Talking on behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres, Amina Mohammed referred to as for immediate and decisive action to salvage the faltering Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and past are inflicting a devastating lack of life and diverting political consideration and scarce assets from the pressing work of ending poverty and averting local weather disaster,” she stated on the ministerial assembly of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable growth.
She emphasised the necessity to slash army budgets and as an alternative channel funds in direction of peace and growth.
Essential stage of SDGs
Highlighting the essential state of the SDGs, Ms. Mohammed famous that solely 17 % of the targets are on monitor because the 2030 deadline approaches.
“Future generations deserve greater than 17 % of a sustainable future,” she emphasised, outlining a four-pronged technique for pressing acceleration in a bid to satisfy the 2030 deadline for the Targets.
Step one, she pressured, is to ascertain peace, underscoring that political and monetary assets needs to be redirected from conflicts to growth efforts.
She additionally emphasised the significance of advancing inexperienced and digital transition, urging nations to reinforce their local weather motion plans by 2025, aligning them with the 1.5-degree Celsius restrict in line wit the Paris Agreement and spend money on increasing digital connectivity.
Spend money on peace
Addressing the monetary challenges impeding SDG progress, Ms. Mohammed identified the rising financing hole and destabilizing monetary situations in lots of creating international locations.
She acknowledged ongoing reform of multilateral growth banks and the recycling of particular drawing rights however referred to as for extra sturdy measures.
“We should go additional and sooner to ship an SDG Stimulus,” she urged, calling for elevated lending capability, expanded entry to contingency financing, and complete debt options.
Hold the promise
In conclusion, Ms. Mohammed reiterated the SDGs’ promise to “go away nobody behind”.
She emphasised the necessity to prioritize weak populations, uphold the rights of individuals with disabilities and fight gender inequality.
“Reaching this agenda means inserting weak individuals and teams on the forefront of nationwide growth plans, insurance policies and budgets,” she stated.
UN Photograph/Manuel Elías
Dennis Francis, President of the Common Meeting, addresses the ministerial opening of the Excessive-level Political Discussion board.
Nations should act
Common Meeting President Dennis Francis echoed this urgency, highlighting the plight of 1.1 billion individuals dwelling in multidimensional poverty.
“At this time, 1.1 billion individuals are dwelling in multidimensional poverty. If we do nothing impactful, eight per cent of the worldwide inhabitants – or 680 million individuals – will nonetheless languish in starvation by 2030,” he warned, urging speedy and complete motion.
He underscored the necessity to handle the basis causes of poverty and starvation, emphasizing their interconnectedness with battle, local weather change, and financial shocks.
Be inventive and daring
Mr. Francis additionally highlighted the significance of final 12 months’s SDG Summit, which adopted a powerful political declaration and launched a brand new section of accelerated motion to comprehend the worldwide growth objectives by 2030.
Wanting ahead, he expressed optimism for the upcoming Summit of the Future, anticipated to be a transformative occasion that might reinforce political will and handle the worldwide monetary system’s inequities.
“The Summit’s anticipated consequence – a Pact for the Future – have to be transformative sufficient to justly telegraph the political will that can usher in a brighter tomorrow for all, in all places,” he stated, urging Member States to be inventive, inclusive and daring, making certain the Pact is genuinely transformational and restores public confidence.
UN Photograph/Manuel Elías
Paula Narváez Ojeda, President of the Financial and Social Council, addresses the ministerial opening of the Excessive-level Political Discussion board 2024.
Serving to understand the Targets
Paula Narváez, President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), underscored the physique’s essential function in steering the implementation of the SDGs.
“All through the cycle of the Financial and Social Council, I’ve prioritized selling the transformative insurance policies that the Council’s numerous subsidiary our bodies can provide to implement the SDGs.”
She emphasised the significance of tailoring these insurance policies to satisfy the various wants of individuals and the planet whereas contemplating every nation’s considerations.
In that context, she highlighted the important thing Voluntary Nationwide Evaluations performed on the HLPF, with 36 international locations presenting this 12 months. These critiques present helpful insights into nationwide experiences, classes realized, and obstacles encountered in implementing the SDGs.
“We have been in a position to discover in higher depth the explanations for the delay in implementation, however we have been additionally in a position to hear from governments themselves and events concerning the good practices that we are able to reproduce,” Ms. Narváez famous.
Dedication to dialogue
The ECOSOC President referred to as for a renewed dedication to multilateralism and constructive dialogue.
“We should all decide to being absolutely concerned in constructing a constructive dialogue and elevating the bar with an ideal imaginative and prescient from all stakeholders,” she urged, emphasizing the necessity for collective effort to attain the mandatory transformations.
Concluding her remarks, Ms. Narváez expressed hope that the actions taken in the present day would encourage future generations.
“We hope that the girls and boys which are watching us in the present day can see sooner or later a possibility to fulfil their potential as we’re displaying right here in the present day,” she stated, reinforcing the long-term imaginative and prescient of the SDGs.
Ministerial phase
Throughout its three-day ministerial phase, the HLPF will maintain a common debate on the theme From the SDG Summit to the Summit of the Future.
Ministers and high-level representatives of collaborating States, in addition to intergovernmental organizations, and main teams and different stakeholders will take motion to grasp the Political Declaration of the 2023 SDG Summit and speed up the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Improvement and the SDGs.
They may even contribute to the preparations of the Summit of the Future, to be held this September.
Held below the auspices of the ECOSOC, the Discussion board will conclude on 18 July with the adoption of a ministerial declaration.
