India
2nd Session of Intergovernmental Negotiations
on Post-2015 Development Agenda
New York
***
Declaration
Statement Delivered by Amb. Bhagwant S Bishnoi, Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
Thank you for giving me the floor.
India aligns itself fully with the statement made by the distinguished Permanent Representative of South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
I have the honor to share some views and perspectives in my national capacity.
Let me at the outset thank you for the ‘Elements Paper’ that is useful as a food-for-thought and in framing the discussions in this session.
As several others have emphasized, we would appreciate more clarity on how you plan to conduct this session including if you propose to present additional draft texts.
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
The Declaration will act as the introductory statement to the outcome document to be adopted at the Summit in September.
We concur that it should be concise, visionary, ambitious, actionable, communicable and simple.
It should be a high political vision of the international community for an ambitious development agenda with the path-breaking central objective of ending poverty in a generation and giving a life of dignity to all.
It should aim to put the world onto a path of sustainable development, restoring the health of the planet and emphasizing a balanced pursuit of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
The very first principle for the crafting of the Declaration is the need to fully respect agreed principles and notions that have been endorsed by member states in recent years and months and to avoid renegotiating international consensus contained in documents such as Rio+20 and the outcome of the OWG.
It's only 30 months since Rio+20, where member states adopted by consensus, and that too at the highest political level, a comprehensive vision on the entire spectrum of issues relevant to sustainable development.
We see no reason for that consensus outcome to be re-negotiated.
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
The Declaration must eschew a narrow vision of one-size-fits-all and recognize the importance of respecting diverse national circumstances and starting points.
It must therefore anchor an agenda universal in relevance but differentiated in action.
The Rio principles remain at the center of the sustainable development discourse and must be reaffirmed. They are vital, important and relevant for the post-2015 development agenda.
Of particular importance is the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, which is rooted in a vision of our shared and common responsibilities, while calling for differentiation in action.
Speaks as it does of equity in international relations, the principle of differentiation is not only not in contradiction to the notion of universality, but in fact complementary to it.
This principle must continue to be the basis for international cooperation.
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
The Declaration must articulate a vision of development that is comprehensive and integrated across all three dimensions of sustainable development eschewing the tendency to over-emphasize any one dimension. It is only this holistic vision that can enable us to succeed in our endeavors to achieve the future we want.
The Declaration must unequivocally reaffirm the central and overarching objective and the indispensable requirement of ending poverty. The needs and concerns of the 1.2 billion people across the world who are denied a life of dignity must be at the center of our collective political vision.
The Declaration must also recognize that the burden of sustainability cannot be placed on the shoulders of the poor and that equitable burden sharing must provide the necessary space for developing countries to pull their people out of poverty while pursuing growth that is socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
The ideal of living in harmony with nature must be embraced by all, particularly by developed countries whose unsustainable consumption patterns and ecological footprints need urgent reform.
Mr. Co-Facilitators,
The Chapeau to the SDGs contained in the report of the OWG is an inalienable and inseparable part of the SDGs themselves. It contains important understandings and guidance- for example on the global and aspirational nature of the agenda, the holistic and indivisible nature of the SDGs and the need for respecting national circumstances.
There is merit therefore in including it fully in the Declaration.
When the Elements Paper speaks of ‘Today’s challenges’, it lists them somewhat selectively. We believe that the global consensus on the common challenges confronting the world is encapsulated in the SDGs themselves. The holistic and comprehensive canvass of the SDGs is the collective vision to which all of us now need to work on for the next 15 years. This must be a core message of the Declaration.
The idea of framing the Declaration using the six essential elements proposed by the Secretary General is an interesting one, but one that needs further reflection.
There can be different views on how many and which elements might be the most useful for such framing and we look forward to examining this a bit more.
In this regard, we found the suggestion made by the distinguished DPR of Brazil a few moments ago of using 4 Ps – People, Planet, Prosperity and Partnership – most useful.
Mr. Co-Facilitators,
The Declaration must anchor a revitalized Global Partnership for Development based on MDG-8 while addressing its key shortcomings.
Strengthened international cooperation to assist national efforts and democratization of global governance to give real voice and participation of developing countries in line with current realities must be at the heart of the renewed global partnership.
As we have emphasized before, the Declaration should be crafted broad enough to give our leaders an opportunity to reflect on global challenges in a holistic manner and take into account the evolution of global governance and the need for its reform.
You can as usual count on our constructive engagement in the days ahead. We will provide further views as we along in the session to add to this rich debate.
I thank you.
*****
on Post-2015 Development Agenda
New York
***
Declaration
Statement Delivered by Amb. Bhagwant S Bishnoi, Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
Thank you for giving me the floor.
India aligns itself fully with the statement made by the distinguished Permanent Representative of South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
I have the honor to share some views and perspectives in my national capacity.
Let me at the outset thank you for the ‘Elements Paper’ that is useful as a food-for-thought and in framing the discussions in this session.
As several others have emphasized, we would appreciate more clarity on how you plan to conduct this session including if you propose to present additional draft texts.
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
The Declaration will act as the introductory statement to the outcome document to be adopted at the Summit in September.
We concur that it should be concise, visionary, ambitious, actionable, communicable and simple.
It should be a high political vision of the international community for an ambitious development agenda with the path-breaking central objective of ending poverty in a generation and giving a life of dignity to all.
It should aim to put the world onto a path of sustainable development, restoring the health of the planet and emphasizing a balanced pursuit of economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
The very first principle for the crafting of the Declaration is the need to fully respect agreed principles and notions that have been endorsed by member states in recent years and months and to avoid renegotiating international consensus contained in documents such as Rio+20 and the outcome of the OWG.
It's only 30 months since Rio+20, where member states adopted by consensus, and that too at the highest political level, a comprehensive vision on the entire spectrum of issues relevant to sustainable development.
We see no reason for that consensus outcome to be re-negotiated.
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
The Declaration must eschew a narrow vision of one-size-fits-all and recognize the importance of respecting diverse national circumstances and starting points.
It must therefore anchor an agenda universal in relevance but differentiated in action.
The Rio principles remain at the center of the sustainable development discourse and must be reaffirmed. They are vital, important and relevant for the post-2015 development agenda.
Of particular importance is the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, which is rooted in a vision of our shared and common responsibilities, while calling for differentiation in action.
Speaks as it does of equity in international relations, the principle of differentiation is not only not in contradiction to the notion of universality, but in fact complementary to it.
This principle must continue to be the basis for international cooperation.
Mr. Co-Facilitator,
The Declaration must articulate a vision of development that is comprehensive and integrated across all three dimensions of sustainable development eschewing the tendency to over-emphasize any one dimension. It is only this holistic vision that can enable us to succeed in our endeavors to achieve the future we want.
The Declaration must unequivocally reaffirm the central and overarching objective and the indispensable requirement of ending poverty. The needs and concerns of the 1.2 billion people across the world who are denied a life of dignity must be at the center of our collective political vision.
The Declaration must also recognize that the burden of sustainability cannot be placed on the shoulders of the poor and that equitable burden sharing must provide the necessary space for developing countries to pull their people out of poverty while pursuing growth that is socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
The ideal of living in harmony with nature must be embraced by all, particularly by developed countries whose unsustainable consumption patterns and ecological footprints need urgent reform.
Mr. Co-Facilitators,
The Chapeau to the SDGs contained in the report of the OWG is an inalienable and inseparable part of the SDGs themselves. It contains important understandings and guidance- for example on the global and aspirational nature of the agenda, the holistic and indivisible nature of the SDGs and the need for respecting national circumstances.
There is merit therefore in including it fully in the Declaration.
When the Elements Paper speaks of ‘Today’s challenges’, it lists them somewhat selectively. We believe that the global consensus on the common challenges confronting the world is encapsulated in the SDGs themselves. The holistic and comprehensive canvass of the SDGs is the collective vision to which all of us now need to work on for the next 15 years. This must be a core message of the Declaration.
The idea of framing the Declaration using the six essential elements proposed by the Secretary General is an interesting one, but one that needs further reflection.
There can be different views on how many and which elements might be the most useful for such framing and we look forward to examining this a bit more.
In this regard, we found the suggestion made by the distinguished DPR of Brazil a few moments ago of using 4 Ps – People, Planet, Prosperity and Partnership – most useful.
Mr. Co-Facilitators,
The Declaration must anchor a revitalized Global Partnership for Development based on MDG-8 while addressing its key shortcomings.
Strengthened international cooperation to assist national efforts and democratization of global governance to give real voice and participation of developing countries in line with current realities must be at the heart of the renewed global partnership.
As we have emphasized before, the Declaration should be crafted broad enough to give our leaders an opportunity to reflect on global challenges in a holistic manner and take into account the evolution of global governance and the need for its reform.
You can as usual count on our constructive engagement in the days ahead. We will provide further views as we along in the session to add to this rich debate.
I thank you.
*****
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