‘Make SDGs transformative’- World leaders charged

The Holy See’s Permanent Observer at the United Nation, Most Rev. Bernardito Auza, has called on world leaders to make every effort to mobilise funds at the private and public and at national and international levels to ensure the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

The Archbishop, who expressed confidence that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), could be transformative to build on the legacies of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expired this year, noted that increased investments, even in the smallest amounts, will help provide additional capacities to deliver basic services to the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

He therefore entreated world leaders and all stakeholders to work together to support and improve on lives, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.

Archbishop Auza, made these statement at the UN during a recent interactive dialogue of Intergovernmental Negotiations and Major Groups on the Joint Session on the Post-2015 development agenda on the Relationship between Financing for Development and the Post-2015 Development in New York.

The Apostolic Nuncio also reiterated the need to learn from the experience with the MDGs, especially in the promotion of effective means of implementation, which he noted were essential to execute the entire Post-2015 agenda and achieving sustainable development in the world.

“It is important that each country, in line with its own priorities and capacities, exerts the greatest efforts to fulfill and implement the SDGs while helping to support other countries with same achievement” the Nuncio noted.

He stressed the need to create an enabling environment for development through the strengthening of global partnership, which he hoped should provide increased and adequate support means of implementation.

            

In his intervention at the meeting, Mr. Samuel Zan Akologo, Executive Secretary of the Department of Human Development at the National Catholic Secretariat, Accra, who spoke on behalf of Caritas Internationlis at the session, welcome efforts towards matching the Finance for Development (FfD) with ambitions to the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

He reechoed Caritas Internationalis’ expectation to the conclusion and agreements at the upcoming third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa in July, and called for openness, participation, and convergence with the Post 2015 Intergovernmental Negotiations.

He urged the FfD to look beyond the current model of Development Cooperation with courage and boldness to confront its challenges and limitations, adding that the outcome of the July FfD meeting “will be important only if it builds on and improves upon previous international agreements on development financing”.

Mr. Akologo, argued that developing countries needed support and commitment to protect, safeguard and retain their local resources to implement Post-2015 Development Agenda, calling for the urgent need to halt illicit financial flows from these countries.

The Executive Secretary also entreated World Leaders to respect the principles of the Busan Compact, UN principles on Sustainable Development and incorporate them into the framework for all Actor and Sources in development financing for the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

He noted that the selective application and lack of citizens’ control in the current accountability frameworks for development at all levels, were great weaknesses in the delivery of development outcomes and posited that Global Accountability Mechanism was possible within the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities.          

He proposed a robust, comprehensive and accessible Global Accountability Mechanism as part of the Means of Implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, adding that periodic reviews of progress towards benchmarks, performance standards and measures to address failings were indispensable to the implementation process.

Mr. Akologo reiterated that global peace, good governance and citizens’ agency were essential pre-conditions for the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, noting that the greatest need of the youth today is hope and recognition of their perspectives for the future.

The meeting according to development analyst was the second and most critical phase of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which seeks to tackle new financing formula for development and prepare the final Post-2015 Development Agenda draft for the UN Head of States Submit in September 2015.