation between policies and goals. Development outcomes were increasingly tied to regional, not just domestic, policies. ESCWA had adopted a nexus approach to development issues, including the water-energy-food nexus, the conflict-development nexus and others. The latter had been piloted in Syria and had been very successful and was now moving to other countries in the region.
ESCWA was working to help countries accede to a regional scheme that included, not only trade and growth, but general well-being, she said. The regional development framework had helped to create the Arab Vision 2030, which included the sustainable development goals. The experience of regional commissions in integrating the pillars of sustainable development could be valuable to countries and the entire United Nations system. “Success will hinge on our ability to think in an integrated manner,” she said, stressing the need to “deliver as one” and “think as one”.
Ms. AKHTAR said that, despite consensus on the interdependence on the three pillars of sustainable development, traditional economic models still sought growth without considering finite natural resources and planetary boundaries, the well-being of people and other factors. Sustainable development called for a rethink of development policies. Shifts would include harnessing social justice; moving from short-term to long-term policy horizons; and moving away from GDP to developing metrics that factored in the three pillars of sustainable development. The shift towards inclusiveness sought to leave no one behind. In that regard, she said, a multidimensional “inclusiveness index” had been created.
For its part, Asia had been implementing green growth strategies and facilitating a shift towards renewable energy technologies, she said. There had been good progress across the region in crafting policies to support inclusive and sustainable growth. For example, China’s sustainable development plans included a unified framework for social assistance; a cleaner industrial production law; an amended environmental protection law; and guidelines for financial institutions to support green, low-carbon projects.
Ms. BÁRCENA said that, for her region, equality was the overarching issue of the sustainable development agenda. Some 70 million people had been lifted out of poverty in the Latin American and Caribbean region during the “bonanza” period of recent years, she said; however, today, the global context was totally different. Implementing the sustainable development goals would take a lot of effort as there was much less political and fiscal space available. The mandate of the regional commissions included the ability to integrate the three pillars of sustainable development. “We will have to shift from the culture of privileges to the culture of equality,” she said, stressing the need for global partnership in that respect.
There was also a need to shift from an “extractivist” model of gaining resources, to natural resource governance with intergenerational solidarity, she said. National planning and institutions, as well as national systems of real-time statistics were also critical. At the regional level, there was an architecture that serviced the integration of the three pillars, including the Conference of Statistics of the Americas, the Conference of Population and the group of Science and Technology Ministers, among others. Sustainable development forums also existed within the regional commissions.
Mr. BACH said the regional commissions could help turn the sustainable development goals into regional mechanisms and policies, as had been done with air quality regulations in Europe. “A lot of the work is already done at the regional level, and we must align it with the sustainable development goals,” he said in that respect. Another example was the European health and environment ministerial process, which combined human health and ecological concerns. The Conference of European Statisticians created new statistical standards and promoted statistical capacity in the ECE member States. The regional commission also provided regional peer-review mechanisms, which helped States implement better policies. The agenda must be a universal one, he said, stressing that the regional commissions could provide that universality. “We are ready to work with our member States to turn the sustainable development goals into national and local progress,” he said.
Mr. HAMDOK focused on the follow-up and review process of the sustainable development goals, which would not only assess results and achievements, but would also review the means of implementation themselves. The availability of reliable data and statistics was crucial. Alongside the African Development Bank and other partners, the ECA was working to build the national statistical capacity of African States. There was a unique project using mobile technologies to gather statistics in the region, he said in that respect.
Describing a number of regional mechanisms that were already in place in his region, he cited the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa, which was anchored in African Union priorities and would help to track, monitor and follow-up on the sustainable development goals. The African Peer Review Mechanism was another voluntary process with clear objectives, standards and indicators that were fully aligned to the sustainable development goals. It provided for national ownership and let Heads of State and Government share experiences.
In the ensuing dialogue, a number of speakers said that the regional commissions should play a leadership role and take on more responsibility than they had in the past. In that regard, the representative of the Russian Federation said that the commissions could help to convene regional stakeholders in support of sustainable development, and called for regional reviews of implementation with voluntary presentations by Member States.
Others invited the regional commissions to play a more active role as platforms for dialogue to identify sustainable development challenges and solutions. In that regard, Mexico’s delegate stressed that the regional commissions could also help to enhance national follow-up mechanisms.
Also participating in that discussion were the representatives of Guatemala and Kyrgyzstan.
Panel IV
A panel was then held on “Implementing a post-2015 development agenda that works for the least developed countries”, chaired by Council Vice-President María Emma Mejía Vélez (Colombia). The keynote speaker was Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia.
Moderated by Michèle Montas, Independent Broadcast Journalist, former Spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former Director-General of Radio Haiti-Inter, the panel featured Mohamed Diaré, Minister for Economy and Finance of Guinea; Gyan Chandra Acharya, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States; and Bruce Lehman, Chair and President of the International Intellectual Property Institute and member of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries.
Ms. MEJÍA VÉLEZ said part of the Council’s functions was to review the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020, also called the Istanbul Programme of Action. The Council’s Committee for Development Policy had found that a significant number of least developed countries were making necessary progress towards meeting the criteria for graduating from that group.
Yet, many advances were not sufficient and the sustainability of progress was often uncertain, she said. The countries remained least prepared to face external shocks, as could be seen with the recent Ebola outbreak. Continued, coordinated and targeted support would remain critical to effectively implementing the Istanbul Programme of Action and to unlocking their immense development potential.
Delivering the keynote address, Ms. JOHNSON SIRLEAF said the Millennium Development Goals represented the world’s most open global process and the new goals were forging a path to success. No matter how well written the new goals were, the keys to success were implementation and sustainability. Lessons learned from the Millennium Goals process had seen some least developed countries being left on the side lines. The measurement of progress was still a serious issue when assessing the impact of that agenda. While progress had been achieved for a range of the goals, more remained to be done.
For its part, Liberia had promoted a number of initiatives, attracting investment and bolstering sustained growth. The Ebola outbreak, however, exacerbated the economy’s decline, with a fiscal impact of $500 million in 2014. Liberia and neighbouring countries’ experience had demonstrated that least developed countries were particularly vulnerable to health outbreaks. Infrastructure, skills development and training would strengthen the capacity of the health system. Liberia should not meet all the Millennium Development Goals. The new agenda must accord priority to the least developed countries to ensure that they succeeded. Among the ways to do that included infrastructure development in order to build capacity to address the range of issues the goals addressed. Critical areas include resource mobilization and industrial policies that channel investments into sustainable growth projects.
Starting off the discussion, Ms. MONTAS said moving into the post-2015 era, it was important to assess progress on the Millennium Development Goals. They had not worked for all people, with uneven progress in least developed countries. She then invited panel participants to share innovative initiatives at the important moment, when the world was transitioning to the new era.
Mr. ACHARYA said, despite much progress on the Millennium Development Goals, most of the least developed countries would not achieve all of them. In the new agenda, they were expected to be the key beneficiaries. He then suggested a number of priority areas that the new goals should focus on, including that least developed countries integrate their principles into national strategies. In addition, some indicators needed to be developed, taking into account national circumstances of countries, with national follow up and monitoring mechanisms.
It was also vitally important to quantify specific public investments’ needs across sectors to meet the new agenda, he said, also underlining the importance that a disproportionate emphasis of a limited number of priorities without concomitant focus on other issues could yield only marginal results. A financial package for least developed countries needed to be structured in a way that tapped into and leveraged a variety of sources beyond aid. A major deliverable was the Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries, which had immense potential for knowledge transfers.
Mr. LEHMAN said Liberia was a “real-life” example of leapfrogging in terms of advances during the Ebola outbreak. With regard to knowledge transfers, the capacity to develop technology was not only in the possession of industrial countries, he said, citing Liberia’s effective strategies to prevent the spread of Ebola. The purpose of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries was to generate a feasibility study on the creation of such an institution, which would consist of a research depository, a patent bank and a science, technology and innovation supporting mechanism. The depository was already available online. The patent bank was making information accessible to least developed countries. The supporting mechanism was aimed at helping countries to achieve development goals. The technology transfer would be a two-way street, he said, involving scientists and engineers in industrialized and least developed countries.
Ms. MONTAS asked panellists for their input on moving into the post-2015 era. Mr. ACHARYA said as soon as the new goals were adopted, they should be integrated in national development strategies.
Answering a question posed by the representative of the United Kingdom about the Secretary-General’s Panel report, Mr. LEHMAN said a draft with recommendations would be ready in mid-August 2015. The challenge would then be to carry out those recommendations on the ground.
To a question from Colombia’s delegate on how the United Nations system could become an important stakeholder so the least developed countries could work towards achieving the new goals, Mr. LEHMAN said the new bank could use regional branches. Mr. ACHARYA said at the regional level, there were many useful best practices and characteristics, including trade, which could bolster growth. Developing infrastructure, building resiliency, energy grids and trade were key tools to examine from the regional perspective.
Responding to a question by the speaker from ESCAP about the affordability and accessibility of technology for least developed countries, Mr. LEHMAN said the technology was free, but access required the assistance of the holders of the rights of such technology. Working out a system to accomplish that was the task ahead. The notion was not to create consumers, but to ensure that users became stakeholders. Mr. ACHARYA said the idea of the Technology Bank was taking a holistic approach that would span across different sectors. No country was immune to today’s challenges, he said, underlining that the time had come to look at solutions in a global manner keeping in mind that partnerships were critical for everyone.