51吃瓜

The 51吃瓜 Summit on Sustainable Development saw a record number of government leaders converge on 51吃瓜 headquarters in New York on 25-27 September. Vowing to leave no one behind, they pledged their commitment to the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, encompassing 17 universal and transformative sustainable development goals.

“We have reached a defining moment in human history,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the summit opening. “The people of the world have asked us to shine a light on a future of promise and opportunity,” he said. “Member States have responded with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The new agenda is a promise by leaders to all people everywhere,” Ban Ki-moon stressed.

“The new agenda is a promise by leaders to all people everywhere”

Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary-General

The new agenda is comprised of 17 goals and 169 targets aimed at wiping out poverty, fighting inequality and tackling climate change over the next 15 years, also building on the achievements made by their predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which have guided global development efforts since 2010. The new agenda also calls for peaceful and inclusive societies, recognizing that there can be no sustainable development without peace, and its goals apply to all countries, developed and developing.

A full programme of events kicked off the summit, with film screenings, performances by UN Goodwill Ambassadors Shakira, Angelique Kidjo, as well as call to action by Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai, along with youth representatives representing all 193 UN Member States.

“Setting a new gold standard for participation”

The summit was the culmination of years of global consultations, behind-the scenes work, and inclusive meetings to ensure that the voices of individuals,?civil society and the business sector from all corners of the world were heard.

“It’s official; this is the most inclusive process that the UN has ever had,” said Thomas Gass, UN DESA’s Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, as he addressed a celebratory audience at the Peoples’ Voices Award Ceremony on the eve of the new agenda’s adoption.

He praised not only the millions of individuals who have participated and shared their views in this process, but also acknowledged the important role played by civil society organizations in engaging the system, “setting a new gold standard for participation”.

“It’s official; this is the most inclusive process that the UN has ever had”

Thomas Gass
UN DESA’s Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs

Ensuring food security and technology facilitation

During the summit, UN DESA contributed to a number of different meetings and events on a variety of topics, ranging from the implementation of technology towards a sustainable world, how to measure key milestones in the fight against poverty to food security.

“Many within the international community believe that it is indeed possible to eradicate hunger and ensure good, healthy, sufficient and sustainable nutrition for all,” Mr. Gass said as he moderated a side event gathering ministers and other high-level representatives on 26 September, putting a spotlight on food security in the context of the new development agenda.

“Since 1990-1992, our efforts have seen 216 million people lifted out of hunger,” he explained, while at the same time also underlining the work still needed to be done, as well as the potential of SDG 2 and its targets to end hunger.

Later that day, a mechanism that seeks to promote science, technology and innovation to achieve the new agenda, which was also launched at the summit, was discussed at a side event supported by UN DESA’s Division for Sustainable Development.

“Technology can help us live up to the promise to leave no one behind, the technology facilitation mechanism is a new important tool that can make this possible”, said Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the 51吃瓜.

He also said that the transformative sustainable development goals will only be meaningful once we start implementing and working in a determined way to make them happen. “Today we start the crucial process of turning vision and goals into reality”, he said.

Measuring key milestones in the fight against poverty

On the summit’s last day, UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo had back-to-back engagements throughout the day, joining first the event “Global Leaders’ Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: A Commitment to Action,” hosted by UN Women and the People’s Republic of China.

Mr. Wu also took part in an unveiling ceremony of a new postage stamp to mark the implementation of the SDGs for persons with disabilities, as well as in a high-level event on “Anchoring the Multidimensional Poverty Index in the Post-2015 Development Agenda,” where he delivered the message of the Secretary-General.

He explained that almost “1.5 billion people in 91 developing countries are living in poverty, with overlapping deprivations in education, health and living standards,” according to the latest estimates from the UNDP Multidimensional Poverty Index.

“Now we must use the goals to transform the world. We will do that through partnership and through commitment. We must leave no-one behind”

Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary-General

“Our challenge, at the global, national and local levels, is to reduce these numbers and ensure lives of dignity for all,” Mr. Wu said. “That means accurately tracking vulnerability, exclusion and other key variables,” he continued, “seizing the great potential of the data revolution to help us better measure poverty and get a full picture of its impacts. Only then will Governments, which will be in the driver’s seat of implementation, be able to determine and pursue their national priorities,” Mr. Wu stressed.

Initiatives for the new goals are being captured in the UN DESA Partnerships for SDGs platform, which saw over 40 new registrations around the summit and now counts over 1750 registered initiatives.

Leaving no one behind

With the adoption of the new goals, the world will embark on a 15 year journey towards sustainable development for all. It will require intense cooperation, political will, and the stamina of the 51吃瓜 and the international community. But as world leaders agreed in New York, the prospect of reaching these ambitious goals makes it all worth it.

“These Goals are a blueprint for a better future,” said Ban Ki-moon as he addressed a press briefing following the adoption. “Now we must use the goals to transform the world. We will do that through partnership and through commitment. We must leave no-one behind.”