PHOTO: United Nations. Secretary General Antonio Guterres addressed the FfD Forum on Monday, April 15, 2019.
The 2019 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Forum for Financing for Development follow-up (FfD Forum) was held from April 15 to 18 at UN Headquarters in New York. Ministers, senior UN officials, high-level finance officials, civil society, business representatives and local authorities attended the Forum.
The FfD Forum is an intergovernmental process with universal participation mandated to review the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (Addis Agenda) and other financing for development outcomes and the means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In accordance with paragraph 132 of the Addis Agenda, the annual FfD Forum results in intergovernmentally agreed conclusions and recommendations that are fed into the overall follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.
UN Secretary General Guterres said climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and technologies disrupting labour markets were a major challenge, saying “We are here today as part of an effort to coordinate an urgent global response to reverse these trends”. “Simply put,” he spelled out, “we need more money to implement the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Noting that development aid remains essential, “especially for the poorest countries”, the UN chief shone a light on the importance of countries themselves generating more funding, including by increasing tax revenue and the impact of investment.
“National policy frameworks are key to reducing risks, creating an enabling business environment, incentivizing investment in public goals, and aligning financial systems with long-term sustainable development”, he stated.
Inga Rhonda King, President of ECOSOC opened the meeting by highlighting that while progress has been made, “we have not seen the broad transformation that we need, to achieve the SDGs by 2030”.
Pointing to economic and other risks, she homed in on “climate change, from the Caribbean to the Sahel”, which has actively reversed development gains; rising debt levels, which stifle investment in sustainable development; and increasing trade tensions dampening economic growth and inequalities within countries.
To address these risks, Ms. King stressed the need to: renew commitments to global multilateral cooperation; align financing frameworks to integrate the 2030 Agenda into national development strategies; and accelerate the financing of sustainable development.
the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Tao Zhang, said “the world economy right now is at a delicate moment”, said echoing the outcome of the World Bank and IMF’s spring meetings in Washington last week.
While global expansion continues, he stated that it was at a slower pace than anticipated. “We need to do better”, he said, noting that stronger medium-term growth will be “essential for developing countries” to achieve the SDGs.
He detailed three “complimentary and reinforcing areas of policy action” to address this, namely, domestic policies to build resilience and promote inclusion; upgraded international cooperation; and the commitment to work together on broader global challenges.
From the World Bank, Mahmoud Mohieldin, Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, UN Relations, and Partnerships, warned that “There will be hundreds of millions of people will be suffering from extreme poverty by 2030 if business remains as we do it today”, with nine-out-of-ten of those affected, in Africa. “Actions are required today”, he exclaimed.
As an outcome of the spring meetings he said “we need bold and urgent reforms in development policies and financing” to achieve job growth opportunities and sustainability in the next decade.
The outcome document of the FfD Forum reaffirmed countries’ strong political commitment to end poverty and hunger, to combat inequalities within and among countries, to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies, to protect human rights and promote gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, and to ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources in the spirit of global partnership and solidarity – ensuring that no country is left behind. The outcome document also outlined the re-commitment of member states to adopt and strengthen sound policies, enforceable legislation, and transformative actions for the promotion of gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment at all levels.
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
