Statement for the Inter-governmental negotiations on Post-2105 Development Agenda- Declaration
17 February 2015
Thank you co-chairs,
As it is the first time Israel takes the floor, we would like to join others in thanking you for convening this session and for putting together the elements paper, which is very useful as we move forward in crafting our joint vision for the Post 2015 development agenda. We would like to make a few brief remarks on the form and substance of the declaration.
There is no doubt, as many have already mentioned in their statements, that the declaration is a crucial element in our agenda. However, its success will hinge on our ability to communicate it to every person on the planet.
Just as we are aspiring to adopt a transformative agenda, we should also seek to craft a transformative and innovative declaration, rather than a compilation of former UN documents that only we can understand.
In this sense, the declaration is like the cover of a book – if we want people to pick it up and read it, we must make it appealing, clear and concise. We don’t want to find ourselves saying "don’t judge the book by its cover." And like any good book, our agenda must also have a catchy title. In this regard we support Canada's proposal to crowd-source a new name. This will also be a great way to engage people around the world and let them take ownership of the agenda.
As for the quote unquote "chapters" of the book, we believe that the elements paper does a good job framing and organizing the main concepts that should be included. However, we feel that the section on our commitments, global solidarity and common principles could be fine-tuned. For example, while there are important references to human rights and gender equality, we should further strengthen and reemphasize cross-cutting issues such as empowerment of women and girls, as well as inclusiveness, with special emphasis on youth and persons with disabilities. We must validate and reaffirm our commitment to leave no one behind by ensuring "well-being and mental health to all", and stating that no target will be considered met unless met for all.
Another point for consideration when looking at this section is that many of the guiding principles related to the SDGs are reaffirmed in the chapeau of the Open Working Group's proposal. We should keep this in mind as we start drafting our declaration so as to avoid turning it into a long shopping list. By leaving out redundancies, people around the world reading the declaration will be able to easily comprehend it and relate to it.
Finally, I would like to make two additional comments on the nature of the process.
First, we would like to join Japan and Canada's request to be briefed by the co-chairs about the overall process and preparation for the next sessions in particular the March session and the work being done by the Statistical Commission.
Second, as Ambassador Kamau reminded us this morning, we are witnessing horrific acts of violence and terrorism around the world, including the barbaric execution of 21 Egyptians by ISIS, the killing of innocents in Nigeria and the attacks in Paris and Copenhagen. These acts of violence stem from hatred, intolerance, religious extremism and anti-Semitism. They go against our core values of freedom, equality and peace.
Yet we should remember that our role in this venue is to battle extremism by promoting gender equality, inclusiveness, and education, as well as, by strengthening the rule of law and good governance for stable societies in the future.
The post-2015 development agenda sets a shared vision for this kind of future. In order to realize this vision we must remain focused on our overarching objective. We have to stick to the agreed framework and make a distinction between the issues that are truly relevant to our conversation and those that are already being covered by other UN bodies, including the various ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and around the world, which are constantly discussed at the Security Council. Any attempt to divert this important conversation and highlight specific political situations will take us down a slippery slope and jeopardize the clarity, coherence, implementability and consensus of our agenda.
Thank you.
