– As delivered –
Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly
20 September 2021
Thank you for inviting me to speak at the second ‘SDG Moment’ – an invaluable platform in our joint efforts to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As we are all aware, the pandemic has severely impacted the SDGs. But the irony is that the SDGs themselves provide us the most comprehensive and universal toolkit in our efforts to recover sustainably.
The ‘Decade of Action’ launched in 2020 will now need to be a ‘Decade of Recovery’ – of recovering sustainably.
Excellencies,
My promise for a presidency of hope during this 76th Session of the General Assembly is underpinned by five rays of hope – each intrinsically connected to the SDGs.
Our first and second rays of hope, on recovering from COVID19, and rebuilding sustainably, correspond directly to SDG3 on Good Health and Wellbeing, as well as SDG8 on Jobs and Economic Growth.
The third ray, on responding of the needs of the planet, corresponds to a multitude of SDGs, including SDG 7 on clean energy, SDG 13 on climate action, and SDG14 on the ocean and seas.
And our final two rays, covering human rights and UN revitalization, cut across and uphold the entirety of the SDG agenda. Why else pursue such ambitious goals if not to respect and enhance the rights of the people everywhere? How better to achieve it(omitted) than through a multilateral system that is equipped to do just that.
In essence, the workings of getting the SDGs back on track are our shared responsibility. The General Assembly can and is willing to play a part.
Going forward, the gaps in political will and resource commitment remain a common fault line in our resolve to progress the SDGs. This must change.
We need to ensure that countries, in particular the LDCs, LLDCs and the SIDS, have access to adequate resources and capacity support in their efforts to recover from the pandemic and achieve the SDG targets.
Like everything else, on policy, there is no one size fits all. For this very reason, the SDG Moment, and platforms, such as ECOSOC’s High-Level Political Forum, offer an opportunity to reflect on where we are, where we could be, what is holding us back, and the way forward.
I encourage all to share successes, best practices, lessons learned, challenges, and failures to achieving the SDGs.
Only together, through effective collaboration and meaningful cooperation, will we learn to find the best ways to move forward.
Let the setback that the world has seen strengthen our resolve and reinforce our determination to recover from the pandemic – to rebuild sustainably and achieve the SDGs. Together, it is possible.
And I thank you.
