Sustainable Development & Human Rights - Archive

Extreme economic inequality is one of the most urgent issues of our time, exacerbating poverty, hindering development, and undermining the full spectrum of human rights. The inclusion of a standalone goal on inequality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – Goal 10, which promises to reduce inequalities both within and between countries – has the potential to catalyze much-needed action to narrow the vast divide between the haves and the have-nots. However, SDG10 is also uniquely vulnerable to strategic [...]

by Shiney Varghese, Sr. Policy Analyst, IATP

On 21 September 2016 the newly convened High Level Panel on Water (HLPW), called for a fundamental shift in the way the world looks at water. Supported by the World Economic Forum and its water initiative, the HLPW was formed to help “build the political momentum” to deliver on the UN mandated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on “water and related targets” that the UN member [...]

This year’s Annual Meeting of the IMF and World Bank took place against the backdrop of continued sluggish growth in developed and developing countries alike. The impact of the commodity price crash weighs heavily on many developing countries and has caused a significant fall in global trade. While the IMF warns that both private and public debt levels remain dangerously high, that the anticipated deleveraging did not happen, the main response of the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) is new lending [...]

The World Economic and Social Survey 2016: Climate Change Resilience – An Opportunity for Reducing Inequalities will be released on 3 October. It advances our understanding of the climate and development nexus, particularly as it relates to challenges for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Heads of state and government leaders from around the globe have descended on the United Nations in New York for the 71st United Nations General Assembly. Their “general debate” on 20 September will focus on the theme: The Sustainable Development Goals: a universal push to transform our world.

To push forward with implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the incoming President of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson of Fiji, has created a special advisory group on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Independent [...]

In June 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council took the historic decision to establish a working group “to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.” This binding agreement should complement the existing UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which show serious shortcomings. Between 24 and 28 October 2016, the second session of the working group will take place in Geneva. Agains this [...]

The United Nations, like many institutions, is buffeted by the challenges of globalization, inequalities and an unsustainable growth pathway for the planet. It has not been shaped to deliver the demands of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its universal action plan, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Member States have the opportunity to close the institutional gaps in the UN development system, in the upcoming Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) negotiations beginning in October 2016.

By Aldo Caliari

Due to UNCTAD’s decidedly pro-South and uncompromising development-focused mission, its quadrennial conferences have traditionally been North –South showdowns. Coming a few months after the adoption of the ambitious and universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 associated goals, the theme of the XIV Quadrennial Conference of UNCTAD (the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) was “From Decisions to Actions.” There was, therefore, reason to expect that this time members would bridge their differences for [...]

"People do not eat GDP: Even as the economies of EAC member states have been recording considerable growth rates, this growth has been accompanied by a growth in inequality in virtually all countries."

This is the one of the key observations of the State of East Africa Report 2016 published by the Society for International Development. GDP figures (with a regional annual average increase of 6% since 2011) tell the story of an economic expansion that has taken [...]

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by world leaders at a United Nations summit on 25 September 2015. It is an ambitious, universal Agenda in which 193 states commit to protecting people and the planet and to ensuring sustainable development in three dimensions – social, economic and environmental – in all parts of the world by 2030. During the summit, the Swedish prime minister and heads of state and government from Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Liberia, South Africa, Tanzania [...]

The European Political Strategy Centre, a subsidiary branch of the European Commision, has published a new report titled "Sustainability Now!". The report authored by Karl Falkenberg, says that while Europe should be applauded for its many achievements, it needs to become aware of the limits of the Blue Planet and of the need for a fair share for all, notably the rapidly growing developing nations and the younger generation.

Europe needs to rediscover social market economy principles, including solidarity, and [...]

The German Institute for Human Rights comments on Germany's 2016 Report to the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

The German Institute for Human Rights welcomes:

• Explicit references to Germany´s human rights obligations and related processes
• Commitment to accountability and to disaggregation of data at national level

The German Institute for Human Rights is concerned that

• National measures and indicators do not systematically build on national challenges
• The draft National Sustainability Strategy does not include details on civil society [...]

Independent monitoring and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its structural obstacles and challenges are key factors for the success of the SDGs. It is for this reason, the Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development together with other civil society organizations and networks has produced the first annual Spotlight Reportassessing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the structural obstacles in its realization. The report puts a spotlight on the fulfillment of the [...]

Shadow reporting is a well-established tool of civil society when it comes to holding governments accountable. A number of CSOs have already started to prepare shadow or spotlight reports or similar monitoring tools to follow-up on their governments efforts to implement the 2030-Agenda, especially its 17 goals and 169 targets. The main focus in this first year’s reports was to devise and discuss methodologies and to monitor governments’ efforts on drafting national implementation plans or strategies. In future reports they [...]

Shadow reporting is a well-established tool of civil society when it comes to holding governments accountable. A number of CSOs have already started to prepare shadow or spotlight reports or similar monitoring accounts to follow-up on their governments efforts to implement the 2030-Agenda, especially its 17 goals and 169 targets. The main focus in this first year’s reports was to devise and discuss methodologies and to monitor governments’ efforts on drafting national implementation plans or strategies. In future reports they [...]

Independent monitoring and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its structural obstacles and challenges are key factors for the success of the SDGs. It is for this reason, a global alliance of civil society organizations and networks has agreed to produce an annual Spotlight Report assessing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the structural obstacles in its realization. The report puts a spotlight on the fulfillment of the 17 goals, with a particular focus on inequalities [...]

In July 2015, the international community will have the chance to change the future of finance development. Governments, civil society, trade unions and other actors will meet for the third UN conference on Financing for Development (Ffd) in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to take concrete decisions for the future of development and how to finance it. In the run-up to this crucial meeting, two major reports have been released which are intended to inform the upcoming debates: one from the Intergovernmental [...]

NGOs, particularly those seeking to imagine and practice alternatives, are confronted with the pitfalls of this aspiration and the reality of being a part of the structured mainstream development apparatus. Very little practical research has been conducted so far, both about the consequences for their work, as well as conflicts within Post-Development theory itself. Indeed, although Post-Development has been discussed extensively on a theoretical level and been criticized for lacking propositions of concrete and constructive alternatives, spaces for a practical [...]

By Marianne Beisheim

At the Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015 the heads of state and government of all the UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Several countries, including Germany, committed to move rapidly on implementation. During the UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) in July 2016, twentytwo countries volunteered to conduct national reviews of their implementation. Moreover, UN member states plan to adopt a resolution on the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda before that [...]

• “Partnership” is a misleading term to cover every type of engagement between UN entities and non-State actors.
• It promotes a false sense of equality. Lumping CSOs and corporate actors together according to their non-State status ignores the profound differences in their orientation, interests and accountability.
• Before considering ways to enhance the effectiveness of partnerships between UN entities and non-State actors and establishing a system-wide delivery support, more fundamental questions should be addressed.
• This Background Note poses necessary questions and offers [...]

By Roberto Bissio

versión en español

An “Environmental Performance Index” to be launched on May 9 at the UN claims to align itself with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) but actually hides the impact of unsustainable consumption and production patterns in the North as well as the contributions of the Global South to achieving the internationally agreed targets.

The EPI (available at https://issuu.com/2016yaleepi/docs/epi2016_final), now in its 10th edition, is authored by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, in [...]

More than 200 academics, policy and decision makers, practitioners and advocates signed on to a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, asking for his urgent political backing to efforts now under way to mobilize UN and other sources of funding for UNRISD. UNRISD is still collecting signatures; please read the letter and show your support by signing on today.

UN DESA/DSD has invited the nine major groups and other relevant stakeholders to submit one paper per sector/group of no more than 2,800 words to DSD by Monday, 25 April 2016. The list of the endorsing organizations may be found at the end of the document.

HLPF 2016 – “Ensuring that no one is left behind”

Our starting point: All members of the Major Groups of NGOs are committed to deliver fully on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Active participation [...]

During “The way ahead: Successful frameworks and strategies for financing the Sustainable Development Goals and the paradigm shift towards low carbon societies” panel discussion on “Financing poverty eradication and sustainable development” at the President of the General Assembly’s High-Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals held at the UN in New York on Thursday, 21 April 2016, Barbara Adams from Global Policy Forum pointed out governments on one hand are signing the Paris Agreement and on the other [...]

During “The way ahead: Successful frameworks and strategies for financing the Sustainable Development Goals and the paradigm shift towards low carbon societies” panel discussion on “Financing poverty eradication and sustainable development” at the President of the General Assembly’s High-Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals held at the UN in New York on Thursday, 21 April 2016, Barbara Adams from Global Policy Forum pointed out governments on one hand are signing the Paris Agreement and on the other [...]