Major Group: Children & Youth
Thank you for the excellent presentations on an issue, which is the fundamental underpinning of sustainable development.
My name is Kehkashan Basu and I am speaking on behalf of the Major Group for Children and Youth.
I want to briefly highlight the Major Group for Children and Youth’s position on the proposal for a High Commissioner for Future Generations, which is the first recommendation in the UN Secretary General’s report on ‘Intergenerational Solidarity and the Needs of Future Generations’. We are working to ensure a meaningful follow-up to this report.
The long term is such an important issue that we believe it requires a dedicated body– to give it the visibility it deserves, in order to orchestrate responsibility towards future generations. It would advocate for intergenerational equity in UN activities concerning sustainable development and encourage responsibility towards future generations, in order to safeguard their interests from present threats. It would be the long-term voice at the table, when everyone else is preoccupied with immediate targets and achievements.
We emphasise that this institution would be an independent office, purposefully small in size in order to not be a financial drain and not to bring more bureaucracy to the sustainable architecture but rather to streamline policy-making, ensure smart decision-making and ensure effective and applied understanding of the long-term. It is by design cross-cutting and cross-disciplinary, drawing on expertise and collaboration from other agencies, - very much in line with how the High Level Political Forum should be orchestrating sustainable development.
Yesterday morning’s moderated dialogue “From Rio+20 to Post-2015” repeatedly emphasised that sustainable development is not a zero sum game – this also applies more specifically to future generations. A High Commissioner for Future Generations could help identify win-win pathways that benefit both current and future generations. Not caring for future generations on the other hand is a loose-loose situation. Short-sightedness harms both current and future humankind.
Thank you.
My name is Kehkashan Basu and I am speaking on behalf of the Major Group for Children and Youth.
I want to briefly highlight the Major Group for Children and Youth’s position on the proposal for a High Commissioner for Future Generations, which is the first recommendation in the UN Secretary General’s report on ‘Intergenerational Solidarity and the Needs of Future Generations’. We are working to ensure a meaningful follow-up to this report.
The long term is such an important issue that we believe it requires a dedicated body– to give it the visibility it deserves, in order to orchestrate responsibility towards future generations. It would advocate for intergenerational equity in UN activities concerning sustainable development and encourage responsibility towards future generations, in order to safeguard their interests from present threats. It would be the long-term voice at the table, when everyone else is preoccupied with immediate targets and achievements.
We emphasise that this institution would be an independent office, purposefully small in size in order to not be a financial drain and not to bring more bureaucracy to the sustainable architecture but rather to streamline policy-making, ensure smart decision-making and ensure effective and applied understanding of the long-term. It is by design cross-cutting and cross-disciplinary, drawing on expertise and collaboration from other agencies, - very much in line with how the High Level Political Forum should be orchestrating sustainable development.
Yesterday morning’s moderated dialogue “From Rio+20 to Post-2015” repeatedly emphasised that sustainable development is not a zero sum game – this also applies more specifically to future generations. A High Commissioner for Future Generations could help identify win-win pathways that benefit both current and future generations. Not caring for future generations on the other hand is a loose-loose situation. Short-sightedness harms both current and future humankind.
Thank you.