Switzerland
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Intergovernmental Negotiations Post-2015
Third Session / Goals, Targets, Indicators
Session on Indicators
STATEMENT BY SWITZERLAND
New York, Monday, March 23, 2015
Thank you Co-Facilitators,
We welcome the update given by the UN Statistics Division on the state of their ongoing
work.
Switzerland is convinced that indicators must be elaborated by statisticians and experts
in a transparent manner, and today’s meeting is a good example of how transparency
can be reached;
Indicators are the backbone of monitoring and review of the SDGs and crucial for successful
implementation of the agenda. Therefore, they must reflect the ambitious political
will expressed in the respective targets.
We need global indicators as we collectively have the ambition to implement a universal
agenda.
Switzerland supports the roadmap as adopted by the 46th UN Statistics Commission in
March 2015.
According to this roadmap, Switzerland also supports that the Inter-agency Expert
Group on SDG indicators elaborate a proposal for a conceptual framework, which must
include principles and criteria for the selection of indicators, as well as a set of indicators.
We would like to stress that elaborating good indicators takes time and rushing
this exercise would only be detrimental to the implementation of the SDGs that we have
all worked so hard to define.
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However, in September this year our Heads of State will be gathering to adopt an
ambitious set of Sustainable Development Goals. It will be important that this Declaration
also sets the stage for the work to come and expresses a clear mandate for the
elaboration of an indicator framework and a set of indicators.
Concretely, we would therefore expect that The Post-2015 Outcome Document will contain
the following elements:
- It must recall the importance of a robust set of indicators, based on an indicator
framework, as crucial to ensure effective monitoring and ultimately effective implementation
of the agenda.
- Based also on paragraph 38 of the Rio+20 document, it must give the UN Statistics
Commission a clear mandate to elaborate an indicator framework and a set
of indicators based in the ambitious SDGs, based on the roadmap as approved
by the UN Stats Commission at its 46th session.
- The Post-2015 Outcome Document should call for the UN Stats Commission to
adopt an indicator framework and list of indicators at its 47th session in
March 2016, including the possibility to update them at a later time if needed.
- Finally, it should also underline the importance of strengthening the statistical capacity
in countries, an issue which in our view is an important element of the MoI
discussion. In this regard, some remarks of the distinguished representatives of
the Statistical commission addressing us today, are of particular relevance, such
a step necessity for transformation also in the statistical world, respectively the
need for new approaches, including integrated monitoring for sustainable development.
We also agree with the statement that strengthening capacities should
be understood as strengthening existing systems, respectively be part of ongoing
monitoring efforts at the different levels.
Check against delivery
1
Intergovernmental Negotiations Post-2015
Third Session / Goals, Targets, Indicators
Session on Indicators
STATEMENT BY SWITZERLAND
New York, Monday, March 23, 2015
Thank you Co-Facilitators,
We welcome the update given by the UN Statistics Division on the state of their ongoing
work.
Switzerland is convinced that indicators must be elaborated by statisticians and experts
in a transparent manner, and today’s meeting is a good example of how transparency
can be reached;
Indicators are the backbone of monitoring and review of the SDGs and crucial for successful
implementation of the agenda. Therefore, they must reflect the ambitious political
will expressed in the respective targets.
We need global indicators as we collectively have the ambition to implement a universal
agenda.
Switzerland supports the roadmap as adopted by the 46th UN Statistics Commission in
March 2015.
According to this roadmap, Switzerland also supports that the Inter-agency Expert
Group on SDG indicators elaborate a proposal for a conceptual framework, which must
include principles and criteria for the selection of indicators, as well as a set of indicators.
We would like to stress that elaborating good indicators takes time and rushing
this exercise would only be detrimental to the implementation of the SDGs that we have
all worked so hard to define.
Seul le texte prononcé fait foi
Check against delivery
2
However, in September this year our Heads of State will be gathering to adopt an
ambitious set of Sustainable Development Goals. It will be important that this Declaration
also sets the stage for the work to come and expresses a clear mandate for the
elaboration of an indicator framework and a set of indicators.
Concretely, we would therefore expect that The Post-2015 Outcome Document will contain
the following elements:
- It must recall the importance of a robust set of indicators, based on an indicator
framework, as crucial to ensure effective monitoring and ultimately effective implementation
of the agenda.
- Based also on paragraph 38 of the Rio+20 document, it must give the UN Statistics
Commission a clear mandate to elaborate an indicator framework and a set
of indicators based in the ambitious SDGs, based on the roadmap as approved
by the UN Stats Commission at its 46th session.
- The Post-2015 Outcome Document should call for the UN Stats Commission to
adopt an indicator framework and list of indicators at its 47th session in
March 2016, including the possibility to update them at a later time if needed.
- Finally, it should also underline the importance of strengthening the statistical capacity
in countries, an issue which in our view is an important element of the MoI
discussion. In this regard, some remarks of the distinguished representatives of
the Statistical commission addressing us today, are of particular relevance, such
a step necessity for transformation also in the statistical world, respectively the
need for new approaches, including integrated monitoring for sustainable development.
We also agree with the statement that strengthening capacities should
be understood as strengthening existing systems, respectively be part of ongoing
monitoring efforts at the different levels.
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