In lieu of the July/August Monitors, the UN Foundation recorded a Podcast with the editor of UN Dispatch, and circulated Highlights from the SDGs Summit.

 

Highlights from the SDGs Summit

The SDG Summit opened on September 25 with remarks from Pope Francis, who highlighted the need for social justice and economic inclusion so that everyone can live in dignity, and a collective responsibility to protect the environment. He also emphasized the need for greater equity, including in global decision-making bodies like the UN Security Council and the financial institutions. The Secretary-General (SG) followed with remarks of his own, calling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development “a promise by leaders to all people everywhere”. He said that this new agenda commits to end poverty in all its forms, conveys the urgency of climate action, is rooted in gender equality and respect for the rights of all, and is a pledge to leave no one behind.

After Shakira performed the song Imagine, Malala Yousafzai appealed to world leaders to promise safe, free and quality primary and secondary education to all children. Representing civil society, Salil Shetty, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, suggested four practical tests to realize the SDGs: ownership, accountability, non-discrimination and coherence.

Below is a non-exhaustive selection of commitments and highlights from the SDG Summit speeches.

 

Commitments

China pledged to establish a $2b assistance fund for South-South cooperation, and pledged to increase investment in LDCs to $12b by 2030. China referenced progress on its “Belt and Road Initiative” through the Asia International Investment Bank and the New Development Bank. China also referred to ongoing discussions underway on a global energy internet to meet global power demand in a sustainable way, as well as a potential international development knowledge center.

Kenya announced that it will host the Second High Level Meeting on the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) in November 2016.

Mexico noted that it will host in 2016 the Conference of Parties of Convention on Biodiversity, one of the three Rio Conventions.

The UK committed to host a major anti-corruption summit in 2016.

Turkey will host the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016, which will provide an opportunity to assess coherence between financing for development and humanitarian assistance. Turkey will also host a meeting in June 2016 to assess progress on the Istanbul Program of Action for LDCs.

The US said that it was committed to achieving the SDGs. The US also announced new PEPFAR targets:

• By the end of 2017, PEPFAR will support 12.9m people on life-saving anti-retroviral treatment – nearly a doubling of people on treatment from 2013 to 2017;
• Provide 13m male circumcisions for HIV prevention; and
• Reduce HIV incidence by 40% among adolescent girls and young women within the highest burdened areas of 10 sub-Saharan African countries.

The Republic of Korea will launch the “Better Life of Girls Initiative” in 2015, providing $200m over five years for health and education for vulnerable girls in developing countries. Korea has also pledged to use its rural development strategy, Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement), to expand financial contributions to developing countries. Korea also supports the GPEDC and plans to join International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) next year.

Climate/Energy

 

The SG appealed to member states to adopt a solid and universal agreement on climate change in Paris.

Costa Rica committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2020. Iceland also said that it aims to become carbon neutral, and will continue to support developing countries in harnessing geothermal energy. Brazil pledged to reduce 37% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, and 43% by 2030 on 2005 levels.

Sweden expressed a desire to be among the first fossil-free nations, with Swedish companies playing a key role in developing climate-smart innovations. Sweden remains a major donor to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and will continue to give 1%/GNI in ODA.

Fiji and Sweden have partnered to host the first Triennial UN Conference on Oceans & Seas in 2017. The Pacific Island Forum Leaders Declaration on Climate Change Action, developed in Papua New Guinea, articulated expectations for an ambitious, legally binding climate agreement in Paris that recognizes special circumstances of SIDS and LDCs. Luxembourg supported having no nuclear energy.

South Africa asserted that climate financing should be new and additional to existing ODA levels, and Sudan asked that developed countries commit $100b to the GCF by 2020. Luxembourg expressed a need for diversified financing, challenging donors to reach $100b/year by 2020 for climate finance. Germany pledged to make $100b/year available to developing countries for climate protection.

Gender Equality

Saudi Arabia defined “sex” as meaning only male and female, and “family” as meaning a marriage between a man and a woman. Poland expressed support for traditional family values. The US, with support from many others, countered by saying “one of the best indicators of whether a society will succeed is how it treats its women.” Chile expressed regret that sexual diversity was not included.

Iceland’s parliament has agreed to substantially increase funding for gender equality issues over the next 5 years, half of which will go to supporting measures internationally.

 

Financing and Means of Implementation

The US asserted that the SDGs will not succeed unless we embrace the full potential of Africa and that investing in the success of Africa will boost the entire global economy. Ghana referenced the problem of brain drain and articulated a need to create more production value in Africa.

Antigua and Barbuda highlighted that the majority of the world’s poorest live in Middle Income Countries (MICs). Surinamesupported recognition of the special challenges that MICs face in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and requested the multilateral development banks (MDBs) to explore ways to address these challenges. Costa Rica asserted that “MICs” is an inappropriately-named category.

 Japan and India committed to investing in infrastructure. Afghanistan highlighted the need to understand costs and trade-offs to deliver on the agenda. The UK urged companies to invest in developing products for the poorest and to promote sustainability. The UK also urged governments to break down unfair trade barriers, including at the upcoming 2015 WTO Ministerial in Kenya.

World Bank Group President Jim Kim pledged that the MDBs will provide $400b to support sustainable development.

Many countries referred to the global partnership for financing development (including goal 17), and the need for diverse methods of financing. Many developing countries also emphasized the need to apply the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) to the global partnership.

The UK and Liechtenstein noted that they have met, and in some years exceeded, the target of 0.7%/GNI as ODA.Liechtenstein has also given 0.15-0.2%/GNI to LDCs. Germany is committed to reaching the 0.7% target and plans to increase the budget for development cooperation substantially over next few years. Ireland and Spain both pledged to work toward the 0.7% target.

The US noted that financing for development goes beyond government spending, and is also about harnessing the unprecedented resources of our interconnected world. The UK urged countries to focus on tax, trade and transparency. Costa Rica argued that disarmament would allow significant resources to be channeled sustainable development, noting the $1.7t in global military spending in 2014.

 

Data and Technology

Pakistan articulated the need for credible, realistic data. Trinidad and Tobago highlighted the importance of disaggregation.Samoa agreed that accurate data and statistics, and meaningful and relevant indicators are vital. Cyprus said that that global indicator framework would be critical for the follow-up and review process. Liberia said it is important to ensure that citizens have the means to assess progress and that the data revolution will be important for planning, monitoring and evaluation.

India and El Salvador expressed hope that the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) will become an effective mechanism for global public good. Turkey plans to host the proposed LDC technology bank and mechanism, and is looking forward to the TFM report.

 

Political

Turkey has placed development at the center of its G20 presidency, prioritizing integration of LDCs into the world economy ensuring close alignment between the G20 agenda and sustainable development efforts. The G20 will discuss its contribution to the SDGs at the Antalya Summit in November 2015.

The Netherlands said that its strong commitment to development is one of the main reasons it is seeking a seat on the UNSC for 2017-2018.
Follow-up and review

Colombia has set up an inter-institutional commission bringing to coordinate on implementation, working methods, evaluation and follow up. Colombia will also be part of a high-level group focused on the SDGs with Brazil, Liberia, Sweden, South Africa, Tanzania, Germany, Tunisia, and Timor-Leste.

In 2016, Germany will be one of first states to report on implementation of its national strategy in the HLPF. With Ghana and Norway, Germany has also asked the SG to set up a high level panel to draw lessons from the Ebola pandemic and ensure more rapid and effective reactions in future situations.

Trinidad and Tobago called for the development of tools to measure and monitor implementation. Liberia said we must set up national processes to integrate the new agenda into local content that will engender national ownership. Kiribati acknowledged that these goals are not new. Most, if not all, are in its national development plans and strategies already, which it acknowledged is true for many countries.

Mexico referred to its national plan as the forum for follow up and review processes, noting that national governments have the primary responsibility when it comes to implementation. Afghanistan and Liechtenstein also agreed that primary responsibility for follow up and review lies with states. Libya and Nigeria defended the importance of respecting national sovereignty and national priorities, appealing to the UN not to impose non-universally agreed concepts. Zimbabwe declared that they will adjust the goals they will implement as more resources become available.

Reform

Germany promised to play an active role in the reform of the UN, recognizing a need to adapt to a changing world. Bhutan,Uganda and India, said that to make the UN “Fit for Purpose.” India, Japan, Brazil and Germany must be made permanent members in the UNSC, and Africa must also be appropriately represented.

Venezuela articulated a need to reform the global economic model, particularly neo-liberal institutions like the IMF and the World Bank. Zimbabwe agreed that reform of Bretton Woods institutions is long overdue.

Guyana argued that a reformed UN development system and a reformed intergovernmental machinery will be needed to enable accountability and course correction.

Pakistan articulated the need for governmental reforms to expand resources, to stop illicit capital flows and to set up monitoring and follow-up mechanisms.

Finally, looking ahead to 2016, Costa Rica voiced support for a female SG.

Full speeches from the Sustainable Development Summit can be found here.

 

Other SDG commitments made on the sidelines of UNGA

The Secretary-General announced over $25 billion in commitments to the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, including from 40 governments and over 100 other organizations.

The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data was officially launched on September 28 with support from Canada, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, the Philippines, Senegal, the UK, the US, and several non-government partners. Commitments included:

• Canada will co-host a Centre of Excellence to strengthen civil registration and voting systems.
• Kenya will host the first World Data Forum in 2016.
• Mexico, chair of the 2015 OPG Global Summit, will launch a new mechanism for subnational governments to join the OPG and invest in local-level capacity-building for open data. Leading on the International Open Data Carter and the G20 Open Data Anti-Corruption Principles.
• UK – £6m to strengthen statistical systems tracking climate change. UK, US and Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition Secretariat will organize a 2016 summit.
• USwill join a consortium of funders to support better data collection, analysis and use on issues of health and gender, agriculture, climate, and geography. PEPFAR and MCC will invest $21.8m in global health and gender equality data in sub-Saharan Africa.  

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) adopted the Joint Declaration on Open Government for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, committing to: promoting rule of law consistent with international standards at all levels and in line with Goal 16; promoting public access to timely and disaggregated data on government activities related to SDG implementation; supporting citizen participation in SDG implementation; upholding the principles of open government when defining indicators; and using OGP National Action Plans to adopt commitments.

The US committed to implementing Goal 16 domestically, and referred to it as the essence of the SDGs.

Australia announced a $50m Gender Equality Fund for the Indo-Pacific region, and a $100m Women’s Safety Package to improve domestic support services and educational resources.

Argentina launched the Buenos Aires Plan of Action and Argentinian Fund for South-South Cooperation.

Korea announced $100m to support capacity building in developing countries, and $200m in ODA.

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