Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, I am pleased to join you virtually today, to discuss the role of regional cooperation and partnerships in the Decade of Action for the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Allow me to thank Mr. Roberto Antonione, Secretary General of the Central European Initiative (CEI), for inviting me to speak at this important gathering.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the 2021 Montenegrin CEI Presidency. The priorities identified by the Presidency - pandemic recovery, strengthened connectivity, scientific cooperation and environmental protection - are closely aligned with those of the United Nations.
As it was recalled, I had the honor to address the side event hosted by CEI on the margins of the 2019 United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Today, I am delighted to note that since our last encounter two years ago, the CEI has continued its commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through enhanced regional cooperation and strengthened relationship with the UN.
Dear Colleagues,
We cannot ignore we are in a global pandemic. 2020 was “a global annus horribilis- a year of death, disaster and despair”, as the UN Secretary-General noted in his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly in January this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge to the world, causing the loss of over 2.5 million lives.
According to the recent World Economic Situation and Prospects 2021 Report produced by DESA, the world economy shrank by 4.3 per cent last year, which was worse than the global financial crisis of 2009. For the first time since 1998, it is estimated that 131 million people have been pushed back into poverty.
The pandemic has abruptly disrupted implementation towards most of the SDGs, and in some cases, it has turned back hard-won progress.
The world’s poorest and most vulnerable people have been affected most by the crisis. Inequalities and disparities within and among countries have been further exacerbated.
The pandemic has also adversely and disproportionately affected women and girls, exposing them to the increased risk of economic devastation, poverty, violence and illiteracy.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, progress towards the SDGs was uneven at best and we were not on track to achieve the goals by their target year of 2030.
Today, as the pandemic continues to ravage the globe, it is even more challenging to deliver their ambition and to keep our promise to Leave No One Behind.
However, the shock and impacts brought by the pandemic have also demonstrated clearly why we need the 2030 Agenda.
The SDGs are our roadmap to overcome the ongoing crisis, recover better, and build the resilience of our societies to face other crisis in the future. But they cannot be achieved without the collective efforts by all stakeholders, strong cooperation at local, national, regional and international levels, and innovative partnerships.
Let’s have a look at what’s expected in 2021.
A reinvigorated commitment to multilateralism will be key to re-energizing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. As the development pillar of the United Nations Secretariat, DESA has been supporting Member States in renewed efforts to achieve the SDGs at all levels and across sectors, including by facilitating several major global conferences and summits.
This year, a number of high-level events will be organized that offer the global community an opportunity to refocus efforts around several SDGs and their interlinkages, and to demonstrate the unique and crucial role of multilateralism to address our common challenges.
In addition to the annual High-level Political Forum, these events include the annual Financing for Development Forum and the Science, Technology and Innovation Forums, the High-level Dialogue on Energy, and the Second Global Sustainable Transport Conference, to name a few.
This year’s High-level political forum focuses on ensuring a sustainable recovery from COVID-19 through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It will also address nine SDGs, some of which are the most closely related to the impact of COVID-19. Those are SDGs 1 on poverty, 2 on hunger, 3 on health, 8 on decent work, 12 on sustainable consumption and production, 13 on climate action, 16 on peaceful societies and transparent institutions and 17 on means of implementation and partnership. The HLPF will also hear presentations from 42 countries on their national implementation of the 2030 Agenda and measures they are undertaking for the recovery from COVID.
Among your membership, I am glad to note that 2 Member States of CEI will present their VNRs for the second time this year, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. And I invite others to do the same. We expect it to break new ground on the kind of policies that can promote the recovery from COVID-19, while containing the pandemic’s worst impact on the SDGs and putting us on a path to realize the goals by 2030.
The HLPF is being prepared through regional forums held by the five UN regional commissions. This year, due to the ongoing circumstances, these forums will all be held virtually; however, they will continue to act as critical platforms for peer learning on key regional issues and to strengthen cooperation among countries and other actors to advance the implementation of the SDGs.
Dear Colleagues,
Talking of other actors, Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships is very important.
While governments are in the driving seat for implementing the 2030 Agenda, all sectors of society need to be meaningfully engaged if we are to make the SDGs a reality by their target year.
This is more true today than ever. As our societies are striving to recover and overcome the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic, we need government, business, civil society, and academia aligning efforts, pooling resources and working closely together including in multi-stakeholder partnerships.
A recent survey circulated by DESA shows that new partnerships have been developed in response to COVID-19, especially in the areas of health, obviously, but also support for small business, access to IT and support for education. 68% of the government respondents also perceived the need for engaging stakeholders and developing partnerships as increasingly critical in response to the pandemic.
At the same time, there are also concerns that stakeholders may be less able to effectively participate in implementation efforts, including as a result of growing capacity challenges due to the negative effect of the pandemic on the economy and in the society.
Moving ahead, we need to double down on our efforts to invest in partnerships, including ones that involve multiple actors and sectors, to help create the levers required to achieve system transformation. I count on your to contribute to this effort.
Dear Colleagues,
Mutual leaning will help improve resilience to future crisis and shocks.
To this end, DESA has created a number of online tools and platforms, to shine the spotlight on inspiring examples of SDG implementation by governments and stakeholders alike.
These include the SDG Acceleration Actions online database, which was set up to capture voluntary initiatives by governments and other actors to accelerate SDG implementation.
35% of the Actions that are published online are from Europe, including an initiative by the Government of Poland (member state of CEI) to re-engineer their legal system to remove attitudinal, architectural and ICT barriers for persons with disabilities.
I would like to encourage all members of the CEI to consider registering and showcasing your ambitious actions on this platform.
Dear colleagues,
I want to highlight the core value of multilateralism.
Last October, over a million people took part in a global consultation when the United Nations celebrated its 75th anniversary. 60% of the respondents believed that the UN has made the world a better place, and 74% of them considered that the UN is “essential” to tackle global challenges in the future. This is quite an encouraging response for us.
However, the United Nations cannot achieve its goals alone.
In this Decade of Action, let us join forces globally, regionally and locally, with all partners and stakeholders, so that we can achieve our shared vision for a future that is more equal, inclusive, sustainable and safe for all.
Thank you.