Cyprus
Post 2015 Intergovernmental Negotiations- Stocktaking Session 19-21 January 2015
Statement by Cyprus delivered on 20 January 2015
Topic: Integrating SDGs and Targets in to the post 2015 development agenda
Mr. Co-facilitator,
Thank you for giving me the floor. Cyprus aligns itself with the statement made earlier by the European Union and would like to highlight a couple of points that are important to my delegation.
Cyprus, as many others have said, considers the report of the open working group on SDGs as the main basis for integrating the goals into the post-2015 development agenda while other inputs, such as the synthesis report of the UN Secretary General, the report of the ICEFSD and the High level report of eminent persons, should also be taken into account. As member of one of the troikas in the open working group (together with Singapore and the UAE) we stand by our report. We believe that the proposed goals and targets of the OWG represent a fair and at the same time delicate deal that has come out of a process which has been unique in its format and duration. That is why we agree with many who spoke before us yesterday and today, that this delicate balance of the 17 goals and their corresponding targets should be preserved as an integrated whole. We agree that the package of goals and targets should not be renegotiated. At the same time we believe that, without upsetting the overall balance of the OWG’s proposal, some technical proofing of the targets is necessary to ensure their specificity and measurability, that they are in fact implementable and not duplicating one another and to also check that they are consistent with UN standards and agreements and with international legal frameworks and conventions such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
We are o f the view that we could entrust the UN Secretariat Task Team to undertake the work of technical proofing of the targets and bring back to us their work for review and approval. We agree with Brazil and the UK that such technical proofing based on clear criteria should not in any way lower the ambition or lead to any backtracking of international commitments and norms.
Lastly with regard to indicators we stand by what has been agreed in Rio ( Para 250 of the outcome document) that progress towards the achievement of the goals needs to be assessed and accompanied by targets and indicators while taking into account different national circumstances, capacities and levels of development. We are aware that that there is already some work going on by the UN Statistical Commission and believe that this work should be reinforced by the expertise of the UN Task Team as well as the scientific community. Nevertheless some further information on the parameters and timing of this work is needed.
Statement by Cyprus delivered on 20 January 2015
Topic: Integrating SDGs and Targets in to the post 2015 development agenda
Mr. Co-facilitator,
Thank you for giving me the floor. Cyprus aligns itself with the statement made earlier by the European Union and would like to highlight a couple of points that are important to my delegation.
Cyprus, as many others have said, considers the report of the open working group on SDGs as the main basis for integrating the goals into the post-2015 development agenda while other inputs, such as the synthesis report of the UN Secretary General, the report of the ICEFSD and the High level report of eminent persons, should also be taken into account. As member of one of the troikas in the open working group (together with Singapore and the UAE) we stand by our report. We believe that the proposed goals and targets of the OWG represent a fair and at the same time delicate deal that has come out of a process which has been unique in its format and duration. That is why we agree with many who spoke before us yesterday and today, that this delicate balance of the 17 goals and their corresponding targets should be preserved as an integrated whole. We agree that the package of goals and targets should not be renegotiated. At the same time we believe that, without upsetting the overall balance of the OWG’s proposal, some technical proofing of the targets is necessary to ensure their specificity and measurability, that they are in fact implementable and not duplicating one another and to also check that they are consistent with UN standards and agreements and with international legal frameworks and conventions such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
We are o f the view that we could entrust the UN Secretariat Task Team to undertake the work of technical proofing of the targets and bring back to us their work for review and approval. We agree with Brazil and the UK that such technical proofing based on clear criteria should not in any way lower the ambition or lead to any backtracking of international commitments and norms.
Lastly with regard to indicators we stand by what has been agreed in Rio ( Para 250 of the outcome document) that progress towards the achievement of the goals needs to be assessed and accompanied by targets and indicators while taking into account different national circumstances, capacities and levels of development. We are aware that that there is already some work going on by the UN Statistical Commission and believe that this work should be reinforced by the expertise of the UN Task Team as well as the scientific community. Nevertheless some further information on the parameters and timing of this work is needed.
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