Group of Friends on Culture and Development
Statement by Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, Permanent Representative of Peru
to the United Nations, on behalf of the Group of Friends on Culture and Development,
on the Declaration of the Post 2015 Development Agenda
New York, July 20th 2015
Mr. Co-Facilitators,
I am honoured to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of Culture and
Development, comprising more than 30 countries from all regions referred in the papersmart
version of this statement1
.
The Group welcomes the inclusions in the text of references to cultural values, cultural
diversity, intercultural understanding and language from the Rio+20 Outcome Document on
the contribution of all cultures and civilizations to sustainable development. However, we
note with concern that the acknowledgement of culture as an enabler of sustainable
development contained in the previous daft, has been dropped from the current one in spite
of the support that it had in our previous session from several delegations.
We underscore that the acknowledgement of culture as an enabler and of its potential as a
driver of sustainable development are of the utmost importance, as culture should be
understood not only as heritage or as a provider of identity, but as a dynamic and
crosscutting contributor to the three dimensions of sustainable development.
We would further underscore, amongst other features of culture, its role in fostering
innovation and creating jobs through cultural, creative and touristic industries, as well as its
potential for transforming our patterns of sustainable consumption and production.
The qualifications of culture as an enabler and a driver of sustainable development, as well
as the recognition of its contribution to the three dimensions of sustainable development,
have been consensually agreed by the international community. Building-up on the Rio+20
Outcome Document, the General Assembly has adopted the resolution 68/223 on Culture
and Sustainable Development. In this regard, we emphasize the need to have a stand-alone
paragraph with the most updated consensual language on the matters.
The stand-alone paragraph that we propose would read as follows:
We acknowledge the natural and cultural diversity of the world and recognize that all
cultures and civilizations contribute to sustainable development. In this regard, we
further acknowledge that culture constitutes an important enabler and a driver of
sustainable development and we commit to build up a global culture of sustainable
development.
I thank you.
1 Albania, Argentina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica,
Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, Mongolia,
Nepal, Palau, Peru, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Qatar, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and Vietnam.
to the United Nations, on behalf of the Group of Friends on Culture and Development,
on the Declaration of the Post 2015 Development Agenda
New York, July 20th 2015
Mr. Co-Facilitators,
I am honoured to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of Culture and
Development, comprising more than 30 countries from all regions referred in the papersmart
version of this statement1
.
The Group welcomes the inclusions in the text of references to cultural values, cultural
diversity, intercultural understanding and language from the Rio+20 Outcome Document on
the contribution of all cultures and civilizations to sustainable development. However, we
note with concern that the acknowledgement of culture as an enabler of sustainable
development contained in the previous daft, has been dropped from the current one in spite
of the support that it had in our previous session from several delegations.
We underscore that the acknowledgement of culture as an enabler and of its potential as a
driver of sustainable development are of the utmost importance, as culture should be
understood not only as heritage or as a provider of identity, but as a dynamic and
crosscutting contributor to the three dimensions of sustainable development.
We would further underscore, amongst other features of culture, its role in fostering
innovation and creating jobs through cultural, creative and touristic industries, as well as its
potential for transforming our patterns of sustainable consumption and production.
The qualifications of culture as an enabler and a driver of sustainable development, as well
as the recognition of its contribution to the three dimensions of sustainable development,
have been consensually agreed by the international community. Building-up on the Rio+20
Outcome Document, the General Assembly has adopted the resolution 68/223 on Culture
and Sustainable Development. In this regard, we emphasize the need to have a stand-alone
paragraph with the most updated consensual language on the matters.
The stand-alone paragraph that we propose would read as follows:
We acknowledge the natural and cultural diversity of the world and recognize that all
cultures and civilizations contribute to sustainable development. In this regard, we
further acknowledge that culture constitutes an important enabler and a driver of
sustainable development and we commit to build up a global culture of sustainable
development.
I thank you.
1 Albania, Argentina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica,
Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, Mongolia,
Nepal, Palau, Peru, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Qatar, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey and Vietnam.