India
10th Session of the Open Working Group on SDGs
March 31- April 4, 2014
Intervention by Amit Narang, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of India during discussions on Cluster 8 – Peaceful and non-violent societies, rule of law and capable institutions
….
Thank you Mr. Co-Chair for giving me the floor,
Mr. Co-Chair,
For anyone observing this debate this evening, two facts would be quite evident; one - that there is no consensus in this Group on how to deal with the issues under this Focus Area and second the fact that peaceful societies and capable institutions have important links to development is not something that anybody disagrees with. The question therefore is how to and indeed whether to address this cluster of issues in this Open Working Group.
We feel Mr. Co-Chair that our work is very clearly framed by the mandate of Rio+20. We support the internationally agreed definition of sustainable development based on the three dimensions of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. We, therefore, do not support any presumptive fourth pillar.
Mr. Co-Chair,
The relationship between peace and development is self evident. However, we feel that in this group we would do well to focus on the developmental links of peace rather than the other way round. We should focus on how development leads to peace and not how peace can link to development, which may be too ambitious for this Group. There can be no durable peace without economic growth and development and this group can and will make a lasting contribution to the creation of peace, if we are able to create conditions for rapid sustained and inclusive economic growth and put the world on a more sustainable pathway. For this reason, we are not fully convinced with the need to have a separate goal on peace and security.
Mr. Co-Chair,
I must add that we are fully supportive of recognizing the special circumstances and concerns of those States that are emerging from situations of conflict, but we feel that their concerns could be addressed without having a separate goal on these issues.
The other group of issues within this cluster pertains to rule of law, capable institutions and governance. We acknowledge the importance of many of the important issues contained in this group, but we feel that these are better incorporated under other goals and indeed, as means of implementation. Some of the issues such as birth registration and legal identity etc which were mentioned by a few delegations could be seen as effective means for developing countries to attain poverty eradication and sustainable development.
We also feel, Mr. Co-Chair, that rule of law and capable institutions need to be equally, if not more importantly, seen in their international context. We find it is ironical that many members are so passionate about promoting rule of law and democratic governance within countries even as we persist with such abiding levels of democratic deficit in institutions of global governance including here at the UN.
To conclude, Mr. Co-Chair, we cannot support standalone goals and peace, security, rule of law and governance even as we remain perfectly ready to constructively engage in discussions on how to address many of these important issues as part of other goals.
Thank you.
*****
March 31- April 4, 2014
Intervention by Amit Narang, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of India during discussions on Cluster 8 – Peaceful and non-violent societies, rule of law and capable institutions
….
Thank you Mr. Co-Chair for giving me the floor,
Mr. Co-Chair,
For anyone observing this debate this evening, two facts would be quite evident; one - that there is no consensus in this Group on how to deal with the issues under this Focus Area and second the fact that peaceful societies and capable institutions have important links to development is not something that anybody disagrees with. The question therefore is how to and indeed whether to address this cluster of issues in this Open Working Group.
We feel Mr. Co-Chair that our work is very clearly framed by the mandate of Rio+20. We support the internationally agreed definition of sustainable development based on the three dimensions of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. We, therefore, do not support any presumptive fourth pillar.
Mr. Co-Chair,
The relationship between peace and development is self evident. However, we feel that in this group we would do well to focus on the developmental links of peace rather than the other way round. We should focus on how development leads to peace and not how peace can link to development, which may be too ambitious for this Group. There can be no durable peace without economic growth and development and this group can and will make a lasting contribution to the creation of peace, if we are able to create conditions for rapid sustained and inclusive economic growth and put the world on a more sustainable pathway. For this reason, we are not fully convinced with the need to have a separate goal on peace and security.
Mr. Co-Chair,
I must add that we are fully supportive of recognizing the special circumstances and concerns of those States that are emerging from situations of conflict, but we feel that their concerns could be addressed without having a separate goal on these issues.
The other group of issues within this cluster pertains to rule of law, capable institutions and governance. We acknowledge the importance of many of the important issues contained in this group, but we feel that these are better incorporated under other goals and indeed, as means of implementation. Some of the issues such as birth registration and legal identity etc which were mentioned by a few delegations could be seen as effective means for developing countries to attain poverty eradication and sustainable development.
We also feel, Mr. Co-Chair, that rule of law and capable institutions need to be equally, if not more importantly, seen in their international context. We find it is ironical that many members are so passionate about promoting rule of law and democratic governance within countries even as we persist with such abiding levels of democratic deficit in institutions of global governance including here at the UN.
To conclude, Mr. Co-Chair, we cannot support standalone goals and peace, security, rule of law and governance even as we remain perfectly ready to constructively engage in discussions on how to address many of these important issues as part of other goals.
Thank you.
*****
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