For the first time, the draft Ministerial Declaration for the 2020 HLPF is being suggested to be put off until 2021
For the first time, the draft Ministerial Declaration is being proposed to be put off until 2021
DRAFT decision
Reconsideration of the draft ministerial declaration of the high-level segment of the 2020 session of the Economic and Social Council and the high-level political forum on sustainable development, convened under the auspices of the Council The Economic and Social Council decides, on an exceptional basis, to hold a meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development and of the Economic and Social Council as early as possible during the 2021 session of the Council, to reconsider the draft ministerial declaration of the high-level segment of the 2020 session of the Economic and Social Council and the high-level political forum on sustainable development, convened under the auspices of the Council.
Here is the draft Ministerial Declaration which will not be agreed until 2021
DRAFT Ministerial declaration of
the high-level segment of the 2020 session of the Economic and Social Council
and the 2020 high-level political forum on sustainable development “Accelerated
action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery
for sustainable development”
I. Introduction
We, the Ministers and high
representatives, have adopted, during this challenging time that our world is
facing, the present declaration at the high-level segment of the 2020 session
of the Economic and Social Council and the 2020 high-level political forum on
sustainable development.
1. As we commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the
United Nations, we reaffirm our commitment to international cooperation and
multilateralism. We also reaffirm our belief in the importance of the United
Nations and its purposes and principles as enshrined in its Charter. We
recognize the central role of the United Nations system in supporting the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as catalysing and coordinating a
global response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, based on unity,
solidarity, multilateralism and international cooperation.
2. The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated our
world’s vulnerabilities and inequalities within and among countries. This
emphasizes the urgent need for a global renewed commitment to solidarity,
across the multilateral system, nations, people and generations. We stress that
accelerated progress towards implementing the 2030 Agenda should be our
collective road map to respond and build back better; help prevent future
pandemics; achieve a sustainable, resilient and prosperous future for all; and
respect, protect and fulfil human rights.
3. As we enter the decade of action and delivery for
sustainable development, we reaffirm our commitment to implement the 2030
Agenda in its entirety. We also reaffirm the principles recognized in the 2030
Agenda, which is people-centred, transformative and universal in nature, and
that its Goals and targets are integrated and indivisible, balancing the economic,
social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. We need an
integrated approach that will leverage interlinkages and minimize trade-offs
across Goals and targets, lead to sustainable and inclusive recovery, and
accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the
framework of the decade of action and delivery.
4. We reaffirm that eradicating poverty in all its forms and
dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an
indispensable requirement for sustainable development, and note with concern
that, for the first time in decades, the trend of poverty reduction is being
reversed.
5. We recognize that the poorest and the people in
vulnerable situations are the most affected by the COVID-19 crisis. We will
place a focus on those people in our policies and actions. We will undertake
every effort to leave no one behind and to reach the furthest behind first.
Those whose needs are reflected in the 2030 Agenda include all children, youth,
persons with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS, older persons,
indigenous peoples, refugees and internally displaced persons and migrants. We
also intend to see the Goals and targets met for all nations and peoples and
for all segments of society.
6. We reaffirm that the realization of gender equality and
the empowerment of all women and girls will make a crucial contribution to
progress across all the Sustainable Development Goals and targets and that
responses to COVID-19 should be gender-responsive.
II. Assessment
of the situation regarding the 2030 Agenda
7. The report of the Secretary-General on progress towards
the Sustainable Development Goals and
the Global Sustainable Development Report state that the progress in the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda continues to be too slow and uneven and that
it has either stalled or been reversed in some areas. The number of people
suffering from hunger is on the rise; climate change is occurring much faster
than anticipated, as evidenced by, inter alia, the impacts on oceans and seas,
the loss of vulnerable ecosystems and the retreat of mountain glaciers.
Biodiversity loss, deforestation, water stress, as well as global pollution
from chemicals and waste, remain global challenges, while desertification
continues to increase; infrastructure building is lagging far behind the actual
demands; and inequality continues to increase within and among countries.
8. We acknowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic reinforces
pre-existing obstacles to realizing the Goals, structural inequalities, gaps
and systemic challenges and risks. It threatens to halt or obliterate the
progress that has been made since 2015. We recognize the efforts and measures
proposed by the Secretary-General concerning the response to the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The effects of the pandemic have overwhelmed health systems
globally, caused businesses and factories to shut down, pushed down commodity
prices, investment and remittances, affected international human mobility, the
tourism industry and related services, undermined the ability of local
authorities to provide basic services, severely impacted the livelihoods of
half of the global workforce, exacerbated unemployment, kept hundreds of
millions of students out of schools, challenged the provision of humanitarian
assistance and protection, and disrupted global value and supply chains,
affecting the supply of products. The pandemic has disproportionately affected
people of all ages with pre-existing medical conditions, and older persons, who
are at a significantly higher risk of mortality, and showed a higher mortality
rate in men affected by COVID-19 compared with women. It also poses risks of
regression in gender equality and is expected to push tens of millions of
people back into extreme poverty and hunger. We recognize the need for
coordination and collaboration at all levels of governance to respond to the
pandemic. The insufficient efforts to implement the Goals exacerbated the
impact of the pandemic. We also acknowledge the multidimensional nature of the
pandemic and its severe impact on all countries, especially developing
countries and countries in special situations.
III. Actions
for the way forward
9. We reaffirm our commitment to the actions in the
political declaration adopted at the Sustainable Development Goals Summit held
in September 2019 and the preceding
declarations of the high-level political forum. We emphasize that the decade of
action should address the accelerated actions listed below, aimed at eradicating
poverty in all its forms and dimensions, everywhere, and achieving a
sustainable and inclusive recovery from the pandemic and the full
implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
10. We recognize the special challenges and needs facing the
most vulnerable countries, in particular African countries, least developed
countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States,
as well as the specific challenges facing many middle-income countries and
countries in conflict and post-conflict situations, in pursuing sustainable
development. Taking into account the different levels of development and the
disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on developing countries, we
will support them by taking urgent steps to help them to build back better and
achieve sustainable development, including through increasing access to
concessional finance, especially in the context of the global pandemic.
11. We invite the international community and all relevant
stakeholders to cooperate and mobilize resources, including through financial
and in-kind assistance, as well as direct aid to host countries and refugee
populations, with a view to enhancing the capacity of and reducing the heavy
burden borne by countries and communities hosting refugees, in accordance with
the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international
law and the guiding principles of the humanitarian emergency assistance of the
United Nations, as reflected in the relevant resolutions of the General
Assembly.
12. We strongly believe that there can be no sustainable
development without peace and no peace without sustainable development. We
welcome, in this regard, the Secretary-General’s appeal for an immediate global
ceasefire. We will redouble our collective efforts to build peaceful, just and
inclusive societies through reducing inequalities within and among countries,
enhancing our ability to prevent and resolve conflicts. We further commit to
finding peaceful and just solutions to disputes and to respecting international
law and the purposes and principles of the Charter, including the right to
self-determination of peoples and the need to respect the territorial integrity
and political independence of States. We also commit to respecting, protecting
and fulfilling human rights for all, ending all forms of discrimination, racism
and xenophobia, ensuring equal access to justice and achieving gender equality
and empowering all women and girls. We will also upscale our efforts to build
and strengthen more effective, accountable and transparent institutions, and
ensure equal access to basic services and opportunities, with a special
emphasis on people in vulnerable situations. We recognize that terrorism,
organized crime, corruption, illicit financial flows, global health threats,
humanitarian emergencies and forced displacement of people threaten to reverse
much of the development progress made in recent decades.
13. We are determined to invest and cooperate in prevention and
resilience as essential components of disaster risk reduction, to increase
preparedness and to build back better, in accordance with the Sendai Framework
for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.
We will combine short-term actions with long-term disaster risk
reduction strategies and policies, to prevent the creation of new risks, reduce
existing risks, resist shocks and mitigate their consequences, including by
investing in reducing hazard exposure and vulnerability, nature-based
solutions, information and communication networks, early warning systems and
evidence-based policymaking.
14. We will protect and advance human well-being by promoting
investment in and ensuring equitable and universal access to quality and inclusive
education at all levels, including through remote learning, as well as
universal, quality and affordable health services, social protection,
affordable and safe housing, safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, safe,
sufficient and nutritious food, energy and information and communications
technology. We will use all policy tools to mitigate the devastating impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic. We will relaunch sustainable and inclusive growth,
reduce income inequalities and address the financing challenges of developing
countries to achieve sustainable development. We will promote a sustainable and
inclusive recovery of our economies, including through ensuring sustainable
consumption and production patterns, to protect the environment and create conditions
for decent work for all, including for those in the informal economy, support
and facilitate access to finance for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises
and build their capacity, to help restore jobs and incomes.
15. We will ensure that emergency social and economic schemes
integrate a gender perspective and the promotion and protection of the rights
of the child. We recognize the multi-faceted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
women and girls, who also face increased levels of violence and exploitation.
We recommit to targeted and accelerated action to remove all legal, social and
economic barriers to achieve gender equality, full, effective and meaningful
participation in decision-making and the empowerment of all women and girls and
their full and equal enjoyment of all human rights.
16. We will invest in strengthening national health and social
protection systems, including to achieve universal health coverage, to help to
ensure a sustainable recovery from COVID-19, as well as pandemic preparedness
and the prevention and detection of, and response to, any future outbreaks,
including through universal and effective application of the International
Health Regulations and a reinforcement of the global health system. In the
light of the current pandemic, and given their weak health systems, high levels
of debt and limited fiscal space, we commit to supporting all developing
countries that are the most affected by the pandemic, with greater emphasis on
providing technical assistance, improving health facilities infrastructure and
investing in quality health services and social protection systems. We
underscore that equitable access, without any hindrance or form of
discrimination, to quality vaccines, medicines, treatments, medical equipment,
new diagnostics and other health products for COVID-19 is a global priority and
that their availability, accessibility, acceptability and affordability are
fundamental to tackling the pandemic. We also recognize the role of extensive
immunization against COVID 19 as a global public good.
17. We remain determined to end hunger and achieve food security
and improved nutrition for all as a matter of priority and to end all forms of
malnutrition, while ensuring sustainable and resilient food systems, promoting
sustainable agriculture, including smallholder and family farming, that
increases productivity and production, and preventing food loss and waste.
Recognizing that COVID-19 has exacerbated food insecurity, and also recognizing
that international trade is an engine for development, we will work to ensure
the flow of vital medical supplies, food and agricultural products and inputs,
and other goods and services across borders, and work to resolve disruptions to
the global supply chains to support the health and well-being of all people. We
reiterate our goal to realize a free, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent,
predictable and stable trade and investment environment and to keep our markets
open. We look forward to the 2021 Food Systems Summit to be convened by the
Secretary-General.
18. We also reaffirm that climate change is one of the greatest
challenges of our time. We express profound alarm that emissions of greenhouse
gases continue to rise globally, and remain deeply concerned that all
countries, particularly developing countries, are vulnerable to the adverse
impacts of climate change. We emphasize in this regard that mitigation of and
adaptation to climate change represent an immediate and urgent priority. We
reaffirm the need to immediately curb greenhouse gas emissions. We also stress
the importance of engaging further efforts and mobilizing means of
implementation for climate change mitigation and adaptation, including
strengthening resilience, taking into account the specific needs and special circumstances
of developing countries, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to
the adverse effects of climate change. We recognize the synergies between the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.
19. We recommit to protecting wildlife and other living species
and to reversing the trends in environmental degradation through the
restoration of ecosystems, halting biodiversity loss and deforestation,
integrating the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, as well as
the fair and equitable benefit-sharing of the use of genetic resources, into
relevant national decision-making, ending the illegal and unsustainable trade
and consumption of wildlife, forest restoration, combating desertification and
achieving land degradation neutrality, conserving and sustainably using oceans,
seas and marine resources, and promoting sustainable consumption and production
patterns. We also recommit to improving resource efficiency and significantly
reducing pollution and waste, including discharge of plastic litter into the
oceans, and achieving a world in which humanity lives in harmony with nature.
In that regard, we emphasize that biodiversity, climate and health must be
addressed holistically, including through, inter alia, investing in scaling up
ecosystem-based approaches, nature-based solutions, sustainable infrastructure
and other possible strategies, as appropriate, to build back better and
greener. We will promote a coherent approach for addressing biodiversity loss,
climate change and land and ecosystem degradation, including between the
secretariats of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or
Desertification, Particularly in Africa.
We also recall, in this context, the relevant initiative of the
fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on
Biological Diversity.
20. We reaffirm our commitment to universal access to
affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. We commit to
accelerating the deployment of sustainable energy technologies, including
through promoting access and investment in clean and advanced energy technologies
and energy infrastructure, as appropriate. We recognize that accelerating the
transition to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, and
achieving universal access by 2030, could facilitate sustainable recovery from
COVID-19, and long-term resilience, and advance the interconnected Sustainable
Development Goals. We support solutions that are in line with people’s needs
and that support local economic activities. It is also critical that we scale
up capacity-building, research and development, including by sharing
experiences and data and promoting innovation and investments in energy
efficiency across all sectors of the economy, and that we support sustainable
energy deployment, particularly in developing countries.
21. We emphasize that increasing investment in infrastructure
will drive growth and help to achieve the Goals, and that filling the gap in
infrastructure financing will require public and private financing as well as
technologies, know-how and operational efficiencies. We reaffirm our commitment
to develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure,
including regional and transboundary infrastructure, to support economic
development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access
for all.
22. We will continue to strengthen the science-policy interface
through evidence-based policymaking, support for research and development,
harnessing science, technology and innovation, and leveraging technologies to
promote inclusive digital economy and build resilience across sectors. In this
regard, we thank the Secretary-General for launching the Road Map for Digital
Cooperation. We commit to enhancing and promoting capacity-building,
infrastructure, connectivity and technical assistance initiatives as well as
innovation and technologies towards advancing the Goals and targets, with a
special focus on developing countries, and commit to strengthening cooperation
to close the digital divide within and among countries.
23. We pledge to increase our level of ambition to mobilize and
effectively use all available means of implementation, to fully implement the
2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International
Conference on Financing for Development
and the agreed conclusions and recommendations of the Economic and
Social Council forums on financing for development follow-up. We are deeply
concerned about the impact of high debt levels on countries’ ability to
withstand the impact of the COVID-19 shock and to invest in the implementation
of the 2030 Agenda. We commit to addressing the needs of the developing
countries, especially those highly indebted and most vulnerable, and invite the
international community and relevant stakeholders, including private and
commercial creditors, to urgently and properly address those needs, and engage
efforts towards coordinated international debt relief efforts for countries
experiencing solvency problems, in close cooperation with international
financial institutions. In this regard, we welcome the Group of 20 debt service
suspension initiative.
24. We recognize that the pandemic is adding more hardships in
the implementation of the Goals. We will continue strengthening the means of
implementation and acknowledge that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda
requires a strong commitment to partnership at all levels between Governments,
the private sector, civil society and all other relevant stakeholders.
Therefore, we recognize the importance of the various contributions of all
relevant stakeholders, including the private sector. Strengthening
multilateralism, international cooperation and global partnership is more
important than ever. We will continue to enhance South-South and triangular
cooperation, reaffirming that South-South cooperation is a complement to but
not a substitute for North-South cooperation.
25. We commit to maintaining the integrity of the 2030 Agenda by
raising the ambition and ensuring continuous action on the targets of the
Sustainable Development Goals with a 2020 timeline, by redoubling our efforts
to achieve these targets in an accelerated time frame, reflecting the urgency
conveyed in the Agenda, and requesting the relevant intergovernmental forums
and bodies to review and, as needed, adjust their frameworks so as to allow to
update targets to reflect a suitable level of ambition for 2030. The 2021
high-level political forum will review progress in this regard.
26. We commit to strengthening our national statistical
capacities to address the gaps in data on the 2030 Agenda in order to allow
countries to provide high-quality, timely, reliable, disaggregated data and
statistics and to fully integrate the Goals and targets in our monitoring and
reporting systems and sharing of best practices in this regard. We encourage international
cooperation, supporting statistical capacity-building in developing countries,
in particular the most vulnerable countries, which face the greatest challenges
in producing, collecting, analysing and using high-quality, timely and reliable
data and statistics.
27. We urge the United Nations to further capitalize on the key
findings and evidence extracted from the voluntary national reviews and
encourage peer learning. We encourage countries to share locally driven
development approaches and pathways to accelerate the implementation of the
2030 Agenda. We also recognize the contribution of the regional reviews, as
well as the contribution of the United Nations regional commissions, the
regional forums on sustainable development, major groups and all relevant
stakeholders.
28. We commit to involving and empowering local authorities to
ensure local ownership of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular by
citizens, and to best translate national development priorities into local
realities.
29. Finally, we will promote public engagement and innovative
partnerships through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach,
regional and local mobilization and actions, and involvement of communities,
people, civil society, academia and the private sector. We will continue to
ensure the meaningful participation of all relevant stakeholders in the
high-level political forum. We also acknowledge the role of the volunteers in
the implementation of the Goals. We will invest more in human capital to
empower children and youth as critical agents of change and support their
meaningful participation in realizing the vision of the 2030 Agenda.
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