Statement by H.E. Peter Thomson, President of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly, at the briefing on the efforts of his Presidency to generate momentum on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals
13 April 2017
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Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
Having passed the half-way point of the 71st session, I have called today’s briefing to give you an interim report on the efforts my office has been undertaking to generate momentum on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
As you will recall, I took office at a time of significant transition for the United Nations.
With major negotiation successes in 2015 on the Climate and SDG fronts, with the Secretary-General selection process still on-going and with a number of global crises occupying the minds of many, I chose as the theme for the 71st session ‘The SDGs: a universal push to transform our world. My aim was to keep the Goals at the forefront of the global agenda and to ensure that the wheels of implementation were turning on each of the Goals before the 71st Session comes to an end.
I undertook to achieve this aim through the convening power associated with the role of the President, through the advancement of processes here in the General Assembly and through the steadfast efforts of the talented team in the Office of the Presidency. We have been busy these last seven months building alliances for action and communicating to the wider world. We have sought to push the SDGs’ fundamental call for transformation into the heart of global politics, national planning, stakeholder action and, critically, public consciousness.
Over the past seven months, we have been working diligently on a number of levels in pursuit of these objectives. In a moment, on that score we will hear a presentation from members of my Office’s SDG team.
As I am sure you know, the SDG team of experts have been seconded to my office by Member States, the UN system and beyond. They are supported by other colleagues in the Office who are working on communications, human rights, peace and security and General Assembly affairs.
Together, they have been liaising with you the Member States, with the UN system, with civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders on a range of SDG activities and initiatives.
While the team has been working throughout the session on each of the SDGs, for the purposes of today’s interim presentation and due to the exigencies of time, they will focus on 6 specific areas where particular emphasis has been placed. We will also be hearing an overview of other actions the office has been undertaking across all 17 Goals.
Following the presentation from the team, we will also have an opportunity this morning to engage in an exchange of views on where the SDGs stand, some one and a half years since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda.
I am joined for that purpose by Chef de Cabinet Tomas Anker Christensen, by Special Adviser on SDGs Ambassador Dessima Williams, and by the PGA’s Special Envoy on SDGs and Climate Change Ambassador Macharia Kamau.
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
We have much more to do on SDG implementation during the remainder of this 71st session, not least in the form of the UN Ocean Conference on 5-9 June. As promised at the beginning of my term as President, I will provide you with a more comprehensive report on the state of global momentum on the SDGs towards the end of the 71st session.
In the meantime, I hope that today’s briefing will assist all of us to have a sense of the progress we are making in generating momentum for the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
I thank you.