Ghana
lVlr. President,
Your Excellency, the Secretary-General of the
United Nations,
Co-Facilitators,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Sustainable development is very important to Ghana and to the
international community. The primary aim of these goals should be to
reduce poverty, particularly in developing countries and to bring real and
substantial development to all countries.
The goals should have the ability to enhance the assets of the poor, as
well as address current global crises. The real impact of these goals will be
felt if the issues that hinder the development of developing countries,
particularly Africa, are addressed. Prominent among these issues are
climate change, energy, trade, industrial development, full employment,
global governance technology transfer, agricultural subsidies and land
degradation.
The SDGs should be limited in number, measurable and easy to
implement. A reasonable time frame for the achievement of the SDGs as
well as a review period must be clearly indicated.
The Open Working Group (OWG) should be guided by the principles of
openness, transparency, inclusiveness and consensus as well as by the
principles set out in paragraph 246 and 247 of the Rio+20 outcome
document.
The OWG should be guided by the experience garnered in the
formulation and implementation of the MDGs. The MDGs must be enhanced
to address issues of quality and incorporate important goals that were
neglected. They could form the basis of the social goals of the SDGs.
To move forward with its work, the OWG may consider inviting
academia, as well as experts to make presentations to the Group and for the
Group to engage them thoroughly. Agood understanding of the theoretical
underpinnings of sustainable development is very vital to our work. The
selection of experts should have a balance between developing and
developed countries.
Other stakeholders such as major groups and international
organizations can also make presentations to the OWG, followed by
interactive sessions. There is the need for members of the Open Working
Group to be given enough time to reflect on the proposals from these nonstate
actors. Member states could then submit their proposals at this stage.
Mr. Chairman,
It is also relevant to have specific means of implementation attached
to the goals to make them easy to relate to, as well as to measure.
It would be important to mandate the inter-agency group set up by
the Secretary-General of the United Nations to compile current goals from
international conventions, resolutions and conferences as well as the gaps in
their implementation and make them available to the OWG. This will enrich
discussions within the OWG and facilitate the development of the SDGs.
Mr. Chairman,
As there are several on-going processes geared towards a new
development agenda for 2015, there is the need for convergence. We will
suggest the establishment of an inter-governmental process to agree on one
development agenda after 2015.
Thank you.
Your Excellency, the Secretary-General of the
United Nations,
Co-Facilitators,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Sustainable development is very important to Ghana and to the
international community. The primary aim of these goals should be to
reduce poverty, particularly in developing countries and to bring real and
substantial development to all countries.
The goals should have the ability to enhance the assets of the poor, as
well as address current global crises. The real impact of these goals will be
felt if the issues that hinder the development of developing countries,
particularly Africa, are addressed. Prominent among these issues are
climate change, energy, trade, industrial development, full employment,
global governance technology transfer, agricultural subsidies and land
degradation.
The SDGs should be limited in number, measurable and easy to
implement. A reasonable time frame for the achievement of the SDGs as
well as a review period must be clearly indicated.
The Open Working Group (OWG) should be guided by the principles of
openness, transparency, inclusiveness and consensus as well as by the
principles set out in paragraph 246 and 247 of the Rio+20 outcome
document.
The OWG should be guided by the experience garnered in the
formulation and implementation of the MDGs. The MDGs must be enhanced
to address issues of quality and incorporate important goals that were
neglected. They could form the basis of the social goals of the SDGs.
To move forward with its work, the OWG may consider inviting
academia, as well as experts to make presentations to the Group and for the
Group to engage them thoroughly. Agood understanding of the theoretical
underpinnings of sustainable development is very vital to our work. The
selection of experts should have a balance between developing and
developed countries.
Other stakeholders such as major groups and international
organizations can also make presentations to the OWG, followed by
interactive sessions. There is the need for members of the Open Working
Group to be given enough time to reflect on the proposals from these nonstate
actors. Member states could then submit their proposals at this stage.
Mr. Chairman,
It is also relevant to have specific means of implementation attached
to the goals to make them easy to relate to, as well as to measure.
It would be important to mandate the inter-agency group set up by
the Secretary-General of the United Nations to compile current goals from
international conventions, resolutions and conferences as well as the gaps in
their implementation and make them available to the OWG. This will enrich
discussions within the OWG and facilitate the development of the SDGs.
Mr. Chairman,
As there are several on-going processes geared towards a new
development agenda for 2015, there is the need for convergence. We will
suggest the establishment of an inter-governmental process to agree on one
development agenda after 2015.
Thank you.
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