Post-2015 development agenda intergovernmental negotiations, 22-25 June No 6: 1st and 2nd meetings – Key points from statements by Member States

The statements of Member States are summarized below focussing predominantly on issues related to gender equality, youth, health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, migration and related issues. The interventions, which were predominantly on the introductory part of the outcome document and on the  declaration, provide information as to the positions and priorities of the various countries, which could be useful for the negotiations moving forward. 

On a lighter note, the Indian delegate in his statement, quoted the musical composer Leonard Bernstein as saying that “to achieve greatness, two things are needed - a plan and not enough time. Conditions are therefore just right. We clearly do not have the time, and we are sure you [the Co-facilitators] have a plan! In other words, stars are truly aligned for us to achieve greatness, to achieve a great agenda that all of us want. So, let's work together and let’s get this done by 31st of July!”

During the morning session:

Thailand is pleased that the zero draft addresses poverty eradication and vulnerable groups, including woman and girls, the disabled and children and universal health coverage. The preamble, as it is, is not needed. The FfD and MOI are mutually reinforcing, providing a framework and implementation platform. The follow-up and review is too prescriptive and risks over-burdening governments. The targets should not be revised and that Annex 1 risks opening up a dangerous new phase of discussion.

Costa Rica said that the declaration should be short and clearly based on UHDR, and the principles of Rio and the right to development. They support the retention of the poor, marginalized and vulnerable and there should be no conditionality for aid. The SDGs should not be reopened, instead being incorporated completely in the development agenda. They support goal 17 supported, and Addis will strengthen the MOI, although alone it is insufficient. FfD deserves its own follow up process that should be separate but linked. Civil society, parliaments, the UN system, the regional commissions and others should be included.

Colombia said that the title needs work and that the political declaration should refer to the multi-dimensional aspects of poverty to ensure that its eradication is sustainable. There should perhaps be a separate new paragraph on inequalities and the centrality of states. The interface between science and politics should be strengthened, with more linkages to academia and research agendas. There should also be stronger references to technology transfer, which should go beyond clean technology. There should be an increased focus in national ownership and the regional dimension.

China said that the declaration dilutes the concept of CBDR, putting forward the concept of shared responsibilities. The post-2015 development agenda should focus on increasing capacity for development and should also create a good external development environment, which should be open and inclusive to different models of development. China wants to see the full inclusion of the SDGs, including its preamble, which should be included. The MOI should be improved, pending the outcomes of Addis. The HLPF should be the follow up and review mechanism, and should be voluntary at the national level to increase country ownership.

Republic of Korea supports the nine points in the preamble. Together with the ‘5 Ps’, they can be used for effective communications. Dignity and justice should also be incorporated. The declaration could be shorter and more impactful. The marginalized, including women and girls and disabled, should be emphasized, together with the role of education from a transformative perspective. The FfD should be the MOI pillar for the post-2015 agenda to prevent duplication, with more emphasis on the use of existing mechanisms. Multi-stakeholder participation in the follow-up and review is key.

Mexico said that the final section on “Action to change the world” should also include the multi-dimensional aspect of poverty. Social inclusion has lost its central position in the declaration, which focuses on growth and economic growth. They referred to the way of working on migration in paragraph 12 as the human rights of the migrant should be respected. Paragraph 28 should be consistent with targets and the linkages of the targets should be stressed with international human rights, gender equality, the environment, etc. The political declaration fails to recognise the aspirational nature of agenda which is different from mandatory. They also recognized the role of local governments and parliamentarians in the implementation of the agenda.  

Switzerland wants to review the title, which should include the aspects of SD. They welcome the ‘5 Ps’. The preamble and declaration - lists of SDGs is selective so  what is added value – which could be seen as prioritization. The declaration should have more on the environment and reflect the positive as well as negative effects of migration. Gender should be strengthened, as well as to policy coherence. The indicator framework should be developed under the UN Statistical Commission by March 2016, as the first version to be worked on over the years.  They agree on the placeholder on the MOI, pending the Addis outcome, and welcome the emphasis on national, global and regional levels, the role of HLPF and alignment with existing mechanisms for the follow-up and review, although more ambition is needed in this chapter.

Holy See said that the human person should be at the centre as the agent, beneficiary and steward of development. The political declaration should be idealistic and compelling, but it is currently too long. Its style should be akin to the methods of social media, with repetition being removed. They support the verbatim inclusion of the goals and targets and asked how will reservations in the  OWG report will be reflected in outcome document? They urged that the MoI section should be stronger.

United Kingdom said that the declaration does well as a call to action and that the preamble is essential in communicating with the outside world. They support Benin that no target should be considered met unless it crosses all social and economic groups. The declaration does not reflect the ambition to eradicate extreme poverty by 2015. There should be a reference to anti-microbial resistance, as it has risen rapidly over the past year. They welcome the references to gender and HR of woman and girls and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights. They do not accept CBDR as an over-arching principle, nor the  right to  development along side the UHDR

Nigeria said that zero draft has yet to fulfil their aspirations and that the entire OWG including reservations should be embedded in this agenda. The critical challenges of poverty eradication and inequality should be reflected, as well all the Rio principles, including CBDR.  The MOI are much more than finance as their implementation requires a range of action. The MOI for each goal should be reflected and include resourcing, policy etc and the FfD should compliment but not be the MOI for the post-2015 process. The follow-up and review should be science-based and support effective implementation. It should be transparent, mutually responsible, including citizens.

In the afternoon session:

Indonesia said that non-state actors have a role in follow-up and review and data collection. Therefore the language should be easily understood. The preamble is unnecessary and does not reflect the actual SDGs. In the declaration they are pleased to see the inclusion of poverty eradication as greatest global challenge. They believe in CBDR. Parts of the declaration need revision, for example the notion of differentiation of developed as opposed to developing should be better reflected on sustainable production and consumption. The framing of migration should be revisited. Paragraph 36 should highlight the active contribution of all stakeholders. 

Paraguay focused on the importance of coherence between the different conference, agencies and organizations of the UN system. The reference to the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action should be strengthened.  They emphasized the need to have children, as well as gender, among the SDGs, in the context of social inclusiveness

Iraq stressed the need to balance development needs and requirements, referring to paragraph 28, recognizing international challenges including climate change. They welcome the reference to CBDR. Investment in infrastructure is important.

India found the zero draft to be concise, well structure, more or less balanced, visionary yet practical and identifying the problems well. They note the potential of a short communications tool, and accept the ‘5 Ps’. They are not convinced about the Preamble. On the declaration the tone is good and they support poverty eradication as the greatest challenge, with ending poverty and hunger as the core objective. They support the affirmation of all the Rio principles and CBDR is a joint action for all. They are pleased that the entire SDGs are included, but the chapeau in the Annex should also be fully integrated. The document has the core of the MOIs with the technology agreement being reinforced by Addis. The follow-up and review should be revised to take into account of the national and regional context.

Japan sees the agenda as a universal commitment for world leaders. The declaration should be short and concise, capturing the essence of the SDGs. Their preference is for a preamble and the ‘5 Ps’, however they are concerned that there is repetition between the preamble and the declaration, which is the vision. In the declaration some streamlining is necessary to avoid duplication and some paragraphs should be consolidated, as well as paragraphs 10 and 11. CBDR is not an overarching principle. In paragraph 17, age should be included along with race and other factors. Support universal health coverage in paragraph 23. The declaration should replace annex 3.

Israel referred to the zero draft as being holistic and balanced and a document for all stakeholders. Gender equality should be a crosscutting issue throughout the declaration. They noted some elements that take things backwards. 

Venezuela said that there should be for more references to social justice and they share the concern of the developing countries on CBDR, which is diluted in the text. They also wish to see the inclusion of the reservations as well as a broader approach to migration. A more positive approach is needed in the inclusion of the multidimensional nature of poverty. MOI should not be placeholders. Going forward discussions in contact groups should be avoided.

Monaco highlighted the important role of sport for promoting peace and inclusion and suggested an additional paragraph.

Dominican Republic said that the outcome document must be visionary and ambitious, transformative and attainable. The final document should reaffirm the principle of CBDR. The declaration should reflect to the greatest extent the priorities of the SIDS. 

Philippines looked to the document being reflective of the aspirations of peoples. They support the inclusion of language on gender equality of women and girls and the full realisation of human rights. The language on migration is also important..

Panama emphasized that it is not enough to rely on indicators for poverty, the right approach is to highlight a multidimensional approach. The approach and vision should strongly emphasize children and youth, as they are the main stakeholders going forward. People are the agenda. Without ethics for development it will not be possible to make the necessary changes. The primacy of the common good should always be reflected.

Vietnam said that the declaration is visionary and ambitious and it is the people who own the agenda. The vision is a world where world where no one is left behind. The right to development should be on a par with the UDHR. There should be a section on our world today, include migration. The new agenda should capture goals and targets in a better manner. In paragraph 20, it should mention the challenges of middle-income countries.  It should highlight the role of national parliament, as well as the role of the UN Development system.

Brazil noted that the proposed text is a good basis and the organization of the text is clear. The use of annexes is good and it is important of complementarity with the FFD process. The preamble should be deleted. Poverty eradication is the greatest global challenge. The concepts of universality and CBDR are not formulated in a way satisfactory to many delegations. Universality is not the same as equal responsibilities. There is no mention of developed countries in the whole document and do not understand why paragraph 32 does not mention their commitments for ODA. The negative connotations of migration should be revised. In the section “A call to action”, broader UN challenges should be incorporated. The need for reform in the governance structure should be highlighted. The section on SDGs should be retained as in the report on the OWG, while they have reservations about a new chapeau. The exclusion of reservations that allowed countries to agree the report should also be reviewed. On follow-up and review some proposals for national roles should be revised.

Bhutan said that the zero draft captures many aspects of agenda and would like to see prosperity and happiness to be added to the title. The call to action must have stronger language on youth and their important role towards a transformative agenda. In addition the role of parliaments in realization of agenda must be recognised.

Lebanon commented that is a good basis, although there are some outstanding issues. The declaration addressed most of the challenges. They approve of the paragraphs on education, health, gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as paragraph 12 on migration, but want references to the economic contribution of migration to receiving countries. They are concerned about the references to shared responsibility in paragraphs 9 and 27, which contradict the reference to CBDR in paragraph 11. The progress in the Addis outcome should be reflected and the follow-up and review should be a separate track

Sri Lanka said the draft declaration is a strong document, recognizing the unfinished MDG business and with references to Rio and CBDR. The preamble adds no value and is repetitive. They wish to include the OWG chapeau, which is linked to the goals and targets and should be part of text. They do not want technical proofing of targets, which may upset political balance. The goal specific MOI should not be a placeholder, but kept and complemented and not replaced by Addis. The technology exchange mechanism should be an integral part. On the follow-up and review at national level it lies entirely with member states so the zero draft should not be too prescriptive.

Canada said that they accept the  ‘5 Ps’ as a compromise, but they need fleshing out. They support the strong human rights foundation and prioritisation of the most vulnerable, as well as poverty eradication by 2030. Those furthest behind should be reached first. They support the focus on mother, newborn and child health; gender equality; nutrition; child protection; and access to education for women and girls. They agree with the reference to global partnerships and role of civil society and the private sector. The language on it being a people-centred agenda should be moved upfront and the role of women as change makers, as well as its implications for children should be more explicit. The declaration should be more concise as it is not an executive summary and they would have preferred a stronger reference to indicators on the SDGs. On the MOI, they support the 62 actions, pending the Addis outcome, and on the follow-up and review, they support building on existing platforms.

Nicaragua noted that the list of goals in the preamble is selective and contradicts 117 targets agreed by OWG and it should therefore be removed; instead the focus should be on the actions. While welcoming the declaration, they note that CBDR is distorted and defers responsibility to all, not just industrialised nations. Migration should focus on the perspectives of sending and receiving countries. The chapeau of OWG should be part of report, not in an annex.

Latvia said that Beijing Platform for Action, and ICPD Programme for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women should be referenced.

Timor Leste said that paragraph 15 is a good start for capturing the world we want, but they were concerned about the preamble. They are pleased that all previously agreed outcome documents in are not included in paragraph 10 and are unclear how agenda will be implemented universally. The declaration should sort out options for change, instead of challenges.

Sudan noted that developing countries and LDCs should received funds in line with CBDR and that unilateral sanctions to countries are major obstacles on social issues. 

Peru welcomed the SDGs related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, youth and adolescents, and migrants, which should be amended to reflect that they contribute to the countries from which they come and those to which they emigrate.

Palau said that the Beijing Platform for Action and CEDAW, as well as others should be included in paragraph 10. Paragraph 15 should be reworded to include food security and water and sanitation as human rights, as a conflict over water may be the new challenge. While they are encouraged that mental health and well-being are included but should be strengthened in the declaration. The sense of urgency has not come through on the impact of climate change, the gap between rich and poor, and the marginalization of women and girls.

Pakistan said that there is no need for preamble and that CBDR as a fundamental principle t should be maintained, as well as the right to development. Youth employment to turn the youth bulge into a dividend should be strengthened and migration should be put in positive context. They wish to maintain the SDG report including the chapeau together with the goals. There should be no reopening of targets and implementation must be voluntary, respecting national capacities.   

United States said that the focus should be on opportunities not only on challenges. There could be a paragraph on dignity for people in the Declaration that speaks to the most marginalized and that no goal or target should be considered met unless met by the bottom quintile of the world’s population. It could also explicitly highlight the unique needs of women and girls and of the opportunity for historic progress in gender equality. President Obama has looked into universality, partnership and shared responsibility within the US. The non-discrimination text does not go far enough as it should include language on sexual orientation. Moreover, the right to development does not fit into text on human rights.

Iceland stressed that gender equality and women’s empowerment is quite well reflected in the text, both as a stand alone and cross cutting issue but that it should be referred to as beneficial for all, ie women, men, girls and boys and positioned earlier in the text. Civil society organizations and women's grassroots and women's leadership should be strengthened in the text and non-discrimination on sexual orientation should be included. 

Sweden referred to leaving no one behind in which context more language on non-discrimination, including on age and other status, is needed. The vision of gender equality and women’s empowerment should call for removal of all barriers to empowerment, plus full participation and leadership, as well as social protection and access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.

Niger recognized the document as a good basis for discussion. They support the inclusion of the ‘5 Ps’ and leaving no one behind, as well as the full integration of the SDGs. They commented on the nine points in the preamble while there are 17 goals. One of the concerns that they highlight is combatting desertification.

Italy stressed the need to address the three dimensions of sustainable development throughout the text, in a balanced and integrated manner, and further work might be needed on the zero draft to strengthen the environmental pillar. The wellbeing of this and future generations depends on the wellbeing of the planet surrounding us, including its species, which are part of the same picture.  The role of parliaments is essential in providing the ownership of the SDGs at the national level and, in stimulating and monitoring the implementation of the new agenda. 

Turkey sees value in a preamble and the six elements proposed by the Secretary-General would be a good basis. The notion of human-centred development should be introduced into the declaration, which should be shortened and made more focused. The explanation of the goals in the declaration is not necessary. The positive contribution on migrants should be recognized.

Uruguay said that the declaration should incorporate a rights perspective for all as well as fundamental freedoms, without distinction on race, sex, sexual orientation, political opinion, or any other condition. Gender equality and women’s empowerment should not be excluded in all the dimensions of daily life. Fifty percent of the world population has systematically been left behind. Without women its achievement is impossible. Nor can youth also cannot be absent from the declaration. Universal access to education and health, including non-communicable diseases, and the rights of the child should also be included.