On Sunday night August 2nd, the finalized post-2015 Agenda and sustainable development goals which will be signed off by Heads of State at the SDG Summit in September was adopted followed by a standing ovation at the UN and a lot of emotion in the room. A truly historic moment where 193 countries of the world agreed on how to ensure a better future for humanity.
A time to celebrate all the work we have done together as civil society over the past three years advocating for our issues, starting with the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel Report, followed by the UN Open Working Group’s Outcome Document, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and finally, the post-2015 “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. While the adopted document might not include all the issues we fought very hard to obtain until the end (for example explicit attention to the rights and needs of LGBTI people, comprehensive sexuality education and sexual rights), a large number of strong and historic commitments have been made that the world can be held accountable for in the coming fifteen years:
This agenda is truly universal. It applies to high-income, middle-income and low-income countries alike. There is a large emphasis throughout the document on achieving equality, empowerment of all citizens and inclusiveness. Governments have agreed on a systematic follow-up and review at the national, regional and global levels in relation to the progress made in implementing the goals and targets over the coming fifteen years to support accountability to the world’s citizens. Each country will decide how these aspirational and global targets as well as the global indicators currently being developed by the UN Statistical Commission will be incorporated into future national planning processes, policies and strategies and how they will guide country-specific progress.
It is crucial to engage in this process. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides us with a powerful advocacy tool to asks our governments the right questions:
The work has not yet been done. The coming year gives us additional opportunities to advocate for a continued strong commitment to ending AIDS and to leaving no one behind. The first ever UNGASS on Drugs, the next High Level Meeting on AIDS and the IAS 2016 will all be crucial for ensuring that the commitments made in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the new UNAIDS, Global Fund and WHO HIV strategies and guidelines are translated into concrete plans, targets and funding.