Opening Ceremony, Ministerial Segment — HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73^rd Session of the UN General Assembly

18 September 2018

Su Excelencia, Inga Rhonda King, Presidenta del Consejo Económico y Social,

Su Excelencia, António Guterres, Secretario General,

Excelencias, Señoras y Señores:

Permítanme comenzar expresando mi profundo agradecimiento a la Presidenta del ECOSOC, con quien hemos trabajado de manera conjunta y coordinada para los preparativos de este Foro Político y de la próxima Cumbre los ODS.

Quisiera felicitar también a los 47 Estados Miembros que presentarán sus Revisiones Nacionales Voluntarias y a aquellos Estados que lo han hecho en el pasado.

La credibilidad del sistema multilateral –y las esperanzas de los 7.7 mil millones de habitantes del mundo– están, en gran medida, en la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible.

Alcanzar los ODS será definitivamente la mejor forma de demostrar que juntos somos capaces de transformar la vida de las personas.

Excelencias,

Nos aproximamos a la “década de la implementación” con visibles logros en áreas claves como la reducción de la pobreza extrema, la mortalidad infantil y el acceso a la educación. Sin embargo, si queremos verdaderamente alcanzar nuestro propósito de no dejar a nadie atrás, debemos hacer mucho más.

Esto significa que debemos enfocarnos en los desafíos y en las múltiples asimetrías que persisten. El índice de Pobreza Multidimensional 2019 del PNUD ilustra que la pobreza y la desigualdad están presentes en todas las regiones con mil trecientos millones de personas pobres por múltiples carencias. Por eso necesitamos que las políticas que establecemos den cuenta de todas esas dimensiones.

Contamos con solo 11 años para evitar los impactos devastadores del cambio climático en la vida y el futuro de las personas y el planeta. No podemos perder el impulso, pero tampoco podemos continuar por el mismo rumbo.

El Informe de Progreso sobre los ODS y el Informe Mundial de Desarrollo Sostenible – así como el Informe Especial del Panel Intergubernamental sobre Cambio Climático y el del PNUMA sobre la Brecha de Emisiones- coinciden en la necesidad y urgencia de acelerar la acción y ampliar su impacto.

The need to prioritize actions that address urgent challenges as they pave the way for longer-term risks and opportunities. Smart climate action is a prime example.

It is essential for present and future generations, it is a matter of survival, and it makes business sense too – presenting a 26- trillion-dollar growth opportunity for 2030.

The need to be fully inclusive. We must harness the contributions of all stakeholders: from the wisdom of indigenous peoples to frontier technologies developed by social entrepreneurs; from the role of parliaments, academia, youth, migrants, persons with disabilities as change-makers; to the power of arts and culture to support the societal transformations and innovative approaches that we need.

And the need to empower women and girls – what I often call the closest thing we have to a “magic formula” for sustainable development. I urge Member States to use the 25^th anniversary of the Beijing Platform to fulfil our promise to half of humankind.

Excellencies and dear friends,

The 2030 Agenda is not a utopia. It is within our reach – if we choose to grasp it.

As we will hear from Member States over the next days, we have many solutions. We even have the resources.

One key refrain during “prosperity week”, we organized last May, was that there are trillions out there – and more to be made through smart action and investment. What we need is three elements:

First, political will and wisdom. Governments must have the vision, drive and courage to lead; to tackle the structural and financial challenges preventing progress; to create an enabling environment at all levels for sustainable development; and to take the difficult long-term decisions we need, despite short-term political cycles, to ensure inclusive and sustainable economies.  

Second, partnerships. No one can achieve the future we want single-handedly. We must dramatically scale up partnerships. The SDG’s require a new social contract.

And third, action and ambition. We must adopt a razor-sharp focus on the most transformative next steps.

We must prioritize implementation, informed by an evidence-based assessment of what has worked and what has not worked and why.

The SDGs Summit in September is more than a two-day High-Level event. It is the outcome of many years of our efforts that began even before 2015, at local, national and multilateral levels. Indeed, it is the greatest milestone since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, and the best opportunity to reaffirm and fulfill our commitments to our peoples.

Here, allow me to take this opportunity to commend the co-facilitators of Sweden and Bahamas, as well as all Member States, for their hard work and support towards the achievement of a consensual text to be adopted as a Political Declaration by Heads of State and world leaders during the Summit.

Let’s use the coming days to lay the groundwork not only for the SDG Summit but indeed for the whole of High-level Week. We have Eleven years to deliver, five days to make it count.

Let’s use High-Level Week in September to be more ambitious and to announce accelerated measures and specific steps that respond to the urgency of the challenges we face.

The five summit level meetings during high level week represent a key opportunity to demonstrate that multilateralism works – that it can deliver tangible benefits to people’s lives. 

It is up to Member States to show leadership. As Eleanor Roosevelt said so well: “Tomorrow is now. It is today that we must create the world of the future”

Thank you.