Ecuador
POST-2015 INTERGOVERNMENTAL NEGOTIATIONS
New York, 27-31 July 2015
Department of Strategic Affairs
Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the United Nations
Ecuador proposals of concrete amendments (in format bold and color blue) to the outcome document for the UN Summit to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Draft for Adoption - "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development”.
Preamble
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets and their means of implementation which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda. Eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions and ending hunger remains the greatest challenge facing our world today. 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.
Planet
We must respect and safeguard our common home. We want to protect the planet so that it can support the needs of present and future generations. Sound management of natural resources underpins economic and social development. We will conserve and sustainably use our oceans and seas; conserve freshwater resources; promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production; take urgent action to combat climate change; protect and restore ecosystems; promote sustainable forest management; combat desertification, land degradation and biodiversity loss; promote safe and inclusive cities and human settlements; and promote disaster risk reduction and resilience.
We affirm that planet Earth and its ecosystems are our home and that “Mother Earth” is a common expression in a number of countries and regions. It was noted that some countries recognize the rights of nature in the context of the promotion of sustainable development. The conviction was affirmed that, in order to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations, it is necessary to promote harmony with nature. (para 9 of the Annex “Introduction of the OEWG Proposal for SDGs and targets)
Introduction
1. We, the Heads of State and Government and High Representatives, meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 25-27 September 2015 as the Organization celebrates its seventieth anniversary, have decided today on new global Sustainable Development Goals the Post-2015 Development Agenda for the next 15 years, entitled "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".
5. This is an Agenda of unprecedented scope and significance. It is accepted by all countries and is applicable to all, taking into account different national circumstances, principles and priorities. These are universal goals and targets which involve the entire world, rich and poor countries alike. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.
Our visión
9. We envisage a world of universal respect for human rights and human dignity, the rule of law, justice, equality and non-discrimination; of respect for race, ethnicity and cultural diversity; and of equal opportunity permitting the full realization of human potential and contributing to shared prosperity. A world which cherishes its children and in which every woman and girl enjoys full gender equality and all legal, social and economic barriers to their empowerment have been removed. A world in which every child grows up free from violence and exploitation. A just, equitable, tolerant, open and socially and culturally inclusive world in which the needs of the most vulnerable are met, a world in which indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the exercise of their development.
New para 11. We affirm that there are different approaches, visions, models and tools available to each country, in accordance with its national circumstances and priorities, to achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions, which is our overarching goal. (para 13 of the Annex “Introduction of the OEWG Proposal for SDGs and targets)
The new Agenda
With flexibility on the language, we suggest to improve para. 31 with a view to include concrete references to: “adaptation, historic responsibilities, means of implementation and the objective of the UNFCCC (art. 2)”
31. We will address decisively the threat posed by climate change and environmental degradation. The global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible international cooperation aimed at holding the increase in global average temperature below 2 degrees or 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by accelerating the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. Noting the ongoing UNFCCC negotiations, and Looking ahead to the COP21 conference in Paris in December, we call on all States to work for a comprehensive and ambitious climate agreement. [For consideration: We recall that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change provides that parties should protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.]
33. We recognize that sustainable urban development and management are crucial to the quality of life of our people. We will work with local authorities and communities to renew and plan our cities and human settlements so as to foster community cohesion and personal security and to stimulate innovation and employment. We will reduce the negative impacts of urban activities and of chemicals which are hazardous for human health and the environment, including through the environmentally sound management and safe use of chemicals, the reduction and recycling of waste and more efficient use of water and energy. And we will work to minimize the impact of cities on the global climate system. We will also take account of population trends and projections in our national, rural and urban development strategies and policies., including inter alia on the basis of the previous United Nations Conferences on Human Settlements and looking ahead to the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development to take place in Quito, in October 2016.
35. We recognize that international migration is a multi-dimensional reality of major relevance for the development of countries of origin, transit and destination, and a contribution to sustainable development in all its dimensions, and that coherent and comprehensive responses are required. We will cooperate internationally to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration involving as well as the full respect for human rights and the humane treatment of migrants (regardless of migration status), of refugees and of displaced persons. Such cooperation should also strengthen the resilience of communities hosting refugees, particularly in developing countries. We commit to protect our citizens living abroad and to re-integrate retired migrant workers who return to their countries of origin.
Means of Implementation
38. We recognize that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development. The new Agenda deals with the means required for implementation of the goals and targets. We recognize that these will involve include the mobilization of financial resources as well as capacity-building, the transfer of technologies as mutually agreed and a wide range of other supportive policies and measures on favourable terms, including preferential terms for developing countries. Public finance, both domestic and international, will play a vital role in providing essential services and public goods and in catalyzing other sources of finance. We acknowledge the role of the diverse private sector, ranging from micro-enterprises to cooperatives to multinationals, and that of civil society organizations and philanthropic organizations in the implementation of the new Agenda.
45. We acknowledge the need for international financial institutions to respect the policy space of each country, in particular developing countries. We agree to reform those institutions and to work to increase the voice and participation of developing countries – in particular African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small-island developing states and middle income countries – in international economic decision-making, norm-setting and global economic governance. We also commit to address the lack of a multilateral legal framework and an independent, transparent and rules-based entity to ensure orderly sovereign debt restructure.
Follow-up and Review
National level
75. We also encourage member states to conduct regular reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels which are country-owned and country-driven. Such reviews should draw on contributions from civil society, including indigenous peoples, the private sector and other actors, in line with national circumstances, policies and priorities. National parliaments as well as other institutions can also support these processes.
New York, 27-31 July 2015
Department of Strategic Affairs
Permanent Mission of Ecuador to the United Nations
Ecuador proposals of concrete amendments (in format bold and color blue) to the outcome document for the UN Summit to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Draft for Adoption - "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development”.
Preamble
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets and their means of implementation which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda. Eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions and ending hunger remains the greatest challenge facing our world today. 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.
Planet
We must respect and safeguard our common home. We want to protect the planet so that it can support the needs of present and future generations. Sound management of natural resources underpins economic and social development. We will conserve and sustainably use our oceans and seas; conserve freshwater resources; promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production; take urgent action to combat climate change; protect and restore ecosystems; promote sustainable forest management; combat desertification, land degradation and biodiversity loss; promote safe and inclusive cities and human settlements; and promote disaster risk reduction and resilience.
We affirm that planet Earth and its ecosystems are our home and that “Mother Earth” is a common expression in a number of countries and regions. It was noted that some countries recognize the rights of nature in the context of the promotion of sustainable development. The conviction was affirmed that, in order to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations, it is necessary to promote harmony with nature. (para 9 of the Annex “Introduction of the OEWG Proposal for SDGs and targets)
Introduction
1. We, the Heads of State and Government and High Representatives, meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 25-27 September 2015 as the Organization celebrates its seventieth anniversary, have decided today on new global Sustainable Development Goals the Post-2015 Development Agenda for the next 15 years, entitled "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".
5. This is an Agenda of unprecedented scope and significance. It is accepted by all countries and is applicable to all, taking into account different national circumstances, principles and priorities. These are universal goals and targets which involve the entire world, rich and poor countries alike. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.
Our visión
9. We envisage a world of universal respect for human rights and human dignity, the rule of law, justice, equality and non-discrimination; of respect for race, ethnicity and cultural diversity; and of equal opportunity permitting the full realization of human potential and contributing to shared prosperity. A world which cherishes its children and in which every woman and girl enjoys full gender equality and all legal, social and economic barriers to their empowerment have been removed. A world in which every child grows up free from violence and exploitation. A just, equitable, tolerant, open and socially and culturally inclusive world in which the needs of the most vulnerable are met, a world in which indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the exercise of their development.
New para 11. We affirm that there are different approaches, visions, models and tools available to each country, in accordance with its national circumstances and priorities, to achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions, which is our overarching goal. (para 13 of the Annex “Introduction of the OEWG Proposal for SDGs and targets)
The new Agenda
With flexibility on the language, we suggest to improve para. 31 with a view to include concrete references to: “adaptation, historic responsibilities, means of implementation and the objective of the UNFCCC (art. 2)”
31. We will address decisively the threat posed by climate change and environmental degradation. The global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible international cooperation aimed at holding the increase in global average temperature below 2 degrees or 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by accelerating the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. Noting the ongoing UNFCCC negotiations, and Looking ahead to the COP21 conference in Paris in December, we call on all States to work for a comprehensive and ambitious climate agreement. [For consideration: We recall that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change provides that parties should protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.]
33. We recognize that sustainable urban development and management are crucial to the quality of life of our people. We will work with local authorities and communities to renew and plan our cities and human settlements so as to foster community cohesion and personal security and to stimulate innovation and employment. We will reduce the negative impacts of urban activities and of chemicals which are hazardous for human health and the environment, including through the environmentally sound management and safe use of chemicals, the reduction and recycling of waste and more efficient use of water and energy. And we will work to minimize the impact of cities on the global climate system. We will also take account of population trends and projections in our national, rural and urban development strategies and policies., including inter alia on the basis of the previous United Nations Conferences on Human Settlements and looking ahead to the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development to take place in Quito, in October 2016.
35. We recognize that international migration is a multi-dimensional reality of major relevance for the development of countries of origin, transit and destination, and a contribution to sustainable development in all its dimensions, and that coherent and comprehensive responses are required. We will cooperate internationally to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration involving as well as the full respect for human rights and the humane treatment of migrants (regardless of migration status), of refugees and of displaced persons. Such cooperation should also strengthen the resilience of communities hosting refugees, particularly in developing countries. We commit to protect our citizens living abroad and to re-integrate retired migrant workers who return to their countries of origin.
Means of Implementation
38. We recognize that each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development. The new Agenda deals with the means required for implementation of the goals and targets. We recognize that these will involve include the mobilization of financial resources as well as capacity-building, the transfer of technologies as mutually agreed and a wide range of other supportive policies and measures on favourable terms, including preferential terms for developing countries. Public finance, both domestic and international, will play a vital role in providing essential services and public goods and in catalyzing other sources of finance. We acknowledge the role of the diverse private sector, ranging from micro-enterprises to cooperatives to multinationals, and that of civil society organizations and philanthropic organizations in the implementation of the new Agenda.
45. We acknowledge the need for international financial institutions to respect the policy space of each country, in particular developing countries. We agree to reform those institutions and to work to increase the voice and participation of developing countries – in particular African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small-island developing states and middle income countries – in international economic decision-making, norm-setting and global economic governance. We also commit to address the lack of a multilateral legal framework and an independent, transparent and rules-based entity to ensure orderly sovereign debt restructure.
Follow-up and Review
National level
75. We also encourage member states to conduct regular reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels which are country-owned and country-driven. Such reviews should draw on contributions from civil society, including indigenous peoples, the private sector and other actors, in line with national circumstances, policies and priorities. National parliaments as well as other institutions can also support these processes.
Stakeholders