Your Excellency, Mr. Munir Akram, President of the Economic and Social Council,
Ms. Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean,
Honourable Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to this Special Event of the 2021 High-level Political Forum, on SDG Acceleration Actions.
Today’s event will shine a spotlight on the inspiring efforts by governments and other actors to speed up sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and promote the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Today’s focus on action – rather than words – is much needed.
More than 8 per cent of the world’s population live in poverty. Youth are three times more likely to be jobless. And over 4 billion people live disconnected from the digital world.
We need to ensure that our societies rebuild in a sustainable and resilient manner. To this end, our efforts must be grounded in the universal roadmap provided in the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UN DESA, has set up an online platform to share information about new and ambitious “SDG Acceleration Actions”, undertaken by governments and all other actors.
This SDG Acceleration Actions database, functions as a central space to collect and share details about key commitments – those made in connection with major intergovernmental gatherings, including the HLPF.
As of today, over 300 bold, ambitious commitments and initiatives, aimed at advancing the Decade of Action, have been published.
These SDG Acceleration Actions are often based on demand-driven approaches, and reflect diverse country, sectoral and local realities.
Several of them have also mobilized combined means of implementation, including:
- enhanced capacity-building,
- development cooperation,
- multi-stakeholder partnerships, and
- technology development and transfer, to boost their scale, scope and cost-effectiveness.
Distinguished Participants,
During this unprecedented time, we need more SDG Acceleration Actions that are responsive to new challenges, and to advancing more resilient sustainable development.
This morning, I am pleased to hear the examples of SDG Acceleration Actions from across the globe – examples of novel ideas put into action, stories of smart partnerships.
Let us get ready to be inspired. I wish you a fruitful meeting.
Thank you.