Australia, The Netherlands and United Kingdom
Australia, the Netherlands and United Kingdom
Sustainable Development Goals Open Working Group, 10th Session, March-April 2014
Constituency Statement
Meeting 1: Methodology and goals and targets definitions
• Thank the co-chairs for their efforts and guidance so far and look forward to your continued leadership as we set about designing the goals and targets.
• Welcome broad consensus that eradicating poverty in all its forms is the overarching priority
- the new agenda must finish the job on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as address new and emerging issues.
• We reaffirm that the Sustainable Development Goals should be based on the Millennium Declaration, the Rio +20 Outcome Document and the Outcome Document of the MDG Special Event.
• The goals are the overarching statements that will define the world we want. They should be:
- simple, compelling and limited in number
- people focused and ambitious, yet realistic
- universal in scope.
• The targets mobilise the agenda and are the tools to drive progress towards achieving the world we want. They should be:
o strategic – enabling different partners to work together
o resonant – powerful and clear enough to communicate
o authoritative – focus efforts toward delivering results.
• The new agenda should complement goals in other forums, respect current mandates and negotiations and take into account relevant international processes.
• However, we should not limit ourselves unnecessarily. The framework will cover outcomes we would like to see out to 2030.
• We need to ensure we include all relevant issues, and do not omit issues because they appear difficult or challenging – for example, peaceful and non-violent societies, rule of law and capable institutions.
• If we are to achieve our aim of eradicating extreme poverty we need to focus on the development outcomes we want in 2030, not the art of the possible in 2015.
• Key to the success of the new framework will be to move to a new global partnership for sustainable development that is inclusive of new actors and new avenues of cooperation, including between governments, international organisations, civil society and the private sector. At the operational level, multi-stakeholder partnerships around new goals will be crucial for the implementation of the new agenda.
• We look forward to contributing our ideas on the content of the goals and targets in our discussions this week.
Sustainable Development Goals Open Working Group, 10th Session, March-April 2014
Constituency Statement
Meeting 1: Methodology and goals and targets definitions
• Thank the co-chairs for their efforts and guidance so far and look forward to your continued leadership as we set about designing the goals and targets.
• Welcome broad consensus that eradicating poverty in all its forms is the overarching priority
- the new agenda must finish the job on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as address new and emerging issues.
• We reaffirm that the Sustainable Development Goals should be based on the Millennium Declaration, the Rio +20 Outcome Document and the Outcome Document of the MDG Special Event.
• The goals are the overarching statements that will define the world we want. They should be:
- simple, compelling and limited in number
- people focused and ambitious, yet realistic
- universal in scope.
• The targets mobilise the agenda and are the tools to drive progress towards achieving the world we want. They should be:
o strategic – enabling different partners to work together
o resonant – powerful and clear enough to communicate
o authoritative – focus efforts toward delivering results.
• The new agenda should complement goals in other forums, respect current mandates and negotiations and take into account relevant international processes.
• However, we should not limit ourselves unnecessarily. The framework will cover outcomes we would like to see out to 2030.
• We need to ensure we include all relevant issues, and do not omit issues because they appear difficult or challenging – for example, peaceful and non-violent societies, rule of law and capable institutions.
• If we are to achieve our aim of eradicating extreme poverty we need to focus on the development outcomes we want in 2030, not the art of the possible in 2015.
• Key to the success of the new framework will be to move to a new global partnership for sustainable development that is inclusive of new actors and new avenues of cooperation, including between governments, international organisations, civil society and the private sector. At the operational level, multi-stakeholder partnerships around new goals will be crucial for the implementation of the new agenda.
• We look forward to contributing our ideas on the content of the goals and targets in our discussions this week.