STATEMENT BY the Scientific and Technological Community (STC) Major Group
Delivered by Sharmila Murthy, Assistant Professor, Suffolk University Law School as part of
the International Council for Science (STC Major Group)
INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE/ 20 May 2015: Intergovernmental negotiations on the Post-2015
development agenda, UN New York, 18-22 May 2015
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Thank you very much Mr. Co-Facilitators and Distinguished Delegates:
I am speaking on behalf of the Scientific and Technological Community Major Group. My name is Sharmila Murthy and I am an Assistant Professor at Suffolk University Law School and a Visiting Scholar with the Sustainability Science Program at Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
The Scientific and Technological Community Major Group concurs that effective follow-up and review will be essential for the success of the post-2015 agenda. To this end, an enhanced partnership between policy-makers, scientists and other stakeholders is key to construct and practice a universal review process that will be participatory, evidence-based and multi-tiered, combining national, regional and global reviews. Reviewing progress in implementing the SDGs must include an integrated approach that periodically assesses appropriateness, review data needs/gaps, and addresses possible synergies and trade-offs between goals.
The Scientific and Technological Community strongly supports the proposal in the UN Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report to create an annual global forum for knowledge sharing and for preparation of thematic progress reports - both under the auspices of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
This will enhance the partnership between policymakers, scientists and other stakeholders, and create a universal review process that will be participatory, evidence-based and multi-tiered. The coordination of the scientific community is crucial: thus, the International Council for Science, the International Social Science Council, and Future Earth have formed an alliance that is well-placed to serve as the coordinator, in partnership with other
organisations, such as the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. This can also provide an effective interface between the Global Sustainable Development Report and the global scientific community.
In this context, I highlight that the scientific community is organizing key activities, such as the upcoming ICSU/ISSC Young Scientists Conference on “Future Sustainability — the role of Science in the SDGs” supported by German DFG (The German Research Foundation).
Thus, we are ready to work together with all stakeholders to enable an effective, universal, evidence-based and participatory review process, led by High Level Political Forum.
Thank you.
