Sri Lanka

Intervention by Sri Lanka at the Seventh Session (the session on the final draft) of the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda
20-24 July 2015

Distinguished co-facilitators,
At the outset, let me thank you for convening this drafting session of the post-2015 development agenda. We also thank you for making available the “final draft of the outcome document” in a timely manner.
We associate ourselves with the statement made by the Republic of South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The following remarks are in our national capacity.
Distinguished co-facilitators,
It is encouraging to note that the revised draft declaration of the agenda has sustained its quality as a strong and visionary document. We believe that it has been able to capture the essence of the representations made by the developing states at the last session, and that it provides a good basis for our deliberations at this session. However, there is further room for improvement.
The title of the present draft does not make any references to sustainable development. We believe that the title of the outcome document should make a clear reference to “Sustainable Development” as the development agenda beyond 2015 is based on the three pillars of sustainable development.
The present proposed preamble shows a substantial improvement from the previous preamble. We had called for its deletion. We are of the view that the present preamble provides a firm basis to frame the post-2015 development agenda. The preamble will be instrumental in communicating the core rationale of the Agenda to the people.
Distinguished co-facilitators,
We are pleased to present you with some language proposals to the paragraphs of the declaration.
Sri Lanka has always promoted the rights and wellbeing of children as a national priority. This has resulted in our outstanding performance in achieving MDG indicators for children such as achieving universal primary education and reduced infant and under five child mortality rate.
We believe that the protection of children from violence must be a clear priority in the post-2015 development agenda.
In this regard, my delegation wishes to propose to add the phrase “and every child grows free from violence and exploitation” to the sentence starting as “A world in which …” in paragraph 8 of the draft.
We also wish to propose to include the phrase “including violence against women and children” after “Spiraling conflict, violent extremism” in paragraph 11.
We propose to add “and bringing child labour, particularly in its worst forms, to and end” after “decent work for all” in paragraph 25.
In paragraph 30, my delegation proposes to insert the phrase “end all forms of abuse, exploitation, and violence against children” after “We must redouble our efforts to”.
Distinguished co-facilitators,
As a labour intensive developing state, Sri Lanka has recognized the critical importance of including ‘decent work for all’ in the post-2015 development agenda.
In this regard, my delegation wishes to propose certain language to some of the paragraphs of the declaration to reflect this aspect.
In paragraph 9, we propose to insert the phrase “AND GENERATE THE DECENT JOBS PEOPLE WANT” after “from air to land to oceans – are sustainable”. This is in view of the quest for decent jobs being ranked among the top three global priorities. This should be part of our vision for 2030.
My delegation also proposes to insert “AND THE LACK OF DECENT WORK OPORTUNITIES” after “Unemployment, particularly youth unemployment,” in paragraph 11 of the present draft.
In paragraph 37, we propose to couple labour rights with human rights and insert the word “labour” between the words “human” and “rights”. Similarly, we propose to replace the word “humane” with “fair” in order for it to be compatible with the agenda’s level of ambition.
We also propose to add “spatial variation of water availability” after “tackle water scarcity” in paragraph 28. This is in view of the issues faced by millions of people due to spatial variation of water availability. This is an issue that is being worsened day by day due to adverse effects of climate change. In Sri Lanka, it is a major issue faced by the two thirds of the geographical area of the country.
Distinguished co-facilitators,
These are our comments and proposals for the declaration of the draft outcome document. We are happy to share our comments and views on the other components as we go along.
I thank you.