At Closing of Economic and Social Council High-level Segment, Secretary-General Urges Stakeholders to End Poverty, Build Sustainable World for All
The 2015 high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council concluded today with interactive national voluntary presentations and a thematic discussion on ways of strengthening and building institutions for policy integration in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, capping week-long deliberations that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said had helped to outline how the forum could organize its work, keep track of progress and bolster implementation.
“Our success will depend on a firm political will to work together,” Mr. Ban said in remarks at the closing of the high-level segment. Underscoring the importance of achieving an ambitious agreement at the third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, he urged all parties to overcome differences and find a common pathway leading to the end of poverty and sustainable world for all.
Going forward, the High-level Political Form — under the auspices of the Council and the General Assembly — would play a central role in reviewing the implementation of the post-2015 agenda. The Council was now stronger and must fully use its power to support integration and help to mobilize a range of actors as well as the United Nations system.
Earlier, in the morning, as part of the Annual Ministerial Review, the Council heard national voluntary presentations from Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Philippines and Zambia on their progress in implementing the Millennium Development Goals and the transformation to the post-2015 agenda. Speakers shared accomplishments and challenges, with each presentation followed by interactive discussions.
Opening the meeting, Council Vice-President Oh Joon (Republic of Korea) said that the practice of delivering national presentations had demonstrated the value of the Council as a platform for engaging the global community in an exchange of critical lessons on the implementation of the internationally agreed development goals.
Damira Niyazalieva, Vice-Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, said her country had made achievements in the areas of reducing poverty and child mortality and increasing the rights of women, while the goals on maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, access to sanitation and drinking water quality had yet to be met. That was in part due to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and an internal political crisis the following year. Another reason for the lack of achievement on several targets was the slow formation of the national institutional framework after the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals. On the transition to the sustainable development goals, she said that national priorities included job creation, good governance, education, health care, and peace and stability, among others.
Gantsogt Khurelbaatar, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance of Mongolia, said national plans in his country had been drafted in line with the principles of a market economy and with the Millennium Development Goals. In 2014, a green development policy had been adopted. However, implementation of the sustainable development programme was slow due to a lack of focus on social, infrastructure and environmental issues. Several targets had been fully achieved, including Goal 4 on reducing child mortality and Goal 5 on improving maternal health. The effects of the financial and economic crisis, weak governance and institutions and inconsistent development policies were among the remaining challenges to overcome.
Arsenio Balisacan, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary of the Philippines, said much of the period from 2000 to 2015 was one of political uncertainty and Millennium Development Goal commitments had produced mixed results. Improvements in one indicator had often been accompanied by weak progress in another area. The attainment of development goals required consistent commitment across all stakeholders and a financing plan with a particular emphasis on empowering the poor and creating sustained growth. The implementation plan should also include programmes to build resilience, especially among the poor and near poor, against natural and man-made hazards and economic shocks.
The final presenter, Christopher Mvunga, Deputy Minister of Finance of Zambia, said his country had put in place a number of development frameworks, including the “Vision 2030” and the fifth National Development Plan. On the Millennium Development Goals, he said maternal mortality had declined, but the target had not yet been met. Similarly, under-five mortality and infant mortality had declined. Success had been recorded in indicators related to primary education and gender equality in primary education. The country was on track to meet its national targets on HIV/AIDS. Access to improved drinking water had increased, but access to decent sanitation had worsened significantly between 1991 and 2010 and was a concern. Progress had been noted on target 8 on official development assistance, foreign direct investment, market access, debt sustainability, and communication and connectivity.
Contributing to interactive dialogues that followed the presentations and reviews were Turkey, Russian Federation, Switzerland, Japan, Germany, United States, Malaysia, Spain, Indonesia, Sweden and the Bahamas.
Opening the afternoon thematic discussion on “Strengthening and building institutions for policy integration in the post-2015 era”, Abdurrahim el-Keib, former Interim Prime Minister of Libya and Member of Club de Madrid, delivered the keynote speech, saying alleviating crises and creating inclusive societies was a long process that required endurance. The impact of the international community in building a shared society was not always positive, he said, and urged development agencies to be sensitive and responsive.
Saber Chowdhury, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, said the weaknesses of various political systems allowed various interest groups to dominate the agenda in some countries, adding that policy coherence came from having all people from all walks of life contribute.
Rowena Bethel, Director and Chief Executive Officer, National Insurance Board of the Bahamas and Vice-Chair, United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration, stated that the sustainable development goals were cross-cutting in nature and required a high degree of cooperation between Government structures and non-governmental actors. The lack of a common strategic policy direction and a complicated division of labour were among the structural challenges faced by institutions.
Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs said any paradigm change would need to start within institutions. While a number of speakers had underscored the importance of the integration, it was also important to remember the comprehensiveness of the post-2015 agenda.
Participating in the ensuing interactive discussion were speakers from South Africa and Germany.
Delivering the closing statement on behalf of Council president Martin Sajdik, Mr. Oh said the deliberations had provided valuable policy guidance to the transition to the sustainable development agenda. The international community must mobilize its common resources, energy and vision to confront common challenges.
National Voluntary Presentations
This morning, the Economic and Social Council heard the National Voluntary Presentations of four countries — Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Philippines and Zambia — and held interactive discussions on each. The session was moderated by Michael Shank, Director of Media Strategy, Climate Nexus.
Opening the meeting, Council Vice-President OH JOON (Republic of Korea) said that the National Voluntary Presentations had been intrinsic to the Council’s high-level segment. “These presentations have demonstrated the value of [the Council] as a platform for engaging the global community in an exchange of critical lessons on the implementation of the internationally agreed development goals,” he said.
Since 2007, over 60 countries had shared their experiences and insights in the review process, some on more than one occasion, he said. The presentations offered a platform where national-level implementation could connect with international policymaking. Each year, countries had presented policies and initiatives which merited scaling up or could be replicated. That process would continue to be crucial, particularly as the world embarked on a new, comprehensive and universal development agenda.
Mr. SHANK said that today was an auspicious moment, as the Council considered the last of the National Voluntary Presentations on the Millennium Development Goals. As the international community transitioned to the sustainable development goals, it should start thinking more about terms such as sustainable agriculture, sustainable and modern energy, sustainable growth, sustainable use of the oceans, and inclusive sustainable development. Countries were already moving “fast and furiously” towards those elements.
He raised a number of issues pertinent to the countries which were presenting their reports today, including water and energy shortages in Central Asia, the possible establishment of a climate change desk in the Philippines and the high cost of climate change in Zambia. The Council should be the hub for all such work, he said, urging States to work together to avoid “climate conflict” that could end up in the Security Council in the future.
Kyrgyzstan
DAMIRA NIYAZALIEVA, Vice-Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, delivered her country’s presentation (document E/2015/62). She said her country had made achievements in the areas of reducing poverty, reducing child mortality and increasing the rights of women. Since 2005, all national strategic documents had been developed taking into account environmental issues, and there had been an increase in the number of children in primary education. However, the goals on maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, access to sanitation and drinking water quality had not been met. That was in part due to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, which had caused slow growth, and a political crisis in 2010 that had worsened the situation. Another reason for the lack of achievement on several targets was the slow formation of the national institutional framework after the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals.
Describing the process of transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the sustainable development goals, she said that national priorities included job creation, good governance, education, health care and peace and stability, among others. Existing country programmes for development already reflected many of the sustainable development goal targets.
Several national institutions, such as the National Council on Sustainable Development, Intersectoral Councils and the Coordination Committee on the Millennium Development Goals, were already working in the area of sustainable development and would be further geared towards the specific sustainable development goal targets, she said. That solid foundation would ensure a smooth transition, she said, adding that legislation was in place that introduced strategic planning into the everyday work of the Government.
Among further planned steps to adapt the sustainable development goals to the national context, she listed projections on targets for a better understanding of the complexity of their achievability; a clear definition of financial arrangements for achieving them; and special attention to the “new” development goals.
Mr. SHANK said that inadequate communication between cross-sectoral forums was mentioned in Kyrgyzstan’s report as a potential hindrance to achieving the sustainable development goals. In that regard, he stressed the need to bring together all actors and stakeholders in a cohesive way.
The representative of Turkey noted the intensive efforts of the Kyrgyz authorities to ensure that the principles of sustainable development had been integrated into the country’s national plans. The participation of national and regional institutions would expedite the transition process. The country had already achieved the target on reducing poverty, and he hoped it would make progress on the two other indicator targets under Millennium Development Goal 1. Turkey and Kyrgyzstan enjoyed robust cooperation in the health sector, and Turkey had also supported Kyrgyzstan in areas such as education, justice and human rights, among others.
The Russian Federation’s delegate said that, despite challenges, Kyrgyzstan had made progress in achieving five of the eight Millennium Development Goals, largely due to the implementation of strategic policies. The Kyrgyz approach was an example of how countries could achieve the sustainable development goals. Noting the need to decrease social gaps and reduce inequality between areas of the country, he asked what role civil society could play, and offered his country’s support.
Responding, Ms. NIYAZALIEVA expressed her gratitude to the Russian Federation and other countries that provided Kyrgyzstan with support. The country had adopted a disaster risk reduction plan and was seeking to secure the protection of business and civil society. It was developing a “Health Care 2020” plan to work towards a decrease in maternal mortality, among other related goals. Resources from donors must be used more effectively.
Mr. SHANK said the three pillars of sustainable development should be used in common parlance in order to mainstream the new goals into the public sphere at large.
Mongolia
GANTSOGT KHURELBAATAR, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance of Mongolia, delivered his country’s presentation (document E/2015/61). He said that Mongolia’s national plans had been drafted in line with the principles of a market economy and with the Millennium Development Goals. In 2014, a green development policy was adopted. However, implementation of the sustainable development programme was slow due to a lack of focus on social, infrastructure and environmental issues.
The Millennium Development Goals had played a critical role in the formulation of long- and medium-term development policies and strategies, he said. As a result, the rate of economic growth accelerated, and the country was classified as a lower-middle income country, with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $4,070 in 2014. Several Millennium Development Goal targets had been fully achieved, including Goal 4 on reducing child mortality and Goal 5 on improving maternal health, among others.
Some progress had been made in promoting gender equality and increasing women’s participation in political decision-making. Progress had also been made in promoting transparency, encouraging citizen participation and fighting corruption. Challenges remaining included the effects of the financial and economic crisis; weak governance and institutions; and inconsistent development policies.
There was a need to create an integrated development policy planning system, he said. Further, the country needed to reduce its dependency on the mining sector and diversify its economy. It also needed to increase the general understanding and awareness of the sustainable development goals. Development cooperation would be expanded and strengthened to support governance and the capacity of public institutions and to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other things.
The representative of Switzerland said Mongolia had been positively translating the Millennium Development Goals into concrete targets and indicators. Important progress in development planning was made following the adoption, in 2008, of the Millennium Development Goal-based Comprehensive National Development Strategy. Nevertheless, the long-term development goals were not consistently reflected in the country’s medium- and short-term policies. Commending Mongolia for the achievement of a number of the Millennium Development Goals, he strongly encouraged the Government to set achievable targets in its own-added goal related to strengthening human rights and fostering democratic governance and to strive towards better results in increasing the participation of women in politics and decision-making. “We believe that Mongolia is currently standing at a crossroad in its development process,” he said. The key challenge was to translate its rapid mineral-based economic growth into equitable social development.
Japan’s delegate said that Mongolia’s successes in overcoming a number of crises and challenges provided courage to other States. He also commended Mongolia’s transition to a middle-income country and its achievement of a number of “remarkable outcomes” on the Millennium Development Goals. The disparity between growth in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and other areas of the country should be reduced. Mongolia had broadened its views beyond official development assistance (ODA) to private capital and foreign direct investment was a positive sign. Japan was the largest donor to Mongolia since its democratization. He raised a number of questions, including: What was being done to reduce disparity in income and severe inflation? What was being done to improve air and water quality?
The representative of Germany said Mongolia had undergone crucial societal and economic changes in a peaceful manner. He appreciated the forward-looking and concrete plans described in the report. In the countryside of Mongolia, many people were directly dependent on ecosystems and natural resources; at the same time, the country was one of those most affected by climate change. The nation should monitor unplanned urban growth in Ulaanbaatar. Further, it was critical to ensure that the financial benefits of the mining sector benefited all Mongolians equally. Mongolia stood ready to implement the new sustainable development goals, and was already developing ideas on how to translate those goals into its own development strategies.
Mr. KHURELBAATAR responded that his country’s economy was indeed heavily dependent on mining. Mining revenues were down, which posed great challenges for achieving development goals; the Government was working to diversify the economy to avoid such downturns. Gender equality was very difficult to achieve, but the Government had been making slow progress in that area. With regard to the capital city, where about half of the country’s population lived, he said there was a major pollution problem. Cleaner-burning stoves were being provided, and infrastructure was being built to reduce the need for burning coal. On inflation, which was now decreasing, he said that “our inflation is imported from overseas” as it came from imported goods. The mid-term inflation target was 7 per cent.
Philippines
ARSENIO BALISACAN, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary of the Philippines, delivered his country’s presentation (document E/2015/60). “Good governance is key to sustainable development,” he said, presenting the political context of the Millennium Development Goals’ implementation in the Philippines. Much of 2000 to 2015 was a period of political uncertainty. President Estrada’s term was cut short in 2001; under his successor, President Arroyo, the country’s development plans were implemented under the overarching strategy of “prosperity for the greatest number”.
Millennium Development Goal commitments had produced mixed results, he said. Improvements in one indicator had often been accompanied by weak progress in another area. With regards to Millennium Development Goal 1, poverty rates had fluctuated over the years, settling at 25.8 per cent in 2014. The trend demonstrated the need for a comprehensive strategy to significantly reduce poverty. The increase in poverty incidence in 2014 could be due to the devastating effects of calamities experienced in 2013, he said.
The attainment of the Millennium Development Goals required a sustained and consistent commitment across all stakeholders. Implementation must include a financing plan with a particular emphasis on empowering the poor and creating sustained growth. The implementation plan should also include programmes to build resilience, especially of the poor, against natural and man-made hazards and economic shocks. Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation measures must be included. There should also be an appropriate data monitoring system to support the accountability mechanism.
The Millennium Development Goals were still “unfinished business”, he stressed. In continuing to aspire to achieve them, the Philippines had actually transitioned into a sustainable development framework that considered the synergies in the economic, social and environmental spheres. He strongly advocated for national, bipartite and multilateral arrangements that promoted the protection of overseas Filipinos.
The delegate from the United States said the country’s insights and emphasis on good governance were “spot on”. He was encouraged that the Philippines had made progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and appreciated the comment that targets associated with clear and specific policy actions had been the easiest to achieve. Among other questions, he asked about plans to ensure that the Philippines’ financing and political commitments were correlated, about the country’s experience with public-private partnerships, about the importance of data and about resilience issues.
The representative of Malaysia commended the Government of the Philippines for placing the Millennium Development Goals at the heart of policy-setting at the highest levels. Natural disasters had affected the achievement of those goals, he said, stressing that investment must be channelled into the building of resilience and disaster preparedness. He agreed that good governance should be the key element in ensuring the success of the development agenda. He also raised a number of questions, including: how could a country that lacked resources strategize the implementation of development goals? What was the expected role of the private sector in that process?
Spain’s delegate asked about challenges in providing education and other services to a population that was widely distributed over thousands of islands, how environmental concerns were integrated into the Philippines’ development plans and whether there was a large migration of people to urban areas.
Responding, Mr. BALISACAN said the Philippines understood that to sustain development “we need to grow the economy to create the necessary fiscal space”. At the same time, Government was addressing corruption and poor governance in an effort to raise tax resources and eliminate inefficiencies. The private sector and other development partners had been mobilized to help leverage the country’s limited resources. The country’s economy was largely private sector-driven, he said in that regard, adding that public infrastructure came in large part from public-private partnerships.
In the areas of education and health — which were also dominated by the private sector — the Government was implementing a nationwide conditional cash transfer programme, he said. On the impact of natural and manmade shocks, he said investing in disaster preparedness was critical; the Government had adopted a policy of “building back better” and was expanding access to insurance. The country was very diverse and there was no “one-size-fits-all” development solution.
Mr. SHANK asked how the media had been employed to raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals and how it would be used going forward with the new sustainable development goals.
Mr. BALISACAN said the Philippine’s media was quite free, and that strong data collection was needed to ensure that it picked up correct and high-quality information. “We look at media as our development partners,” he said, stressing that the transparency and accountability provided by media were crucial in moving the development agenda forward.
Taking the floor, the representative of Indonesia said that financing and the collection of data were challenges shared by many developing countries. The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) had supported its member States in achieving the Millennium Development Goals through a road map to achieve the targets. He asked what strategy the Philippines used to collect data.
Mr. BALISACAN responded that the country had to invest in good data, but that, due to its diversity, there was no one-size-fits-all solution. Natural disasters also stretched its ability to collect data. However, data collection was not very expensive, and economic growth in recent years had allowed the Philippines to be in a position to collect quality data. Development partners could help to provide the technical know-how and the technology in that respect.
Zambia
CHRISTOPHER MVUNGA, Deputy Minister of Finance, Zambia, delivered his country’s presentation (document E/2015/63). His was a landlocked southern African country with a relatively small and widely distributed population. It had put in place a number of development frameworks, including the “Vision 2030”, the fifth National Development Plan and others. The common areas of focus included broad-based wealth creation and citizenry participation, inclusive growth, job creation and rural development; the frameworks were working to bridge gaps in health, education, water and sanitation, gender empowerment and other areas.
Key development trends included massive inflation in the 1990s, which had been reduced to single digits today, a move from growth stagnation to a consistent rate of 6 per cent growth over the last decade, and large increases in foreign direct investment. Zambia had historically had a commodity-based economy and was still seeking to diversify its economy away from the mining sector. The country had suffered from an external debt of 179 per cent of GDP in 2002, but that number now stood at about 15 per cent of GDP. Reliance on ODA had also been reduced.
Despite the robust economic growth, there was a need to transform that growth into tangible development outcomes. Poverty had remained stubbornly high at 60.5 per cent, with more poverty in rural than urban areas. In that regard, he said, all the investment coming into the country was going into the mining sector and was not trickling down to other sectors and to the majority of the population. On the Millennium Development Goals, maternal mortality had declined, but the target had not yet been met. Similarly, under-five mortality and infant mortality had declined.
Success had been recorded in indicators related to primary education and gender equality in primary education, he said. The country was on track to meet its national targets on HIV/AIDS. Access to improved drinking water had increased, but access to decent sanitation had worsened significantly between 1991 and 2010, and was a concern. Progress had been noted on target 8 on ODA, foreign direct investment, market access, debt sustainability and communication and connectivity.
The Government recognized that there had been implementation challenges in meeting the Millennium Development Goals, including the absence of a comprehensive legal framework, weak linkages between the national development planning and the medium-term expenditure framework, and poor coordination within and among different tiers of Government. To overcome such challenges, Zambia had created a national planning and budgeting policy, which would be presented to parliament. The policy included the engagement of all stakeholders “from the grass roots up”. Priority would be given to creating an environment conducive to social justice and equity, improving health and education, diversifying the economy and other important areas.
He went on to describe some of the elements that had contributed to Zambia’s achievement of Millennium Development Goal target 2 on universal primary education and target 6 on combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
The representative of the United States said that Zambia had been successful in developing a common sense of nationality and commitment to its development goals. The different between rural poverty and urban poverty was substantial; he therefore asked what was being done to reduce rural poverty. The report detailed Zambia’s graduation to a middle-income country quite successfully, he said. What specific plans did the country have to improve governance in development planning? What mistakes had the country made, and how could it learn from them?
Sweden’s delegate agreed that Zambia’s progress over the last decade had indeed been impressive. The special challenges facing Zambia — including being a landlocked country and being spread over a very wide area — should be recognized. It was clear than one of the most fundamental challenges facing the country in the coming years would be managing the persistently high levels of inequality. The Government was addressing that issue, as well as those of governance, accountability, the rule of law, inclusive politics and participation. He asked for concrete examples of work being conducted in job creation, health and education, as well as how the country was working to diversify its economy in an environmentally sustainable way. Finally, he asked how Zambia could bring the various stakeholders into its development framework going forward.
Mr. MVUNGA responded that the Millennium Development Goals had been implemented in a largely uncoordinated manner. Today, a new draft law established a National Development Coordination Committee — with local-level committees falling under it — that would also help increase stakeholder engagement. Most of the programmes the country had embarked upon were skewed towards rural development, where investment was needed most. There was an aggressive information communication technology programme under way with heavy investment. The Government was putting in place a Women’s Bank which would drive women’s empowerment. Finally, on climate change, Zambia was working on reforestation and forest management.
The representative of the Bahamas said there were many similarities between her country and the experiences presented today. The Bahamas was taking a phased approach to its development planning, which was evidence-based and inclusive of the entire population. Building capacity for permanent institutions was critical.
Mr. SHANK asked the presenters what worried them the most about leaving the Millennium Development Goals behind; asked about a “hiccup” or mistake in implementing those Goals in the past; and asked what excited them most about the sustainable development goals.
Responding, Ms. NIYAZALIEVA said her country had made progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, including increasing gender equality and improving health. Going forward, it was putting an emphasis on those targets that were not achieved during the Millennium Development Goal period.
Mr. KHURELBAATAR said that Mongolia had focused mostly on poverty reduction during the Millennium Development Goal period, but going forward, he worried about income inequality. Some of the biggest mistakes had been made in the area of budgeting.
Mr. BALISACAN said the two remaining areas of development concern were poverty and employment. Therefore, in the medium-term, the main goals were the substantial reduction of poverty and unemployment. At the same time, the Philippines was excited about the shift to sustainable development, particularly because “there is so much we have learned in the last two decades”.
Mr. MVUNGA said one of the main lessons learned was that “we need to get the planning right”. Sufficient buy-in from local stakeholders was critical. In Zambia, the Millennium Development Goals had needed more definitive milestones and more monitoring and evaluation.
Thematic Discussion
In the afternoon, the Council held a thematic discussion on the theme, “Strengthening and building institutions for policy integration in the post-2015 era”. Moderated by the Council’s Vice-President Vladimir Drobnjak (Croatia), the panel featured Abdurrahim el-Keib, former Interim Prime Minister of Libya and Member of the Club de Madrid as keynote speaker. The panellists were Saber Chowdhury, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU); Rowena Bethel, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Board of the Bahamas and Vice-Chair of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration; and Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Opening the discussion, Mr. DROBNJAK said the development vision of the post-2015 era called for institutions that could manage complex challenges and competing development objectives. Institutions themselves needed to adapt and transform to the post-2015 reality in order to remain relevant and effective. Competent institutions would need to be “multidisciplinary, participatory, collaborative, adaptable” and able to work across organizational boundaries and with stakeholders to draw on a broader range of knowledge, skills and resources. Such a transformation, however, required a fundamental shift in attitudes. Strong leadership, Government ownership, good communication and capacity-building would be key factors, he said, calling on the international community to be ambitious and innovative in its thinking and action.
Mr. EL-KEIB said the core element in overcoming crisis and achieving development was social inclusion. Libya had survived four decades with a dictatorship and the country was awash with firearms when his Government had taken over. The National Congress elections had to be held in seven months, surmounting dysfunctional State institutions, nepotism and a virtually non-existent justice system. But, with support from the Organization and friends, Libya had held historic elections on time, in a safe, transparent environment. While taking measures that addressed market issues and the dire financial situation of families, Libya had also established a national reconciliation body and a reintegration and development programme for those affected by the war.
Highlighting lessons from that experience, he said institutional legitimacy came from popular support and trust and such trust required transparency. The impact of the international community in building a shared society was not always positive, and development agencies must be sensitive and responsive. It was important to realize that even after achieving a reasonable level of peace and stability, a country might have another bout of violence. Alleviating crises and creating inclusive societies was a long process that required endurance. Stressing that next week’s Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa would determine if resources were available to support the new sustainable development goals, he called on the international community to reach a fair and equitable consensus in drafting the outcome document of that summit.
Mr. CHOWDHURY, stressing the centrality of parliaments as institutions, stated that, while there was agreement on the universal goals, there was a lack of shared vision around the world on how to carry them forward. The weaknesses of various political systems allowed various interest groups to dominate the agenda in some countries. For instance, if the money given in subsidies to fossil fuels was freed up and used for renewable energy, that would be a triple win for the economy, environment and communities. However, that action called for difficult policy decisions. Further, policy coherence came from having all people from all walks of life contribute. The implementation of Goal 1, eradicating poverty, would not happen unless the poor themselves were involved in the national plans to achieve it. Finally, the global financial environment must support and enable legislative reforms at the national level. “If we ask our parliaments to raise domestic taxes to support sustainable development goals,” he said, “the international tax regime must also work to prevent tax avoidance by multinationals.”
Ms. BETHEL stated that the sustainable development goals were cross-cutting in nature and required a high degree of cooperation between Government structures and non-governmental actors. The lack of a common strategic policy direction and a complicated division of labour were among the structural challenges institutions faced. Highlighting the importance of convincing sectoral actors to explore cross-sectoral cooperation, she added that both behavioural and structural approaches were necessary. Developing clear goals, performance indicators and standards had been proven to help institutions achieve clearer policy integration. It was also vital to bring local governments into the picture not only to foster coherence, but also to counter the impression that the sustainable development goals were under the sole auspices of the central Government.
“We will need to rethink our modus operandi,” Mr. GASS stated, adding that any paradigm change would need to start within institutions. While a number of speakers had underscored the importance of the integration, it was also important to remember the comprehensiveness of the post-2015 agenda. “The ambition of the agenda was absolute,” he said. Therefore, institutions had to move from a perspective of “who is allowed to do something” to “who is enabled to do something”. At national and subnational levels, it was necessary to set up inclusive processes for capacity-building and service delivery. Building the capacity of governmental agencies in problem-solving should be complemented by innovation and adaptation. Congratulating the IPU for taking the lead in asking parliaments throughout the world to consider the sustainable development goals, he added that the Organization would also need to adapt and his department stood ready to support that important process.
In the ensuing dialogue, the representative of South Africa asked about the coordination of the post-2015 agenda into national plans when there was a separation of power between legislative and executive branches. Responding, Mr. CHOWDHURY said that parliaments must work together with the executive branch in a new strategic partnership.
To a question from Germany’s representative on how to bridge the difference in timelines between the sustainable development goals and national Governments, he added that it was vital to institutionalize the goals into national policies. In the next 15 years, there would be a new generation of parliamentarians and it was crucial to maintain continuity despite a changing political landscape.
In their closing remarks, the speakers stressed national ownership with Mr. CHOWDHURY stating that global agreement had to be followed up by national action. Ms. BETHEL said public administrations were going through an evolutionary process and the sustainable development goals would enable them to respond more effectively to a changing world. Mr. GASS stated that rather than a huge restructuring, it was necessary to find ways for different administrative branches to work together. Mr. EL-KEIB wished luck to the negotiations for the outcome document.