From UN's Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform
July 21, New York- Countries reaffirmed their commitment to achieve the landmark 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that provides a framework for sustainable development for all countries as the eight-day High Level Political Forum concluded on Wednesday.
“The 2017 HLPF has yet again reaffirmed its place as a central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda. The Ministerial Declaration set forth important recommendations and political guidance on all seven SDGs under discussion as well as on the voluntary national reviews and cross-cutting issues”, said the President of ECOSOC after the adoption of the 10-page ministerial declaration by consensus although there was a vote on two paragraphs, one concerning international trade and the other, on peoples living under colonial and foreign occupation.
Countries recognized that after almost two years of implementation “our individual and collective efforts have yielded encouraging results in many areas.” But they acknowledged “that the pace of implementation must be accelerated as the tasks facing us are urgent.”
Countries also noted that the Secretary-General’s report on the progress made towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, found that while global progress has been evident in many cases, it has been uneven across countries and regions and also insufficient across many targets.
The Declaration commits “to ending poverty and hunger and ensuring healthy lives (…); combating inequalities within and among the countries; and healing and securing our planet”. It also stresses “that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and its widespread, unprecedented impacts disproportionately burden the poorest and most vulnerable.”
While the Declaration represents an early indication of the global resolve to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, many countries also expressed disappointment that various issues were not fully represented, or that certain issues were not represented as strongly as they wished.
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