Sweden
Memorandum
May 8 2014
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Sweden
Ambassador
Anna Brandt
Swedish statement at OWG 11 on Focus Area 15 Means of Implementation/Global Partnerships and Focus Area 16 Peaceful and Inclusive Societies/Rule of Law and Capable Institutions
Mr Co-chair,
Focus Area 15
As we have underlined previously, Means of Implementation are a crucial part of our deliberations. Without strong means of implementation and a qualitatively and quantitatively different global partnership we will not realise the ambitious post 2015 development agenda that we have set ourselves. We need multi-stakeholder partnerships - involving the public and private sectors, civil society and academia - for transformative change.
We are basically supportive of the different areas and targets proposed, with some additions.
First, I would like to underline, like others have done, that the issues related to financing are dealt with by the Intergovernmental Expert Committee on Sustainable Development Financing (IECSD) and we should not duplicate or prejudge them. Having said this, we obviously support a re-commitment to ODA targets. As you know Sweden devotes 1 % of GNI to development cooperation. We firmly believe it is time to aim for a more ambitious target when it comes to ODA for LDCs. Sweden is way above the 0.15 to 0.20 recommended level and we would encourage all development partners to better focus ODA on the poorest and most vulnerable. Aiming for more effective and more catalytic development cooperation will also be central. Promoting country ownership and inclusive development partnerships as well as transparency, mutual accountability and results focus are key.
However, at the aggregate level, more important for financing the post 2015 development agenda, will be domestic resource mobilisation. We trust that the IECSD will present useful proposals in this regard.
Second, on trade we would like to draw attention to non/tariff trade distorting measures that need to be combatted. We would also like to underline the importance of regional trade for employment and growth and the vast potential for increased regional trade that exists in different parts of the world. Hence we suggest two additional targets>
- Promote regional and sub-regional cooperation and improve regional connectivity through the development of value chains and trade-facilitating measures.
- Address non/tariff measures and develop standards and technical regulations transparently and applied in a non-discriminatory manner.
Third, on capacity building and strengthened data collection we want to underline the need for sex-disaggregated statistics, and would like this to be inserted in r). There is a need for increased support to developing countries, especially LDCs, to enable them to better measure the development impact on women and men respectively. Without substantially improved statistics disaggregated for women and men, we cannot claim to have a post 2015 development agenda that is gender mainstreamed.
Forth, there is an area which is missing from Means of Implementation in the current draft and that is the positive contribution of migration towards sustainable development. We suggest a separate heading on Migration and mobility, with the following targets>
- Reduce costs of remittances (now currently under j)),
- Reduce recruitment costs paid by migrant workers
- Enhance possibilities for cross-border skills recognition
- Enhance portability of earned social security benefits, such as pensions
Fifth, on strengthened global partnerships we want to add a target on>
- Increase policy coherence for sustainable development
Policy coherence for sustainable development is about how all policy measures, such as trade, financial issues, migration, capacity building, technology transfer, underpin, enhance and strengthen efforts towards sustainable development. With a universal agenda with shared and common responsibilities, everyone must do their part in relation to their capacities and capabilities. Therefore policy coherence for sustainable development is essential at all levels, nationally, regionally and globally. Coherence in the international and multilateral systems will also be key.
Focus Area 16
Mr Co-chair, it is clear by now, that Sweden supports two sustainable development goals under this focus area, one on>
Peaceful and inclusive societies and freedom from violence
and one on>
Democratic Governance, rule of law and accountable institutions
Like you said, Mr Co-Chair, they have strong links to all other focus areas and they require international cooperation for results. But they are no more linked to each other than to any other focus areas and they should be kept separate.
For both goal areas there is strong evidence of the links to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Omitting to include them in an agenda for poverty eradication and sustainable development would be a missed opportunity to create a truly transformational agenda.
First, a goal on peaceful societies would be a truly universal goal. No country is free from violence – not my own country - and all countries therefore have an interest in promoting freedom from violence and peaceful societies. Like the distinguished representative from Lesotho, speaking on behalf of the African group, said earlier, there are direct links between peace and development and peace is both an outcome and an enabler. In addition, promoting freedom from violence is a way of addressing the most vulnerable populations and situations and ensuring that no one is left behind.
We suggest the following measurable universal targets as the most transformational>
1. Reduce the number of violent deaths by x % by 2030.
2. Eliminate all forms of violence and exploitation against women and children.
3. Strengthen the capacity and accountability of the security sector, the police and the judiciary and increase citizen trust in these institutions.
4. Strengthen the rule of law, with a focus on protection of the rights of the most vulnerable, including refugees and internally displaced persons.
5. Reduce international organised crime including trafficking and illicit arms transfers.
Second, transparent, accountable, effective and capable institutions as well as the rule of law, are necessary fundamentals for inclusive and sustainable economic growth and for addressing the many environmental and climate change challenges that are facing all countries. As mentioned earlier, a goal on inclusive and sustainable economic growth needs to be underpinned by a strong target on institutions and good governance.
Addressing governance and institutional challenges are universal responsibilities - all countries have areas that need to improve in terms of transparency and accountability to citizens, including my own. I want to underline, that inclusion of an SDG in this area in no way whatsoever is a means of conditionality, in the same way that no other suggested SDG is a means of conditionality.
We suggest the following measurable transformational targets>
1. Develop by 2030 transparent, accountable and effective institutions at all levels, free from corruption (this target should make a cross reference to economic growth, to which there are strong links).
2. Provide free and universal legal identity by 2030.
3. Ensure impartial and equal access to justice for all women and men and legal protection for all, focusing on the poor and their assets.
4. Ensure the right to association, organisation and freedom of expression for all women and men.
5. Ensure inclusive participatory decision making at different levels of society for all women and men (this target should make a cross reference to peaceful societies, to which there are strong links).
6. Ensure media freedom, including on the internet, and the right for media to scrutinize the activities of the public and private sector without risk of retaliation.
7. Guarantee by law citizens the right to information and access to government data, including on public finance.
Thank you, Mr Co-chair.
Stakeholders