Major Group: Business & Industry
This statement was not delivered in Plenary due to time constraints.
Twelfth Session of the General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
Meeting with Major Groups and other Stakeholders
UN Headquarters, CR-1 CB
15 July 2014
Remarks by Mr. John Drexhage from the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) on behalf of the Global Business Alliance (GBA) for Post-2015 for the Business and Industry Major Group
Thank you Mr. Co-Chair.
My name is John Drexhage and I am here today on behalf of the Global Business Alliance for Post-2015, speaking for the Business and Industry Major Group.
At the outset, our group would like to congratulate the Co-Chairs on your effective leadership in guiding this very important process. I would also like to note the exceptional work of the DESA secretariat in the drafting of this balanced text. The engagement, dedication and commitment displayed by the member states reaffirm the significance of these goals as we transition into the Post-2015 Development agenda. Furthermore, our delegation very much appreciates the open and inclusive manner in which this process has been conducted, allowing non-governmental stakeholders to participate actively and for providing several opportunities to receive our inputs and have our voices heard over the last 16 months. Those 9 am sessions with NGOs you attended without fail demonstrated a serious effort to more effectively engage all of civil society, including business.
We wish to quickly address the two goals that will serve as the foundation for the other 15 goals: namely Goals 16 and 17. Our delegation strongly supports the retention and strengthening of the language on focus area 16, recognizing the primacy of the rule of law for good governance. A functional legal system is also crucial in safeguarding democratic values and the best guarantor for the entire spectrum of human rights.
As we have said in previous sessions, at all levels – domestic markets, foreign investment and international trade – business requires enabling frameworks and good governance which are a critical pre-conditions to unlock the full potential of private enterprise and open markets in a way that can promote economic growth, environmental protection and social development. To put it simply, only when businesses are profitable can they contribute effectively to the improvement of social conditions by creating jobs and economic growth
Efforts by companies to promote and support sustainable development in all its dimensions should not divert attention from the urgent need for national governments to create the underlying framework to pave the way for the successful implementation of the SDGs. Business can never be, nor should it be expected to become, a surrogate government. Our roles are complementary and not competing.
With respect to Focus Area 17 on Means of Implementation, we fully respect the member states’ role and responsibility in formulating the targets set forth under this goal and would like to reiterate the importance of allowing for flexibility so that countries would have the ability to define how it can best enact actions conducive to its national circumstances and are designed in a manner that provides clarity and predictability for effective implementation. Finally, we strongly support the sentiment of the targets addressing global partnerships and look forward to new, effective and innovative forms of partnership that effectively leverages the private sector’s role and profile.
Co-Chairs,
Business and Industry once again thanks you for your guidance and leadership. We also very much appreciate the various opportunities of engagement made available to non-governmental actors. We hope that the next phase of the process will carry on in the same spirit of openness and inclusivity.
Thank you.
Twelfth Session of the General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
Meeting with Major Groups and other Stakeholders
UN Headquarters, CR-1 CB
15 July 2014
Remarks by Mr. John Drexhage from the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) on behalf of the Global Business Alliance (GBA) for Post-2015 for the Business and Industry Major Group
Thank you Mr. Co-Chair.
My name is John Drexhage and I am here today on behalf of the Global Business Alliance for Post-2015, speaking for the Business and Industry Major Group.
At the outset, our group would like to congratulate the Co-Chairs on your effective leadership in guiding this very important process. I would also like to note the exceptional work of the DESA secretariat in the drafting of this balanced text. The engagement, dedication and commitment displayed by the member states reaffirm the significance of these goals as we transition into the Post-2015 Development agenda. Furthermore, our delegation very much appreciates the open and inclusive manner in which this process has been conducted, allowing non-governmental stakeholders to participate actively and for providing several opportunities to receive our inputs and have our voices heard over the last 16 months. Those 9 am sessions with NGOs you attended without fail demonstrated a serious effort to more effectively engage all of civil society, including business.
We wish to quickly address the two goals that will serve as the foundation for the other 15 goals: namely Goals 16 and 17. Our delegation strongly supports the retention and strengthening of the language on focus area 16, recognizing the primacy of the rule of law for good governance. A functional legal system is also crucial in safeguarding democratic values and the best guarantor for the entire spectrum of human rights.
As we have said in previous sessions, at all levels – domestic markets, foreign investment and international trade – business requires enabling frameworks and good governance which are a critical pre-conditions to unlock the full potential of private enterprise and open markets in a way that can promote economic growth, environmental protection and social development. To put it simply, only when businesses are profitable can they contribute effectively to the improvement of social conditions by creating jobs and economic growth
Efforts by companies to promote and support sustainable development in all its dimensions should not divert attention from the urgent need for national governments to create the underlying framework to pave the way for the successful implementation of the SDGs. Business can never be, nor should it be expected to become, a surrogate government. Our roles are complementary and not competing.
With respect to Focus Area 17 on Means of Implementation, we fully respect the member states’ role and responsibility in formulating the targets set forth under this goal and would like to reiterate the importance of allowing for flexibility so that countries would have the ability to define how it can best enact actions conducive to its national circumstances and are designed in a manner that provides clarity and predictability for effective implementation. Finally, we strongly support the sentiment of the targets addressing global partnerships and look forward to new, effective and innovative forms of partnership that effectively leverages the private sector’s role and profile.
Co-Chairs,
Business and Industry once again thanks you for your guidance and leadership. We also very much appreciate the various opportunities of engagement made available to non-governmental actors. We hope that the next phase of the process will carry on in the same spirit of openness and inclusivity.
Thank you.