Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary-General
Co-Chairs,
Ladies and Gentleman,
Let me begin by expressing congratulations to H.E. Csaba K6r0si, Permanent
Representative of Hungary, and H.E. Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of
Kenya, on their assumption of the duties of co-chairs of the OWG. I would also like to
express my appreciation for their excellent work as co-facilitators prior to this session as
well. We expect Their Excellencies to continue to play leading roles in this important
process.
As we are all aware, the agreement to commence negotiations on the
Sustainable Development Goals was one of main outcomes of Rio+20. However,
despite that agreement nine months ago, we have not in fact begun discussions on the
substance of the SDGs yet. It is our hope that we will be able to have the substantive
discussion as soon as possible. Japan, as a member of the OWG, is committed to
contributing actively to the discussions herein.
Considering that the OWG will submit its report to the GA at its 68th session,
we feel that it would be appropriate to request the Secretary-General to submit a new
report in 2014, which would likely include, inter alia, concrete recommendations for
how to integrate the SDGs into the post-2015 development agenda.
I would also to point out that paragraph 245 of the outcome document of
Rio+20 stipulates that the SDGs should be coherent with and integrated into the United
Nations Development agenda beyond 2015. It is important that we closely coordinate
the processes of both the OWG and the post-2015 development agenda. As for the
post-2015 development agenda, several key elements of this process are already
underway: discussions are taking place among the Secretary General's High Level
Panel; a report of the Secretariat-General's is planned to be issued; an MDGs Special
Event is scheduled for September; and various consultations are being organized by
UNDG. We, the Member States, should be always mindful of how to integrate the work
of this OWG into that of the post-2015 development agenda.
Mr. President,
Bearing in mind the importance of the eventual integration of the work of these
two processes, allow me to touch upon Japan's basic position and ideas on the
post-2015 development agenda on this occasion:
First of all, the post-2015 development agenda should consist of simple, clear,
easy to understand, and measurable goals. This is critical for the new framework to be
politically appealing. Furthermore, the post-2015 development agenda must be able to
respond to the needs of the people. In this regard, Human Security can serve as an
effective approach to create a framework which protects and empowers individuals to
realize their full potential, and reaches out to society's most vulnerable members.
Second, sustainability is an indispensable element of development. For this
reason, Japan attaches great importance to the OWG; though we recognize that
integrating sustainability into development is a challenge. We now know that
sustainable development, born up by its social, economic and environmental pillars, is
able to encompass every aspect of our lives. Therefore, the manner in which we
prioritize key issues and the effectiveness with which we communicate will determine
the strength of the SDGs, and hence the post-2015 development agenda.
Third, the world is in need of partnerships that go beyond the traditional
North-South divide, and include the private sector, emerging economies, and civil
society. Therefore, I would like to emphasize the importance of establishing such new
partnerships as we consider both the the SDGs and the post-2015 development agenda.
These partnerships should be based on mutual support and enhancement of ownership,
and include good governance and mobilization of domestic resources.
Mr. President,
Mindful of the urgency of this issue, we look forward to having an effective
and fruitful discussion with all the partners of the SDGs OWG.
I thank you.
