Uganda
UGANDA
Tel : (212) 949 – 0110
Fax : (212) 687 - 4517
Permanent Mission of Uganda
To the United Nations
New York
STATEMENT BY
H.E. DR. RICHARD NDUHUURA
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF UGANDA TO THE UN
AT
THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE OPEN WORKING GROUP ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
June 17, 2013
New York
Please check against delivery
2
Co-Chairs,
I thank you for giving me, on behalf of my delegation, an opportunity to
address this Open Working Group on the important matter of developing a set
of global sustainable development goals in the areas of “Employment and
decent work for all, Social protection, Youth, Education and Culture”.
I also thank the Technical Support Team (TST) for the valuable Issues Briefs
that it prepared to facilitate our work.
Uganda aligns itself with the statements delivered by Permanent
Representatives of Fiji, Djibouti and Benin on behalf of the G77 and China, the
African Group, and LDCs respectively.
Co-Chairs,
The post-2015 development agenda needs a renewed and comprehensive focus
on structural transformation to tackle the root causes of underdevelopment
and not just its symptoms. Uganda’s experience with MDG 1, for example,
where we’ve already achieved the MDG target, shows that the impressive
performance in poverty reduction that we have achieved has been closely
linked to an expansion in more secure and productive forms of employment for
poorer households and not necessarily increased social spending. Therefore,
the thematic areas under consideration today are very pertinent to the
formulation of the new SDGs.
Employment and decent work
My delegation is of the view that employment and decent work are legitimate
and fundamental goals in their own right.
If we agree that the principal route out of poverty is through work and income,
then labour remains the most important asset in the hands of the poor that
must be nurtured and harnessed to transform it into decent work for all. To
reduce and eventually eradicate poverty, we need a growth process that creates
more and better jobs with adequate social protection.
We therefore need specific goals focusing on creation of jobs, sustainable
livelihoods and equitable, inclusive and sustained growth with a corresponding
set of targets and indicators.
3
Social protection
Co-Chairs,
Social protection is an important means to reduce inequality and foster
solidarity in a society. However, this protection should comprise basic social
security guarantees that ensure at a minimum, over the life cycle, access to
essential health care and to basic income security for those in need as defined
at national level.
Youth
Co-Chairs,
The youth represent an important human resource for the future of all our
societies. It is therefore essential that appropriate policies are formulated and
implemented to equip and empower the youth to actively participate in all
development processes. This participation should span the exercise of their
political, civic and socio-economic rights in decision making. The formulation of
the SDGs should address the need to increase opportunities of employment for
the youth and to facilitate their meaningful involvement in national
development efforts that will respond to their needs and aspirations.
Education and Culture
Co-Chairs,
Education has, and will always be central to the development agenda. It is a
prerequisite for our populations’ awareness of their fundamental human rights,
responsibilities and sense of identity as reflected in their cultures.
We should not try to reinvent the wheel because we already have the benefit of
important lessons from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the
Education for All (EFA) agenda to ensure that education is universal, free,
compulsory, inclusive, equitable and based on partnership. The post-2015
development goal on education needs to address the three key elements of
equity, access and quality in a manner consistent with labour market
dynamics.The new framework must enable the attainment of a strategic
balance between vocational, skills training and tertiary education to drive
economic transformation.
Culture is what distinguishes one society from another and it should be
accepted, protected and preserved in its diversity.
4
Furthermore, its close nexus with education makes it an enabler and a strong
driver for sustainable development. In this sense, we need to look at culture as
an important resource for addressing each of the three dimensions of
sustainable development, as well as to foster peace and reconciliation.
There is need to ensure cultural rights for all to promote inclusive social
development. The focus must be on safeguarding cultural and natural heritage,
promoting cultural institutions, cultural tourism and the culture sector in
general. This should include clear targets and indicators that relate culture to
all dimensions of sustainable development.
Co-Chairs,
In concluding, my delegation looks forward to the elaboration and formulation
of a new set of goals and targets on the important areas of Employment and
decent work for all, Social Protection, Youth, Education and Culture that are
consistent with our aspiration for balanced integration of the social, economic
and environmental dimensions of development.
I thank you for your attention.
Tel : (212) 949 – 0110
Fax : (212) 687 - 4517
Permanent Mission of Uganda
To the United Nations
New York
STATEMENT BY
H.E. DR. RICHARD NDUHUURA
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF UGANDA TO THE UN
AT
THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE OPEN WORKING GROUP ON
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
June 17, 2013
New York
Please check against delivery
2
Co-Chairs,
I thank you for giving me, on behalf of my delegation, an opportunity to
address this Open Working Group on the important matter of developing a set
of global sustainable development goals in the areas of “Employment and
decent work for all, Social protection, Youth, Education and Culture”.
I also thank the Technical Support Team (TST) for the valuable Issues Briefs
that it prepared to facilitate our work.
Uganda aligns itself with the statements delivered by Permanent
Representatives of Fiji, Djibouti and Benin on behalf of the G77 and China, the
African Group, and LDCs respectively.
Co-Chairs,
The post-2015 development agenda needs a renewed and comprehensive focus
on structural transformation to tackle the root causes of underdevelopment
and not just its symptoms. Uganda’s experience with MDG 1, for example,
where we’ve already achieved the MDG target, shows that the impressive
performance in poverty reduction that we have achieved has been closely
linked to an expansion in more secure and productive forms of employment for
poorer households and not necessarily increased social spending. Therefore,
the thematic areas under consideration today are very pertinent to the
formulation of the new SDGs.
Employment and decent work
My delegation is of the view that employment and decent work are legitimate
and fundamental goals in their own right.
If we agree that the principal route out of poverty is through work and income,
then labour remains the most important asset in the hands of the poor that
must be nurtured and harnessed to transform it into decent work for all. To
reduce and eventually eradicate poverty, we need a growth process that creates
more and better jobs with adequate social protection.
We therefore need specific goals focusing on creation of jobs, sustainable
livelihoods and equitable, inclusive and sustained growth with a corresponding
set of targets and indicators.
3
Social protection
Co-Chairs,
Social protection is an important means to reduce inequality and foster
solidarity in a society. However, this protection should comprise basic social
security guarantees that ensure at a minimum, over the life cycle, access to
essential health care and to basic income security for those in need as defined
at national level.
Youth
Co-Chairs,
The youth represent an important human resource for the future of all our
societies. It is therefore essential that appropriate policies are formulated and
implemented to equip and empower the youth to actively participate in all
development processes. This participation should span the exercise of their
political, civic and socio-economic rights in decision making. The formulation of
the SDGs should address the need to increase opportunities of employment for
the youth and to facilitate their meaningful involvement in national
development efforts that will respond to their needs and aspirations.
Education and Culture
Co-Chairs,
Education has, and will always be central to the development agenda. It is a
prerequisite for our populations’ awareness of their fundamental human rights,
responsibilities and sense of identity as reflected in their cultures.
We should not try to reinvent the wheel because we already have the benefit of
important lessons from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the
Education for All (EFA) agenda to ensure that education is universal, free,
compulsory, inclusive, equitable and based on partnership. The post-2015
development goal on education needs to address the three key elements of
equity, access and quality in a manner consistent with labour market
dynamics.The new framework must enable the attainment of a strategic
balance between vocational, skills training and tertiary education to drive
economic transformation.
Culture is what distinguishes one society from another and it should be
accepted, protected and preserved in its diversity.
4
Furthermore, its close nexus with education makes it an enabler and a strong
driver for sustainable development. In this sense, we need to look at culture as
an important resource for addressing each of the three dimensions of
sustainable development, as well as to foster peace and reconciliation.
There is need to ensure cultural rights for all to promote inclusive social
development. The focus must be on safeguarding cultural and natural heritage,
promoting cultural institutions, cultural tourism and the culture sector in
general. This should include clear targets and indicators that relate culture to
all dimensions of sustainable development.
Co-Chairs,
In concluding, my delegation looks forward to the elaboration and formulation
of a new set of goals and targets on the important areas of Employment and
decent work for all, Social Protection, Youth, Education and Culture that are
consistent with our aspiration for balanced integration of the social, economic
and environmental dimensions of development.
I thank you for your attention.
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