Opening Remarks by H.E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th session of the General Assembly at Economic and Social Council Partnership Forum “From commitments to results: Leveraging partnerships for the 2030 Agenda”
31 March 2016
President Oh Joon (ECOSOC); Your Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein; Dr. Nabarro, Special Adviser on the 2030 Agenda; Excellencies; ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour to address you – leaders, thinkers and on-the-ground “doers’ dedicated to ensuring Agenda 2030 is delivered.
In particular, I am pleased to address you on the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships in implementing our global ambitions.
The high value of multi-stakeholder partnerships in delivering Agenda 2030 is clearly recognized.
In December last year the General Assembly adopted resolution 70/224 on “Towards global partnerships: a principle-based approach to enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and all relevant partners” (Towards Global Partnerships).
This resolution draws on over a decade of solid experience by Member States and United Nations entities working with stakeholders to deliver concrete results.
Moreover, multiple other UN processes have recognized the value of multi-stakeholder partnerships to delivering results on the ground – from the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, to the Addis Abba Action Agenda, to the Paris Climate Agreement.
Therefore I encourage today’s Forum to focus not on ‘why’ to enhance partnerships, but instead on ‘how’.
How to rally coalitions of partners from all parts of society behind the mission of the United Nations and in particular the Sustainable Development Goals – including climate action.
How to increase the speed and scale of SDG implementation by involving private sector and civil society across borders – creating new markets for sustainable solutions.
How to ensure partnerships can support the universal mandate of Agenda 2030 while also providing additional support to Least Developed countries.
How to share lessons in order to learn from failures and celebrate champions.
How to ensure accountability and transparency.
How can all better coordinate, yet not stifle innovation or inhibit incisive conversation.
There are many considerations to balance.
These questions are not new.
Yet this is the year to answer them.
This is the year to align individual and collective efforts with Agenda 2030, thus including multi-stakeholder partnerships.
I genuinely look forward to today’s Forum. I understand today will – in the spirit of partnerships – draw from Member State views, as well as other stakeholders with long experience working with the private sector, civil society, academia and foundations.
May I offer special thanks to the organisers of today’s Forum. In particular, a very thorough package was provided to participants in advance of the Forum. This material will ensure today’s discussion can be deep and meaningful – building on experience, lessons learned, and earlier incisive conversations, including the Expert Meeting Group held in February.
Finally, I would note there are also multiple opportunities in 2016 to maintain this momentum.
For my part, I am pleased to host the upcoming High Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals on 21 April back to back with the Signing Ceremony of the Paris Climate Agreement.
It will provide an opportunity for Member States to provide statements regarding their national plans for implementation of Agenda 2030. In addition the High Level Thematic Debate will include four segments on the SDGs including on Finance, Technology and Data, Climate Change, and Partnerships.
Time is pressing to translate our great goals into concrete action on the ground and kick-start implementation of Agenda 2030. To ensure no one is left behind we need, as the Secretary-General is fond of saying, “all hands on deck”.
Thank you.