Brazil
Post-2015 Development Agenda Intergovernmental Negotiations
Statement by Brazil
Session 2 – Political Declaration
February 17th 2015
Mr. Co-facilitator,
Brazil associates itself with the statement delivered by the South Africa on behalf of the G77 and China and would like to present the following remarks in its national capacity.
The political declaration for the adoption of the Post-2015 development agenda should reaffirm the common vision contained in the Rio+20 outcome document.
"The Future We Want" acknowledges that poverty eradication is “the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable developmentâ€.
The overarching objectives established by our heads of states and governments in Rio referred to poverty eradication, changing sustainable consumption and production patterns with developed countries taking the lead, and promoting the sustainable management of the natural resource base of economic and social development.
The elements paper does not reflect these fundamental goals.
On the other hand, it refers to concepts that were not discussed and adopted in Rio, nor in the report of the Open Working Group, such as “institutional failuresâ€.
It speaks of “just societiesâ€; instead of “inclusive societiesâ€, taking liberties with language we have purposefully agreed to.
These may seem like minor departures from the agreed texts that are the basis of our work.
But consensus will be easier if we stay the course and avoid changing language and concepts that are the building blocks of our road towards a successful and transformational outcome for the Post-215 Development Agenda, next September.
As decided by the GA, the Open Working Group report shall be the main basis for mainstreaming the SDGs into the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Brazil insists that all documents for the September summit preserve the priorities, political balance, and conceptual formulations of Rio+20 and the OWG Report.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
As in most high-level UN declarations, we would want statements of principles and values to come first. Those mentioned in section 4 of the elements paper should be moved to the first section.
The section entitled “Our commitments†needs greater clarity. It is our view that commitments should highlight the willingness of the UN to conclude the unfinished business of the MDGs, carrying over for this purpose the sum total of ODA unmet by donors, in addition to new and additional resources.
In fact, preliminary calculations have indicated that the GAP in ODA from 2002 to 2013 amounts to almost US$ 2 trillion, and this is definitely not a drop in the Ocean. Indebtedness in poor developing countries might have been lower were it not for the missing 2 trillion; resilience to health pandemics, food insecurity and natural disasters might have been higher.
The "commitments" section should also reflect an agreement to implement the Post-2015 Development Agenda as a universal agenda for which resources will be mobilized in accordance with the respective capacities and needs of Member States, under a transparent framework of follow-up and review.
The last section should be a call to action on poverty eradication and combating inequality within the context of sustainable development.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
The six elements of the Secretary General's Synthesis Report are an interesting concept we could constructively try to work with, to the extent that they do not change or reinterpret the OWG agreed outcome.
The ones that were actually suggested need further consideration. If properly drafted and numbered, they may usefully capture the three dimensions of sustainable development that were at the core of the Rio+20 agreement, and that guided the work of the OWG.
What they should not do is take us back to a silo approach that we spent two years trying to overcome in the OWG.
The seventeen goals and their targets are presented as equals and reflect a holistic integrated approach to the Post-2015 agenda, thanks to a horizontal balancing of positions, priorities and red-lines of Members.
The full scope and depth of our achievements might be hard to capture through the six elements proposed; but could perhaps be organized under a smaller set of four, such as "people", "prosperity", "planet" and "partnership".
The four concepts relate well with the three dimensions of sustainable development and highlight the need for means of implementation through partnership. They could help convey the SDGs and the post-2015 agenda in a concise and easily communicable fashion, if that is the concern we are trying to address.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
Donor and developing countries, as well as the UN system, have to review their institutional arrangements created for the MDGs, in order to adapt to the universality and hugely expanded ambition of the SDGs.
Developed countries, in particular, will need to reflect the universal nature of goals and more ambitious commitments in their national planning, engaging governmental actors and other relevant stakeholders beyond their international aid structures and official cooperation agencies.
The political declaration should acknowledge that this transition is crucial to the success of the new agenda, and call for the support of civil society, parliamentarians, and the private sector in this regard.
Co-facilitators were mandated in the modalities resolution to engage relevant stakeholders including major groups, civil society, scientific and knowledge institutions, and to seek their views. Perhaps it would be helpful if co-facilitators, with assistance from the UN Secretariat, could invite inputs from those stakeholders, in particular the NGOs that have so diligently followed our work, so that their contributions could be systematized in a clear concise format suited to the current stages of our discussions and negotiations.
The Summit for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda needs to enshrine the political commitment at the highest level to fully implement the SDGs. This pledge must lie at core of the political declaration, in a way that inspires action by all stakeholders. We need to deliver on the means this time, because MDG-8, on the Global Partnership for Development, hugely under performed.
The elements paper does not convey this message. Section 3, entitled “How we will do thisâ€, does not refer to international public cooperation, official development assistance or south-south cooperation. These are clear expressions of commitments at the intergovernmental level that cannot be replaced by abstract references to “enabling environment†and “multistakeholder partnershipsâ€. In fact, undue emphasis on partnerships minimizes the primary responsibility of States, while overplaying the role of the private sector. We have to do just the opposite.
Technology and capacity building are indisputable drivers of transformation. Both deserve greater attention in the political declaration, in line with the Open Working Group report. As mentioned in the intervention of G-77 and China, there is need to highlight decisions on a technology facilitation mechanism, to be further considered during the April session on MoIs.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
On follow-up and review, we know we are not starting from scratch.
The resolution that established the High Level Political Porum contains important elements for a robust and transparent framework.
In addition to the national voluntary presentations starting next year, the forum's mandate encompasses effective regional preparatory processes through the UN Economic Regional Commissions. There is reference to a strengthened science-policy interface to be achieved through the global sustainable development report. The HLPF was also given the mandate for follow-up and review of MoI commitments and other implementation issues. Let's not reinvent the wheel!
This section should also refer to adequate follow-up and review mechanisms for the agreements to be reached at the III Conference on Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa, next July.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
As we approach the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, the Post-2015 Development Agenda highlights the capacity of multilateral institutions to respond to new realities in a reform-minded and transformational way.
The Post-2015 Development Agenda constitutes an actual reform of the UN Development System, resetting its concepts, institutions and practices.
The SDGs represent a paradigm shift for the UN Development System, mainstreaming the concept of sustainable development and making it universal and applicable to all, while taking into account the different capacities and responsibilities of countries, in accordance with the principle of CBDR.
The process is remarkably different from the one leading to the MDGs. Broader participation in the Open Working Group meant better input and greater legitimacy of outcome, demonstrating multilateral institutions are capable of promoting and adapting to change.
The 70th anniversary of the United Nations should celebrate the capacity of multilateral institutions to respond to the realities of our times.
At such a momentous juncture, the political declaration cannot shy sway from a renewed commitment of leaders to promote more legitimate and representative institutions of global governance, capable of responding better to the increased complexities of today's interdependent world.
The declaration should call on member States to effectively engage in much needed and long overdue reforms of those institutions, in particular so as to provide adequate voice and representation to developing countries.
Thank you.
Statement by Brazil
Session 2 – Political Declaration
February 17th 2015
Mr. Co-facilitator,
Brazil associates itself with the statement delivered by the South Africa on behalf of the G77 and China and would like to present the following remarks in its national capacity.
The political declaration for the adoption of the Post-2015 development agenda should reaffirm the common vision contained in the Rio+20 outcome document.
"The Future We Want" acknowledges that poverty eradication is “the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable developmentâ€.
The overarching objectives established by our heads of states and governments in Rio referred to poverty eradication, changing sustainable consumption and production patterns with developed countries taking the lead, and promoting the sustainable management of the natural resource base of economic and social development.
The elements paper does not reflect these fundamental goals.
On the other hand, it refers to concepts that were not discussed and adopted in Rio, nor in the report of the Open Working Group, such as “institutional failuresâ€.
It speaks of “just societiesâ€; instead of “inclusive societiesâ€, taking liberties with language we have purposefully agreed to.
These may seem like minor departures from the agreed texts that are the basis of our work.
But consensus will be easier if we stay the course and avoid changing language and concepts that are the building blocks of our road towards a successful and transformational outcome for the Post-215 Development Agenda, next September.
As decided by the GA, the Open Working Group report shall be the main basis for mainstreaming the SDGs into the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Brazil insists that all documents for the September summit preserve the priorities, political balance, and conceptual formulations of Rio+20 and the OWG Report.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
As in most high-level UN declarations, we would want statements of principles and values to come first. Those mentioned in section 4 of the elements paper should be moved to the first section.
The section entitled “Our commitments†needs greater clarity. It is our view that commitments should highlight the willingness of the UN to conclude the unfinished business of the MDGs, carrying over for this purpose the sum total of ODA unmet by donors, in addition to new and additional resources.
In fact, preliminary calculations have indicated that the GAP in ODA from 2002 to 2013 amounts to almost US$ 2 trillion, and this is definitely not a drop in the Ocean. Indebtedness in poor developing countries might have been lower were it not for the missing 2 trillion; resilience to health pandemics, food insecurity and natural disasters might have been higher.
The "commitments" section should also reflect an agreement to implement the Post-2015 Development Agenda as a universal agenda for which resources will be mobilized in accordance with the respective capacities and needs of Member States, under a transparent framework of follow-up and review.
The last section should be a call to action on poverty eradication and combating inequality within the context of sustainable development.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
The six elements of the Secretary General's Synthesis Report are an interesting concept we could constructively try to work with, to the extent that they do not change or reinterpret the OWG agreed outcome.
The ones that were actually suggested need further consideration. If properly drafted and numbered, they may usefully capture the three dimensions of sustainable development that were at the core of the Rio+20 agreement, and that guided the work of the OWG.
What they should not do is take us back to a silo approach that we spent two years trying to overcome in the OWG.
The seventeen goals and their targets are presented as equals and reflect a holistic integrated approach to the Post-2015 agenda, thanks to a horizontal balancing of positions, priorities and red-lines of Members.
The full scope and depth of our achievements might be hard to capture through the six elements proposed; but could perhaps be organized under a smaller set of four, such as "people", "prosperity", "planet" and "partnership".
The four concepts relate well with the three dimensions of sustainable development and highlight the need for means of implementation through partnership. They could help convey the SDGs and the post-2015 agenda in a concise and easily communicable fashion, if that is the concern we are trying to address.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
Donor and developing countries, as well as the UN system, have to review their institutional arrangements created for the MDGs, in order to adapt to the universality and hugely expanded ambition of the SDGs.
Developed countries, in particular, will need to reflect the universal nature of goals and more ambitious commitments in their national planning, engaging governmental actors and other relevant stakeholders beyond their international aid structures and official cooperation agencies.
The political declaration should acknowledge that this transition is crucial to the success of the new agenda, and call for the support of civil society, parliamentarians, and the private sector in this regard.
Co-facilitators were mandated in the modalities resolution to engage relevant stakeholders including major groups, civil society, scientific and knowledge institutions, and to seek their views. Perhaps it would be helpful if co-facilitators, with assistance from the UN Secretariat, could invite inputs from those stakeholders, in particular the NGOs that have so diligently followed our work, so that their contributions could be systematized in a clear concise format suited to the current stages of our discussions and negotiations.
The Summit for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda needs to enshrine the political commitment at the highest level to fully implement the SDGs. This pledge must lie at core of the political declaration, in a way that inspires action by all stakeholders. We need to deliver on the means this time, because MDG-8, on the Global Partnership for Development, hugely under performed.
The elements paper does not convey this message. Section 3, entitled “How we will do thisâ€, does not refer to international public cooperation, official development assistance or south-south cooperation. These are clear expressions of commitments at the intergovernmental level that cannot be replaced by abstract references to “enabling environment†and “multistakeholder partnershipsâ€. In fact, undue emphasis on partnerships minimizes the primary responsibility of States, while overplaying the role of the private sector. We have to do just the opposite.
Technology and capacity building are indisputable drivers of transformation. Both deserve greater attention in the political declaration, in line with the Open Working Group report. As mentioned in the intervention of G-77 and China, there is need to highlight decisions on a technology facilitation mechanism, to be further considered during the April session on MoIs.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
On follow-up and review, we know we are not starting from scratch.
The resolution that established the High Level Political Porum contains important elements for a robust and transparent framework.
In addition to the national voluntary presentations starting next year, the forum's mandate encompasses effective regional preparatory processes through the UN Economic Regional Commissions. There is reference to a strengthened science-policy interface to be achieved through the global sustainable development report. The HLPF was also given the mandate for follow-up and review of MoI commitments and other implementation issues. Let's not reinvent the wheel!
This section should also refer to adequate follow-up and review mechanisms for the agreements to be reached at the III Conference on Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa, next July.
Mr. Co-facilitator,
As we approach the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, the Post-2015 Development Agenda highlights the capacity of multilateral institutions to respond to new realities in a reform-minded and transformational way.
The Post-2015 Development Agenda constitutes an actual reform of the UN Development System, resetting its concepts, institutions and practices.
The SDGs represent a paradigm shift for the UN Development System, mainstreaming the concept of sustainable development and making it universal and applicable to all, while taking into account the different capacities and responsibilities of countries, in accordance with the principle of CBDR.
The process is remarkably different from the one leading to the MDGs. Broader participation in the Open Working Group meant better input and greater legitimacy of outcome, demonstrating multilateral institutions are capable of promoting and adapting to change.
The 70th anniversary of the United Nations should celebrate the capacity of multilateral institutions to respond to the realities of our times.
At such a momentous juncture, the political declaration cannot shy sway from a renewed commitment of leaders to promote more legitimate and representative institutions of global governance, capable of responding better to the increased complexities of today's interdependent world.
The declaration should call on member States to effectively engage in much needed and long overdue reforms of those institutions, in particular so as to provide adequate voice and representation to developing countries.
Thank you.
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