Synthesis Report of the Secretary General

Human Rights Review, 2021

In July 2019, as the ink dried on the final draft of the preface of the Springer Nature publication Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights, the volume’s authors and editors could not have imagined how the world would change in the months following its publication in early 2020. ByApril of 2020, nearly 3.9 billion people –more than half of the global population –were living in lockdown as the spread of a coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic ravaged communities and economies. The aftershocks of the pandemic still reverberate through the global economy, with critical impacts on global supply chains, global healthcare, community development, education, housing, labor, and the environment. Similarly, heightened concerns for human dignity, autonomy, and freedom of association during times of emergency have raised concerns for human rights law and the correlative dangers of authoritarian leadership during times of crisis. The search for common ground for global cooperation across a br...

Conflict Prevention in the UN´s Agenda 2030, 2020

This chapter will discuss some new approaches under way to anchor the prevention of conflicts generally, and preventive diplomacy in particular, in efforts for sustainable development and to draw on preventive diplomacy in the development process. It will show, for example, the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) operating a joint programme that deploys peace and development advisers to countries at risk. It will also show UNDP facilitating local mediators, as well as contributing to national infrastructures of prevention in the aftermath of conflicts or natural disasters. The chapter will also show that the United Nations' Agenda 2030, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 16, has introduced a new a new philosophy of prevention grounded in the pursuit of development, peace, justice, inclusive and strong institutions in all countries. SDG 16's main contribution thus far has been to energise civil society organizations, ("We the Peoples") in giving inspirational and operational content to the concepts of peace, justice, and equitable institutions. It will hopefully move Governments to act similarly in the future. This is of some importance. The UN's Millennium Declaration had laid down a set of values for the twenty-first century, including the values of democracy, solidarity, the rule of law and universal respect for human rights. The associated Millennium Development Goals, however, had focused more on bread and butter issues and lacked an inspirational, human rights dimension. It took some struggle to achieve this, but the inclusion of SDG 16, which focuses on peace, justice and inclusive institutions, carries great promise because, as we shall see in this chapter, NGOs, and some supportive some governments, have been alerting the international community dramatically about the risks of conflicts in particular situations, have been spelling out how considerations of justice should contribute to prevention, and have been underlining the centrality of inclusive, equitable and effective national institutions for good governance and the protection of human rights.

2018

This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this people-centred Agenda. We are resolved to free the human race within this generation from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet for the present and for future generations. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda. Eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, and ending hunger remains the greatest challenge facing our world today. We recognise the intrinsic interlinkages between poverty eradication and the promotion of sustainable development. These Goals and targets are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. They seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. The Goals and targets build on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals and seek to address their unfinished business. We acknowledge that sustainable development and peace are mutually reinforcing. The Goals and targets will stimulate action over the next fifteen years in the following areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet: People We want to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential. We want to end poverty in all its forms and dimensions; end hunger and malnutrition; achieve food security; respect and promote human rights and human dignity; combat inequalities in and among countries; achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; ensure quality education, sustainable management of water, sanitation and hygiene, and a healthy life for all; ensure reliable access to natural resources, a healthy environment and well-being for all; and secure the participation of all peoples and groups, including children and youth, persons with disabilities, migrants and indigenous peoples, in the realization of the Goals and targets. ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTION BY CO-FACILITATORS Preamble We, the Heads of State and Government and High Representatives, resolve to chart a new era of sustainable development and to end poverty in all its dimensions by 2030. This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We recognise that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan. We are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda. They seek to build on the Millennium Development Goals and complete what these did not achieve. They seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental. The Goals and targets will stimulate action over the next fifteen years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet: People We are determined to end poverty in all its forms and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment. Planet We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, managing its natural resources sustainably, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations. Prosperity We are determined to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature. Peace We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.

Following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, the adoption of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Declaration by 189 nations, including the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), has been hailed as a unique achievement in international development. Although the MDGs have raised the profile of global health, particularly in low-and middle-income countries, underpinned by the urgent need to address poverty worldwide, progress has been uneven both between and within countries. With over one billion people, Africa is a case in point. Aside from children completing a full course in primary school and achieving gender equality in primary school, none of the twelve main targets set for SS Africa has been met. A key reason suggested for this lack of progress is that the MDGs fall far short in terms of addressing the broader concept of development encapsulated in the Millennium Declaration, which includes human rights, equity, democracy, and governance. To strengthen the likelihood of realizing the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly with regard to "planet and population" health and well-being , UN and other decision-makers are urged to consider the adoption of an integrated SDG framework that is based on (i) a vision of global justice -underpinned by peace, security and basic human rights; (ii) the development of interdependent and interconnected strategies for each of the eleven thematic indicators identified in the UN document The World We Want; and (iii) the application of guiding principles to measure the impact of SDG strategies in terms of holism, equity, sustainability, ownership, and global obligation. While current discussions on the SDGs are making progress in a number of areas, the need for integration of these around a common global vision and purpose seems especially crucial to avoid MDG shortcomings.

UNEP Perspectives No. 12 , 2014

41 U. Pa. J. Int’l L. 1031 (2020), 2020

Poverty eradication is a common fundamental goal of the human rights agenda and the sustainable development agenda. International human rights law considers poverty to be a denial of human rights and acknowledges shared global obligations to alleviate poverty and realize socio-economic rights indispensable for leading a decent life universally. In unison with the human rights agenda, sustainable development instruments declare healing the planet from poverty and freeing people from the tyranny of want as a primary goal of the contemporary globalized world. This was reaffirmed by a recent important document — Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. That Agenda declares that “eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.” This Article represents a systematic analysis of the global obligations to eradicate poverty and ensure a decent standard of living universally embedded in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It provides a general outline of the conception of global obligations for sustainable development and opens a novel understanding of their nature, status, content, scope, and duty-bearers, as well as the mechanisms necessary for their implementation. This Article also examines special features, strengths and limitations, and the interrelation between commitments for sustainable development and global obligations in the area of socio-economic rights. Based on that analysis, this Article puts forward suggestions for how the contemporary sustainable development agenda might be further improved in order to realize global obligations for sustainable development. Additionally, this Article explores modes of global governance and accountability that are necessary to realize human rights and reach the Sustainable Development Goals. It concludes by suggesting how the human rights and sustainable development agendas should be harmonized in a way that enriches both agendas at normative and institutional levels, in the service of realizing their common goals of combating poverty and ensuring a decent standard of living universally.

New Perspectives …, 2002

It is the challenge of Johannesburg to move beyond KO, yet it is the danger of Johannesburg to regress behind KO. The Rio Conference on Environment and Development strove to address two major crises: the crisis of nature and that of justice. Environmentalistsoften from the Northwere expected to take into account the desire of the majority of the world's citizens for a life beyond poverty and distress. By contrast, developmentalists-* often from the South-were called upon to recognize the disastrous repercussions * ofa deteriorated nature base. Typically, environmentalists were seen to be opposing deforestation, chemical agriculture or expansion of power plants, while 8 SUMMER2002 all the Rio documents, the demand of the South for recognition and equity has. largely been frustrated during the past decade, reinforcing the fear of many Southerncountries of falling hrther behind and remaining forever excluded from the blessings of the modern world. Against this background, the South-and in particular South Africa-intend : to transform Johannesburg into a development summit rather than an environment * summit. While Rio was considered to be dominated by the North, it is hoped that * Johannesburg will be the Summit for the South. Indeed, the conference title "World : Summit for Sustainable Development" clearly reflects the intention to elevate "development" on the political agenda. Yet, we believe that focusing on a development agenda as if the worldwide crisisof nature did not exist would signify sliding back behind Rio. It would be a : regression of sorts, a rollback in the growing sensibility toward the finiteness of the : natural world. And it would be a disservice to the South, since equity can no longer. be separated from ecology. Instead, fulfilling the ambition of KO requires the effective response to the demand for equity arising from the South, but in a manner which takes full account of the bio-physical limits of the Earth. Some claim that humanity faces a choice between human misery and natural catastrophe. This choice is false. We are convinced that human misery can be eliminated without catalyzing natural catastrophes. Conversely, natural catastrophes can indeed be avoided without condemning people to a life of misery. Getting ready to meet this challenge, however, requires revisiting the * technologies, the institutions and the world views that dominate the globe today. : SHRUG OFF COPYCAT DEVELOPMENT I Partly through imposition, partly : through attraction, the Northern development model has shaped Southern desires,offering tangible examples not only of a different, but of a supposedly better life. * After decolonization, the newly gained political independence notwithstanding, the : South set its sights on the industrial style of life and moved to catch up with the : richer countries. And after the fall of communism, countries in Eastern Europe and ' Central A& jumped to embrace capitalism and the glittery products of the free * market. The winner takes allincluding imagination. Where countries want to go, : what they thrive to become, has most often not emerged naturally from their : respective history and traditions, but has been forged by emulation of the Northern. model. In this way, dignity has been identified with becoming modern, and * The conventional distinctions between North and South are misleading-these are diplomatic artifacts. Instead, the real global divide runs through each society-between the globalized rich and the localized poor. SUMMER2002 9 * Consequently, there is no escape from the conclusion that the world's growing 10 SUMMER 2002 * this class into the worldwide circuit of goods, communication and travel, most I2 SUMMER 2002