UK Statement on Means of Implementation
I’d like to start by aligning the UK with the statement made by the European Commission on behalf of the European Union and its member states.
We welcome once again the zero draft, and congratulate the co-facilitators for their open and constructive approach, and commend them for their teamwork with the co-facilitators of the Finance for Development process.
Like many others who have spoken, the UK views Section 3 as a placeholder. We restate our position that we see the Addis outcome plus the Means of Implementation agreed in the Open Working Group as together constituting the Means of Implementation for the post-2015 Development Agenda. Let us remember that the rationale put forward for holding the Addis conference on Finance For Development prior to the SDG summit in the first place was to agree on a finance and policy package to support delivery of the SDGs. Our view remains, therefore, that the outcome from Addis should be incorporated into Section 3.
I would like to make three brief points.
• First, the UK has been consistent in calling for an ambitious Means of Implementation, without which (as the G77 has said) the post-2015 agenda would not be viable. We also agree with how the G77 has described the relationship – Finance for Development should include, build upon, and go beyond the Open Working Group’s Means of Implementation: making the Means of Implementation more actionable and specific in their totality. To be truly transformational, they must cover financial and non-financial policies and actions at domestic and international levels by all stakeholders, including public and private, government and non-governmental actors.
• Second, we note the food for thought paper on the technology facilitation mechanism circulated with the zero draft, and I wish to restate the UK’s belief that technology is fundamental to sustainable development. But again, our expectation is that the precise scope of a technology facilitation mechanism will be finalised in the Addis outcome document.
• Third, we see that the text currently included in Section 3 includes the Open Working Group’s Means of Implementation targets, including goal-by-goal MoI. We can see how this gives the Means of Implementation greater visibility and could therefore result in greater prominence and traction. Presentationally, we would like to invite the co-chairs to consider how to avoid duplication across the sections in the final version of the document.
I’ll finish by expressing my support and good wishes for the co-facilitators as you work on the next draft text and reassure you of the UK’s continued constructive engagement
Thank you
