Govt promises on Global Goals but their actions take us backwards!
(Image by CNS (Citizen News Service)) Details DMCA
Video of Paul Quintos' interview is online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0Z0hvIKe0
Video of Justin Kilcullen's interview is online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Juf1nYzrnbA
(CNS): The world is agog with excitement at the recent adoption by the 70th UN General Assembly, of the new framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, composed of 17 goals and 169 targets to wipe out poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change over the next 15 years. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, hails these goals as "A blueprint for a better future". to transform the world. We must leave no-one behind."
Justin Kilcullen, co-chair of CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE), and Paul Quintos of IBON International spoke with CNS (Citizen News Service) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, on the implications of these goals to the people for whom they are actually meant.
"We should rejoice in what we have achieved, but we must not believe that it is going to be easy," Justin remarked pertaining to the advance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) compared to its predecessor MDGs.
Critics point out that one of the main flaws of the MDGs is the lack of ownership and engagement -- something the SDGs have the potential to overcome. During the last 15 years, the world has seen an increasing engagement of citizens, NGOs and government organizations around issues of development. "The challenge now lies in governments fulfilling their commitments to the people," Justin added.
Each of the 17 Global Goals for sustainable development is essentially a human right, says Justin, with the last goal (Goal 17) being the most important, as it is about resources and new partnerships, without which countries will not be able to deliver the other 16 Global Goals. He calls this the contradiction of the summer of 2015.
"While the SDGs tell us of 'what the governments have agreed to do for their people', they do not give a sense that 'governments will work with the people to help them bring the change these goals envisage'. It is very much top-down", warns Justin.
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