Priorities of Small Nations Embedded throughout 2030 Agenda, Secretary-General Tells Small States Forum, Reiterating Continued United Nations Support
Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the 2015 Small States Forum, in Lima today:
I am pleased to be with you. Your membership is varied, but you share many common challenges. For those of you that are Small Island Developing States, the third International Conference on [Small Island Developing States] in Apia, Samoa, last year marked the beginning of a journey that took us to Sendai, Addis Ababa and New York.
For those that are least developed or landlocked countries, Istanbul and Vienna provided equally significant milestones.
The culmination of these journeys was the adoption of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This historic achievement is the result of more than three years of intensive preparations and negotiations.
It has been one of the broadest UN consultation processes ever undertaken. The Summit in New York last month showed the broad ownership of the agenda. A record number of world leaders attended. Civil society organizations, academia, the private sector and local authorities participated in what was a truly inclusive process.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is ambitious. Its objectives are to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce inequality, promote effective governance and the rule of law, and preserve our planet. With its firm commitment to leaving no one behind, the Agenda addresses the needs of the most vulnerable countries and people.
The priorities of Small States are firmly integrated throughout this Agenda, thanks to your enthusiastic participation during preparation and negotiation.
The challenges facing many Small States are well documented. They include small economies, isolation from global markets and vulnerability to climate change. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development presents new opportunities to mobilize focused support for vulnerable countries.
Later this year, in Paris, in December, Governments will seek to further this agenda by agreeing on a bold universal climate change agreement.
At the third International Conference on Financing for Development held in July, in Addis Ababa, Member States agreed on ways to facilitate the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Options include improving access to finance, strengthening capacities in technology and infrastructure, building genuine and durable partnerships, and finding ways to address complex debt obligations.
The climate conference in Paris will provide a critical opportunity to galvanize the support of international financial institutions, and bilateral and multilateral partnerships, to enable Small States to develop resilience to climate change, including through the use of climate finance.
Clarity on finance is essential for building trust and confidence between developed and developing countries. Recent pledges made by Germany, France and the United Kingdom to double their public climate finance commitments are an important step in the right direction. I encourage other countries to make similar announcements before Paris.
Trust can also be strengthened through innovative financing mechanisms that provide debt relief and liberate new resources to strengthen the resilience of small island developing States and least developed countries.
I encourage all stakeholders to build on the outcomes of the high-level meeting organized by the Secretariat of the Commonwealth and my Climate Change Support Team here in Lima on identifying possible policy solutions to address the debt and climate challenges faced by small and vulnerable States.
As we pursue the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, our true test will lie in universal implementation and in the mobilization of a broad range of actors in all countries. Collective and coordinated effort and engagement will be crucial because of the broad yet interrelated nature of the agenda.
The sustainable development agenda requires all Member States to adapt targets tailored to their own priorities. Policies and institutions need to be readied to support implementation. The Agenda needs us all to rethink how we “do development”. Progress on one goal reinforces our efforts on others. We must, therefore, pursue all the Sustainable Development Goals together, develop holistic approaches and build synergies.
The specific challenges of Small States will need to be taken into account. The 2030 Agenda and a new, universal climate agreement in Paris will be important for creating a low-carbon, climate-resilient future that benefits all.
Let me assure you that the United Nations system will continue to support you in your efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda, the Samoa Pathway, Vienna, Istanbul, a Paris agreement and other global commitments.