Save the Children
Save the Children’s Statement on the
Zero Draft of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
Thursday 19 June 2014
Introduction
1. Save the Children welcomes the ‘zero draft’ of proposed goals and targets. The document is comprehensive and ambitious, with proposals that have the potential to eradicate extreme poverty within a generation.
On Income Poverty
2. We are pleased to see Target 1.1 on eradicating extreme income poverty, but we urge Member States to define this at a $2.00 per day level. The current target of $1.25 undermines the ambition of the agreement and its ability to transform the lives of the world’s poorest people.
3. We are pleased to see Target 10.2 on achieving higher income growth of the bottom 40%, however, we recommend the addition of the words “and reduce income inequality by x%” at the end of the sentence.
On Reducing Inequalities
4. To reduce inequalities more broadly and operationalize the principle of Leave No One Behind, we recommend the following be included in the chapeau of the Zero Draft document:
i. The criterion that no target will be considered met until met for all social and economic groups;
ii. A strong commitment to invest in quality and timely disaggregated data for all groups; and
iii. A recognition of the value of setting national interim equity targets to reduce gaps in outcomes between more and less advantaged groups in society.
On Governance
5. We recommend that “open, inclusive and accountable governance with rule of law, effective and capable institutions” should be the title of a separate SDG.
On Ending Violence against Children
6. We are very pleased to see Target 16.2 on ending violence against children since this is a universal phenomenon that undermines development outcomes. We strongly recommend that this target be retained with the following revised wording: “By 2030 end all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence against children in all settings and ensure that they thrive in a safe family environment.”
7. Finally, we recommend that ending violence against children be better integrated throughout the SDG Framework in the following ways:
i. Target 4.8 should include the addition of the words “non-violent” after “safe,” and the addition of “including in emergencies” at the end of the sentence since half of the 57 million children currently out of school live in countries affected by crisis;
ii. Target 5.2 should include a reference to “sexual violence” and the addition of “and boys”, since boys who experience or witness violence are more likely to inflict violence on women and girls as adults; and
iii. Target 8.13 should read “end the worst forms of child labour by 2020 and all child labour by 2030…”
Zero Draft of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
Thursday 19 June 2014
Introduction
1. Save the Children welcomes the ‘zero draft’ of proposed goals and targets. The document is comprehensive and ambitious, with proposals that have the potential to eradicate extreme poverty within a generation.
On Income Poverty
2. We are pleased to see Target 1.1 on eradicating extreme income poverty, but we urge Member States to define this at a $2.00 per day level. The current target of $1.25 undermines the ambition of the agreement and its ability to transform the lives of the world’s poorest people.
3. We are pleased to see Target 10.2 on achieving higher income growth of the bottom 40%, however, we recommend the addition of the words “and reduce income inequality by x%” at the end of the sentence.
On Reducing Inequalities
4. To reduce inequalities more broadly and operationalize the principle of Leave No One Behind, we recommend the following be included in the chapeau of the Zero Draft document:
i. The criterion that no target will be considered met until met for all social and economic groups;
ii. A strong commitment to invest in quality and timely disaggregated data for all groups; and
iii. A recognition of the value of setting national interim equity targets to reduce gaps in outcomes between more and less advantaged groups in society.
On Governance
5. We recommend that “open, inclusive and accountable governance with rule of law, effective and capable institutions” should be the title of a separate SDG.
On Ending Violence against Children
6. We are very pleased to see Target 16.2 on ending violence against children since this is a universal phenomenon that undermines development outcomes. We strongly recommend that this target be retained with the following revised wording: “By 2030 end all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence against children in all settings and ensure that they thrive in a safe family environment.”
7. Finally, we recommend that ending violence against children be better integrated throughout the SDG Framework in the following ways:
i. Target 4.8 should include the addition of the words “non-violent” after “safe,” and the addition of “including in emergencies” at the end of the sentence since half of the 57 million children currently out of school live in countries affected by crisis;
ii. Target 5.2 should include a reference to “sexual violence” and the addition of “and boys”, since boys who experience or witness violence are more likely to inflict violence on women and girls as adults; and
iii. Target 8.13 should read “end the worst forms of child labour by 2020 and all child labour by 2030…”
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