United Kingdom
The UK aligns itself with the statement made by the EU on behalf of the EU and its member states and we’d like to thank the 4 co-facilitators for organising this session.
As Ambassadors Kamau and Donaghue said, in the SDGs we are committing ourselves to an ambitious and universal agenda.
To be credible we need to match our ambition for sustainable development outcomes with ambitious means of implementation.
So how we integrate the Finance for Development and post 2015 processes is pivotal. We are pleased that the FFD zero draft contains commitments covering the full breadth of the SDG means of implementation including public and private finance, technology, science and innovation, data and capacity building. In several cases the zero draft also adds specificity to the draft SDG targets.
But, as many have said, including the distinguished delegate of Niger on behalf of the African group, as we prepare for the Addis summit we need to raise, not lower, ambition. We need to identify specific actions and partnerships to achieve means of implementation that are worthy of equal standing with the goals. These should include:
• Partnerships to support domestic resource mobilisation, around tax capacity building and tackling illicit financial flows;
• The need for developed countries to meet their commitments on ODA for those least able to self-finance and as a catalyst for other flows; and
• Measures to incentivise greater private investment to support SDG implementation.
There is growing consensus on these issues. As we heard from the World Bank and IMF, if we mobilise and effectively use resources from a wide range of sources we can move from billions to trillions. The Turkish Deputy Prime Minister yesterday explained how the work the G20, including on infrastructure and tax transparency, can support the implementation of the SDGs. We need to harness the progress achieved in these and other forums.
On universality, as the distinguished representative of Belize said on behalf of CARICOM, it will be important that commitments on means of implementation are shared by all Member States. We need, as the Ambassador of Benin said on behalf of the LDCs, to move away from talking north-south. A new global partnership needs a new spirit. All countries should set out and be accountable for the actions they will take. This should include all high income and upper middle income countries being clear about how we will help others to achieve their goals.
Finally, process. We have heard the calls for FFD to reflect the breadth of the SDGs, for FFD to build on the SDG means of implementation targets, and for the FFD outcome to be integrated into the post-2015 development agenda and the SDGs. We agree.
Let us not be shackled by the different origins of processes. The aim is that, after Addis, we will have a global agreement that has built upon the Monterrey and Doha foundations, incorporated the breadth and universality of the SDG means of implementation, and which can be the means of implementation pillar for post-2015.
As the distinguished representative of Brazil said, we need one unified monitoring and accountability mechanism for the whole post-2015 agenda, including its means of implementation. We do not want two separate agendas competing for political attention, cancelling each other out. For the same reasons that, here in the UN, we decided to integrate the MDGs and the SDGs, we need to integrate the Addis outcome into the post-2015 agenda. Because together they will stronger, only together will there be sufficient political attention to both sustainable development outcomes and the means to deliver them. Only by bringing these processes together can we achieve the transformational change we need to see.
Co-facilitators, the UK stands ready to contribute ambitiously to our universal partnership, and to be held accountable for our actions. We trust in you to help us deliver a coherent and effective means of implementation.
Thank you.
As Ambassadors Kamau and Donaghue said, in the SDGs we are committing ourselves to an ambitious and universal agenda.
To be credible we need to match our ambition for sustainable development outcomes with ambitious means of implementation.
So how we integrate the Finance for Development and post 2015 processes is pivotal. We are pleased that the FFD zero draft contains commitments covering the full breadth of the SDG means of implementation including public and private finance, technology, science and innovation, data and capacity building. In several cases the zero draft also adds specificity to the draft SDG targets.
But, as many have said, including the distinguished delegate of Niger on behalf of the African group, as we prepare for the Addis summit we need to raise, not lower, ambition. We need to identify specific actions and partnerships to achieve means of implementation that are worthy of equal standing with the goals. These should include:
• Partnerships to support domestic resource mobilisation, around tax capacity building and tackling illicit financial flows;
• The need for developed countries to meet their commitments on ODA for those least able to self-finance and as a catalyst for other flows; and
• Measures to incentivise greater private investment to support SDG implementation.
There is growing consensus on these issues. As we heard from the World Bank and IMF, if we mobilise and effectively use resources from a wide range of sources we can move from billions to trillions. The Turkish Deputy Prime Minister yesterday explained how the work the G20, including on infrastructure and tax transparency, can support the implementation of the SDGs. We need to harness the progress achieved in these and other forums.
On universality, as the distinguished representative of Belize said on behalf of CARICOM, it will be important that commitments on means of implementation are shared by all Member States. We need, as the Ambassador of Benin said on behalf of the LDCs, to move away from talking north-south. A new global partnership needs a new spirit. All countries should set out and be accountable for the actions they will take. This should include all high income and upper middle income countries being clear about how we will help others to achieve their goals.
Finally, process. We have heard the calls for FFD to reflect the breadth of the SDGs, for FFD to build on the SDG means of implementation targets, and for the FFD outcome to be integrated into the post-2015 development agenda and the SDGs. We agree.
Let us not be shackled by the different origins of processes. The aim is that, after Addis, we will have a global agreement that has built upon the Monterrey and Doha foundations, incorporated the breadth and universality of the SDG means of implementation, and which can be the means of implementation pillar for post-2015.
As the distinguished representative of Brazil said, we need one unified monitoring and accountability mechanism for the whole post-2015 agenda, including its means of implementation. We do not want two separate agendas competing for political attention, cancelling each other out. For the same reasons that, here in the UN, we decided to integrate the MDGs and the SDGs, we need to integrate the Addis outcome into the post-2015 agenda. Because together they will stronger, only together will there be sufficient political attention to both sustainable development outcomes and the means to deliver them. Only by bringing these processes together can we achieve the transformational change we need to see.
Co-facilitators, the UK stands ready to contribute ambitiously to our universal partnership, and to be held accountable for our actions. We trust in you to help us deliver a coherent and effective means of implementation.
Thank you.
Stakeholders