based on report of Earth Negotiations Bulletin, iisd Reporting Services
The ninth session of the UN General Assembly Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) took place from 3-5 March 2014, at UN Headquarters in New York. Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya, and Csaba Kőrösi, Permanent Representative of Hungary, continued in their roles as Co-Chairs of the meeting, which brought together OWG members, other Member States, representatives from UN agencies, and Major Groups.
OWG-9 began the second phase of the work of the OWG -- the process of narrowing down preferences for a set of SDGs following the “stocktaking” phase. Delegates had before them the list of 19 “focus areas”. They also participated in a joint meeting with the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing, heard reactions from Major Groups to the focus areas and discussed the way forward for the next session that begins on 31 March 2014. At the end of the meeting, the Co-Chairs offered to prepare four informational documents to assist delegates in their deliberations at OWG-10: a “slightly tweaked” focus areas document; a compendium of existing issue targets on various issues; a matrix of interlinkages between issues; and working definitions of goals, targets, and indicators.
OWG-9 REPORT
Co-Chair Kamau opened OWG-9 and said that the focus areas do not preclude other issues raised during the thematic discussions and that the focus areas document aims to start the process of identifying the SDGs and accompanying targets. It is not a “zero draft” for the report that the OWG will submit to the UN General Assembly in September 2014. The 19 focus areas, if they can be addressed synergistically, can promise a more sustainable earth, societies, and economies, and ultimately a more sustainable global political framework.
Members were urged to retain a high level of ambition in the next few months, rather than maintaining the status quo and protecting vested interests. He stressed the need for universality, ie whether a proposed goal speaks equitably to “north and south, east and west, and rich and poor” and also referred to interlinkages between proposed goals, and their collective impact and said that coherence is almost as important as universality.
OWG-9 DISCUSSION
During the discussions on the first one and a half days OWG-9 participants introduced elements that they thought were not addressed adequately in the document. Below are key points on issues related to the inclusion of health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, youth and population dynamics in the SDGs. For an account of other areas included in member interventions see the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, IIED Reporting Services.
The European Union (EU) highlighted inter alia priorities including achieving gender equality, addressing inequalities, freedom from violence and honest government and key aspects of rule of law, such as birth registration. He also stressed the importance of including reproductive health. Guyana, for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) called for more emphasis on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Colombia, also for Guatemala, focused on the way forward, scope, universality and implementation and said the OWG must have a coherent set of goals and targets by July, suggesting using an “M&M” indicator for assessing the OWG’s success: whether Ministers will be able to say they can take the goals forward, and whether Mothers will be able to understand the goals.
Bulgaria, also for Croatia, said more attention should be paid to sexual rights and vulnerable groups. Norway, also for Ireland and Denmark, recommended inter alia including action to combat obesity and addressing women’s empowerment and gender equality throughout all focus areas. Indonesia called for reflecting disaster risk reduction (DRR) in cross-cutting elements and for including women, youth and persons with disabilities. Zambia said that all of the elements to achieve poverty eradication should be incorporated, including youth employment, empowerment of women and social inclusiveness. Uganda emphasized gender equality and empowerment of women, youth employment, and older persons and persons with disabilities. Human rights, governance and the rule of law should be considered in the context of development enablers as agreed in the Rio+20 outcome and in respect of national traditions, cultures and values.
Bangladesh highlighted migration, youth and other population dynamics as inadequately reflected in the paper. The Russian Federation said sustainable transport should be a stand-alone focus area. Nigeria said that sexual rights, among other issues, represents a “red line” that will hamper progress. Palau called for a greater focus on health, including control of NCDs, and said there should be a target calling for breastfeeding all infants for the first six months of life. Slovenia said sustainable development is not possible without respect for human rights, and supported continued education for teachers, gender equality and women’s empowerment and access to women’s healthcare. On sexual and reproductive health and rights, Saudi Arabia said the Group should respect the culture and religion of each country. He also cautioned about interference from other processes in the Group’s work.
Sri Lanka highlighted the 2014 Youth Conference to be held in Colombo, noting that youth are the beneficiaries of development processes. Iran urged members to avoid “controversial” language. Morocco said the issue of youth should be further mainstreamed into the focus areas. Japan said the SDGs should have a people-centered approach; that health and universal health coverage should have a goal and that gender equality should be a stand-alone goal and mainstreamed in the other goals.
The Maldives called for a stand-alone goal on gender parity, since this will not result automatically from sustainable development. Lebanon highlighted economic empowerment for all social groups and noted the importance of migration, which could be reflected in indicators on global partnership, economic growth and decent work. Liechtenstein also welcomed a stand-alone goal on gender, but said the focus area does not sufficiently emphasize women’s participation and leadership at all levels. Panama emphasized women’s empowerment. Czech Republic stressed the need to mainstream environmental sustainability, human rights and gender equality into all goals.
The Holy See said that the development framework must avoid a “capricious” approach to inequality in which some can advance at the expense of others; family-focused policies are the most effective at reducing poverty; the right to health derives from the right to life; and remittances are engines of grassroots growth.
NGOs reiterated that the SDGs need to be universal, suggested adding text on obesity in the section on nutrition. Women cautioned that some areas use language that falls behind existing agreements, and noted that the document includes no recognition of women’s rights or planetary boundaries.
Ecuador, also for Argentina and Bolivia, called for further elaboration of goals including on employment (including youth, women, the elderly and disabled. The United States, also for Canada and Israel, called for prioritizing the unfinished MDGs, and recognizing development bottlenecks, including equality and empowerment of women, among others. She also referred to sexual orientation and gender identity, stressing that the foundation of our work and success is universal human rights and a life of dignity for all, and “all” does not mean “some.” She added that every individual is born with a fundamental right to be free from poverty, intolerance and violence.
Zimbabwe, on behalf of Southern African Countries, stressed the need for a balanced treatment of the three pillars of sustainable development. Romania, also for Poland, said the SDGs should take a human rights-based approach. Germany, also for France and Switzerland, said the agenda should be based on human rights principles, and that implementation of a new global partnership should be monitored at the global level. She proposed 12 focus areas including maximizing health for all through achieving universal health coverage; achieving gender equality, empowering women and enforcing women’s rights; and sustainable and inclusive cities and territories;.
The United Kingdom, also for the Netherlands and Australia, highlighted that gender equality and women’s empowerment must address the need to end all violence against women and girls, including early marriage. He concluded that leaving no one behind means no discrimination. Nepal emphasized the role of men and boys in focus area 5 (gender) and culture in focus area 13 (sustainable cities). Malta highlighted the issue of migration, and suggested the document include attention to readmission policies, among other elements. He stressed that the OWG should keep in mind that national positions vary on population dynamics, especially on the “highly controversial issue of abortion,” which is illegal under Maltese law.
Serbia supported a stand-alone goal on employment, including for youth and with support to small- and medium-size enterprises. On health he said that the document should address the advancement of affordable medicines and joint work on rare diseases between developed and developing countries. Equality should be addressed in relation to gender as well as other inequalities within and among countries.
Sweden said that a rights-based approach should permeate all of the goals; and further work needs to be done to elaborate the interlinkages. She noted that there is a fair amount of consensus on including a focus area on gender equality as well as to mainstream it into other focus areas. Non-violence should be at the center of the agenda and requires a separate focus area.
Qatar said culture and sustainable development must be given greater importance in the document. Finland said the post-2015 development agenda should be transformational, universal and based on human rights. Sexual and reproductive health and rights “concern us all” and should be reflected in the SDGs and post-2015 agenda, as demonstrated in the joint statement of approximately 50 states at OWG-8.
Turkey, also for Italy and Spain, stressed that gender equality and inequalities that undermine development should be included in the post-2015 development agenda. Austria called for attention to a human rights-based approach and a dedicated goal on gender equality. Uruguay proposed a stand-alone goal on poverty, strengthened by specific attention to equality, as well as addressing sexual and reproductive health rights.
The Philippines said the 19 focus areas represent an attempt to form a new architecture for sustainable development. He encouraged the OWG to look at focus areas from an inter-generational standpoint. Guatemala noted that there is wide support for issues such as health and population and gender equality and empowerment of women. Timor-Leste supported including gender equality as a stand-alone goal with cross- cutting indicators.
Local Authorities supported a stand-alone goal on urbanization, and said it should seek to foster multilevel stakeholder cooperation. Children and Youth expressed concern with the lack of focus on needs, rights and capabilities of children and youth, as well as a lack of focus on human rights in the agenda. Workers and Trade Unions said a human rights-based approach must be better reflected across all areas, social protection must be “ramped up,” and the focus areas on employment and decent work should be supported. Ageing Persons said older people will not be excluded in the next development agenda. He emphasized that older persons are resources, not burdens, and that the SDGs should focus on the specific needs of ageing populations.
Iceland said the focus areas document should take a more rights-based approach to ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment including reproductive health and rights. Belgium added Belgium’s support to previous calls for a human-rights approach; and reflection of population dynamics, migration, and social protection.