How do we sustain the Sustainable Development Goals?

Venkataraman Ganesh, reporting from the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), describes the session of the annual ministerial segment of the high level political forum on sustainable development.

The annual ministerial segment of the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development, a sub-organ of the United Nations General Assembly- Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), convened today to review the implementation of Agenda 2030. Established as an outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012[i], the HLPF on sustainable development has been mandated to review the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by member nations, and this year’s forum themed “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” has been set to review Goals 6, 7, 11, 12, 15 and 17 under Sustainable Development Goals.

The Addis Abba Action Agenda (AAAA) held in 2015 saw domestic resource mobilization, official development assistance, the alignment of private investment etc. with sustainable development. Also focusing on nationally owned sustainable development strategies that had been emerging as key pillars of financing the SDGs[ii].

The session saw a number of countries reiterating their support to these key features of the AAAA. The Delegate of Japan reiterated the need to engage with the private sector and called for a “Public Private Action for Partnership” to achieve the SDGs, with emphasis on partnership with the private sector; which found resonance with the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of Turkey.

It also witnessed the Delegates of developing countries demanding greater developmental aid.

The Delegate of the Republic of India reminded the forum of the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility” and called upon developed countries to deliver on their promises of developmental aid. To this, the Delegate of the People’s Republic of China castigated the western dominance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This led to offers of aid from nations such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of Norway and the United States of America (USA). USA, however, while acknowledging the importance of developmental aid, cautioned against misuse of the same. This point was backed by the Russian Federation, with the Delegate of the Russian Federation who focused on the phenomenon of state corruption and the need to combat it.

The Delegate of the Republic of Turkey and the Delegate of the Republic of Korea clarified to the forum, the strategies that they were adopting on a national level to achieve the SDGs and called upon other member nations to do the same. This seemed to be something the member nations were taking seriously, as nations like the Republic of Philippines, the Commonwealth of Australia, and the UAE had even created indices to measure their progress in achieving the SDGs.

The discussion on the financing of the SDGs showed that most of the nations were acting in compliance with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. It would bring hope to the world if they would continue to do so.

[i] https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/733FutureWeWant.pdf

[ii] http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/osg2015d3_en.pdf

[iii]https://www.reuters.com/article/us-development-goals-finance/who-funds-the-trillion-dollar-plan-of-the-u-n-s-new-global-goals-idUSKCN0RQ0RD20150926

(Edited by Drishya Sobhana Narayanan)