A/68/PV.108 General Assembly

Members will recall that the Assembly considered, in a joint debate, agenda items 121 and 122 at its 59th plenary meeting on 4 December 2013. The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution contained in paragraph 91 of the report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly. May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt the draft resolution?

I should like to express my sincere thanks to the Permanent Representatives of Slovakia and Thailand, co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group, who have so ably conducted the discussions and complex negotiations of the Working Group. I am sure members of the Assembly join me in extending them our sincere appreciation. I now give the floor to the observer of the European Union. *1452992* 14-52992 (E)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its member States. The candidate countries Turkey, Montenegro, Iceland, Serbia and Albania; the country of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina; as well as Armenia and Georgia, align themselves with this statement. The European Union and its member States welcome today’s adoption of resolution 68/307, on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly. We would like to thank you, Mr. President, for convening today’s plenary meeting and for your engagement with the General Assembly revitalization process. We owe further thanks to the co-Chairs, Mr. František Ružička and Mr. Norachit Sinhaseni, and their teams, who ably led the negotiation process forward, as well as to Mr. Noel Sinclair, Deputy Chef de Cabinet of the President of the General Assembly, who was personally involved in the negotiations in a most constructive manner, and to Ms. Alina Padeanu of the Office of the President of the General Assembly. We also thank Mr. Ion Botnaru, Director of the General Assembly and Economic and Social Council Affairs Division of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, and Mr. Georg Zeiner for their useful involvement. We would also like to highlight the constructive atmosphere throughout the negotiations and thank all the negotiating partners for their engagement in revitalizing the General Assembly. Resolution 68/307, which we have just adopted, contains some concrete results. Two examples of the achievements of the Ad Hoc Working Group during the sixty-eighth session include the earlier election of the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of the Economic and Social Council, as well as the reiteration of the interim arrangement adopted in decision 68/505, with the guidelines for future arrangements included in the annex of resolution 68/307. On the other hand, we also wish to recall the need to consider and take steps towards the rationalization of the agendas of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, with a view to eliminating duplication and overlap and promoting complementarity in the consideration and negotiation of similar and related issues. In that context, it is important to note resolution 68/1. On 23 June, the Council of the European Union adopted its priorities for the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly. Those priorities recognize that the revitalization of the General Assembly is a key component in strengthening the United Nations as a whole, and it is with that in mind that I wish to signal our readiness to remain constructively engaged in this process.

The delegation of Belarus expresses its deep gratitude for the often self-sacrificing efforts of the Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly, led by co-Chairs Mr. Ružička and Mr. Sinhaseni, the Permanent Representatives of Slovakia and Thailand. The report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly (A/68/951) and the related resolution 68/307, adopted by the Assembly today, are causes for genuine optimism concerning the future of the General Assembly. The negotiation process and its results have not only made a definite contribution to settling vital questions about the functioning of the Assembly, but they have also reminded us of the possibility and necessity of seeking and finding compromises even on major issues, which we believe is very important. During the Working Group’s deliberations, my delegation contributed a number of proposals that in our view are designed to strengthen the principles on which the United Nations operates. We therefore consistently called for the practical implementation of the principle of equality for all official United Nations languages. We believe that the year-round publication of the Journal of the United Nations in all the official languages, as the General Assembly’s rules of procedure require, is not an empty formality but a visible and tangible result of the strengthening the principles of multilingualism and the rule of law in the Organization. We believe that financial issues will not be an obstacle to implementing the rules of procedure and the provisions of today’s resolution. It is particularly important for us that the attention of Member States be called to the process for appointing the Secretary-General, as set forth in the General Assembly’s rules of procedure. We believe that every State, large or small, enjoys the inalienable right to express its opinion on the candidatures for Secretary-General, the individual who represents the entire Organization. The Assembly’s rules of procedure provide for that possibility. Another important area is the harmonization of all the Main Committees of the General Assembly. We welcome the Secretariat’s efforts to improve the reports on the work of the Committees. At the same time, we believe that much remains to be done in this area, particularly concerning the timeliness of the work and services relating to the Journal of the United Nations. We are sincerely grateful to the co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group for their efforts in drafting and strengthening, through the resolution, a predictable mechanism for rotating the Chairs of the Main Committees, amplified by principles that give the mechanism the necessary flexibility. These principles include the recognition of the role of the President of the General Assembly; making the mechanism for appointing rapporteurs to the Main Committees automatic; and bringing order to the procedures for making ad hoc changes to the chairmanship arrangements. We hope that the implementation of those standards will enable the Main Committees to devote all the time at their disposal to considering substantive issues. We are willing to take an active part in drawing up new arrangements for chairmanship rotations, as indicated in paragraph 22 of the resolution.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of Brazil, Costa Rica, Estonia, Switzerland and my own country, Liechtenstein. We welcome the consensus adoption today of resolution 68/307 and wish to offer a few comments on the issue of the appointment of the next Secretary- General, as addressed in the text. We are pleased that paragraph 27 reaffirms the role of the President of the General Assembly in actively supporting the process of appointing the Secretary-General. Paragraph 19 of the annex to resolution 60/286 already stipulates that the President of the General Assembly should consult with Member States in order to identify potential candidates. This has not happened yet, as stated in the commentary to the updated inventory chart on the revitalization (see A/68/951). We hope that future Presidents will fulfil this mandate and play an active role in the process leading to the appointment of the next Secretary-General. Our delegations had hoped to start a debate within the General Assembly about the criteria for candidates for the position of Secretary-General, so as to ensure the election of the best possible candidate. The aforementioned resolution 60/286 touches on this issue, highlighting how important it is that the Secretary- General possess extensive leadership skills. We had suggested language requesting that the Ad Hoc Working Group consider such criteria and report on them. We regret that the text just adopted does not address this issue and hope that such a discussion, which should also include input from civil society, will be possible in the near future. I would also like to join you, Mr. President, in thanking our colleagues from Slovakia and Thailand for their tireless efforts to bring this exercise to a successful conclusion.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). We welcome the adoption by the General Assembly today of resolution 68/307, on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the Permanent Representatives of Thailand and Slovakia, Mr. Norachit Sinhaseni and Mr. František Ružička, co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly, who so ably conducted the Group’s discussions and complex negotiations. Even if the final results were up to our expectations, the process of the revitalization of the work of the Assembly, as its name suggests, will not stop here. We should continue to enhance the role and authority of the Assembly in global matters of concern to the international community. NAM considers that a reinvigorated General Assembly in a more responsive environment, exerting its role and authority fully, would significantly contribute to strengthening the broader United Nations system, improving international governance and enhancing multilateralism. I would like to end by thanking all delegations involved for their active participation and for the flexibility they showed during the negotiations. I should not forget to thank my colleagues from the Non-Aligned Movement for their significant contributions and support.

After all that has been said, I have nothing to add except to offer some simple but sincere words of thanks. I would first like to thank you, Mr. President, and the representatives who have spoken before me for their kind words addressed to me and to my co-facilitator, Ambassador František Ružička of Slovakia. I would also like to thank the delegations that made invaluable suggestions and proposals, which ultimately found widespread support. Such proposals enabled the Ad Hoc Working Group to move forward and come up with the resolution we have just adopted (68/307). I further thank the representatives of the various groups, notably the Non-Aligned Movement, the European Union and others, as well as individual representatives. All approached the work in the necessary spirit of compromise, flexibility and give-and-take that enabled the Working Group to complete its work on time. My thanks also go to the Secretariat, led by Director Ion Botnaru and his able staff. We could not have completed our work without them and their essential institutional memory. Most important, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my co-Chair, Mr. Ružička, and his able staff, who were a joy to work with. And finally, I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for the trust and confidence you placed in us. We also thank your staff, particularly Chef de Cabinet Paulette Bethel and her Deputy, Noel Sinclair, for the support and serious attention they gave this issue.

I will be very brief. I join with my co-Chair in his thanks, and I am grateful for the positive and constructive atmosphere we had during our talks. I was honoured to work with the staff of the Secretariat, and I enjoyed discussions with representatives of Member States. Many of those discussions gave me hope for the future. I hope that the same spirit prevails in any future discussions that we may have the privilege to conduct.

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 122?

Members will recall that the General Assembly considered, in a joint debate, agenda item 63 and its sub-items (a) and (b) and agenda item 13 at its 36th plenary meeting, on 25 October 2013. I now give the floor to the representative of Ethiopia, to introduce draft resolution A/68/L.60.

It is with honour that I introduce, on behalf of the African Group, draft resolution A/68/L.60, entitled “Consolidating gains and accelerating efforts to control and eliminate malaria in developing countries, particularly in Africa, by 2015”. Further, Ethiopia is proud to chair the African Leaders Malaria Alliance. First of all, it is my pleasure to express my deepest appreciation and sincere thanks to the co-facilitators of the draft resolution for their hard work and leadership in bringing it to its final form. I would also like to thank all Member States that were involved in the negotiation process for their active participation and support. Between 2000 and 2012, a substantial scale-up of malaria interventions led to a 42 per cent decline in malaria mortality rates globally, saving an estimated 3.3 million lives. About 90 per cent, or 3 million, of those lives were saved in children under the age of 5 in Africa. The under-five mortality rate that is attributable to malaria in Africa has declined by 54 per cent. Global case incidence has been reduced by 25 per cent globally and by 31 per cent in Africa. That success has happened through the collaborative efforts of Governments, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations, United Nations agencies, international organizations, development partners, foundations, civil society organizations, the private sector and other stakeholders. Indeed, international disbursements expanded tenfold between 2004 and 2013. Available funding is still substantially less than the $5.1 billion that is needed to achieve universal coverage of malaria interventions. International financing for malaria totalled $1.66 billion in 2011 and $1.94 billion in 2012. Domestic financing has shown a gradual rise and was estimated to be $522 million in 2012, with endemic countries in Africa and in South America committing most resources. Combining domestic and international funds, the resources available for malaria efforts globally were estimated to be just over $2.4 billion in 2012, leaving an annual gap of $2.7 billion. While malaria is a preventable and treatable disease, it continues to have a devastating impact on people’s health and livelihoods around the world. In 2012, approximately 3.4 billion people were at risk of the disease in 97 countries and territories, and an estimated 207 million cases occurred. The disease killed about 627,000 people, mostly children under 5 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a multi-pronged strategy to reduce the malaria burden, including vector control interventions, preventive therapies, diagnostic testing, quality-assured treatment and strong malaria surveillance. The draft resolution, adopted on an annual basis, is critical because it provides a rallying message for countries and guideposts to key development partners, such as the African Development Bank; the Global Fund; the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; the World Bank; the United Kingdom, France and the United States; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other stakeholders, to ensure that we build sustainable funding plans and ensure quality financial management, including priority-setting and accountability for results. This year’s draft resolution highlights substantial and technical updates and new developments with regard to resolution 67/299, adopted last year. The new components are as follows. The draft resolution recalls the commitment made by African leaders to end the epidemic of malaria by ensuring universal and equitable access to quality health care and by improving health systems and health financing, contained in the African Union’s Common African Position on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. It welcomes the creation of the Asia-Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance, recognizing the leadership and commitment of the Alliance to achieve the 2015 targets and encouraging the members of the Alliance to continue to provide political leadership at the highest level in the fight against malaria in the Asia-Pacific region. It takes note of the World Health Organization’s framework for action for an emergency response to artemisinin resistance in the Greater Mekong subregion of South-East Asia, launched in April 2013. It expresses awareness that recent successes in prevention and control are fragile and can be maintained only with sufficient and sustained national and international investment to fund global malaria- control efforts fully. It recognizes the importance in the struggle against malaria of the WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property adopted by the World Health Assembly on 24 May 2008. It calls upon malaria-endemic countries, development partners and the international community to support the timely replacement of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization on the service lives of the nets in order to prevent the risk of malaria resurgence and a reversal of the gains made to date. It recognizes the importance of a multisectoral strategy to advance global control efforts, invites malaria-endemic countries to consider adopting and implementing the Multisectoral Action Framework for Malaria developed by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and the United Nations Development Programme, and encourages regional and intersectoral collaboration, both public and private, at all levels, especially in education, health, agriculture, economic development and the environment, to advance malaria- control objectives. It further recognizes the need to strengthen malaria surveillance and data quality in all endemic regions to enable Member States to direct financial resources to populations most in need and to respond effectively to disease outbreaks. It calls upon Member States and the international community to strengthen mechanisms for country- based coordination of technical assistance to achieve alignment over the best approaches to implement WHO technical guidance and to mobilize to support the sharing and analysis of best practices to address urgent programmatic challenges, to improve monitoring and evaluation and to conduct regular financial planning and gap analysis. It recognizes the need for political commitment and financial support beyond 2015 to sustain and expand the achievements against malaria and to meet the international malaria targets through prevention and malaria control efforts to end the epidemic, while acknowledging the remarkable progress in combating malaria to date. In order to add greater value to this very important draft resolution, we hope that next year will make more progress. We look forward to the adoption of the draft resolution by consensus as in previous years.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/68/L.60, entitled “Consolidating gains and accelerating efforts to control and eliminate malaria in developing countries, particularly in Africa, by 2015”. I give the floor to the representative of the Secretariat.

I should like to announce that, since the submission of the draft resolution, in addition to those representatives listed in the document, the following countries have also become sponsors of draft resolution A/68/L.60: Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/68/L.60?

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 13?

Members will recall that the Assembly adopted resolution 68/6, under agenda items 14 and 118, “Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit”, at its 32nd plenary meeting, on 9 October 2013, and considered agenda item 14, jointly with agenda item 118 and agenda item 125, “United Nations reform: measures and proposals”, at its 54th plenary meeting, on 20 November 2013. Members will also recall that the Assembly adopted resolution 68/304 at its 107th plenary meeting on 9 September 2014. Regarding the report of the General Assembly on sustainable development goals, circulated in document A/68/970, I should now like to provide a clarification on the context under which the Assembly would consider the draft resolution before it. First, a corrigendum to the report of the Open Working Group will be issued in order to incorporate the omitted names of Member States that have already provided statements and explanations of position to the report, as reflected in section III, paragraph 13, of the report. Delegations are requested to communicate to the Secretariat any omissions regarding the list of Member States contained in paragraph 13 of the report relating to statements or explanations of position. Secondly, the footnote contained in section III, paragraph 13, of the report will be revised and would read as follows: “The compilation of texts of statements and explanations of position made by Member States to the report are contained in the addendum to the present report, issued as document A/68/970/Add.1.” The addendum to the report containing the texts of the reservations by Member States will be issued as an official document of the General Assembly under the symbol A/68/970/Add. 1. Member States wishing to have their statements and explanations of position on the report of the Open Working Group included in the compilation document should provide to the General Assembly secretariat their reservations to the report in writing, if they have not done so already. Before proceeding further and in accordance with the agreement reached at the consultations held prior to the start of this meeting, I would like to orally revise draft resolution A/68/L.61. I invite members to turn their attention to paragraph 2 of the draft text. Paragraph 2 will now read as follows: “Decides that the proposal of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals contained in the report shall be the main basis for integrating sustainable development goals into the post-2015 development agenda, while recognizing that other inputs will also be considered, in the intergovernmental negotiating process at the sixty- ninth session of the General Assembly.” Based on the orally amended clarification just provided, we shall now proceed to consider draft resolution A/68/L.61. The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/68/L.61, entitled “Report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 66/288”, as orally revised. May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/68/L.61, as orally revised?

Before giving the floor to the speakers in explanation of position, may I remind delegations that explanations of position are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.

At the outset, let me thank you, Mr. President, very much for all your hard work. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China (G-77). The Group is pleased that resolution 68/309 has been adopted by consensus by the General Assembly. The decision to develop a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) was one of the landmark decisions taken by our leaders at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). Rio+20 also mandated that the SDGs should be coherent with and integrated into the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015. The members of the Group of 77 and China attach a high degree of importance to the outcome document (A/68/970) of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals containing a proposal on SDGs. That outcome document was arrived at through painstaking and intensive work stretching over a period of almost 18 months, during which time the members of the G-77 participated constructively and in good faith. The Group of 77 and China firmly believes that the outcome of that intergovernmental process needs to be fully preserved and should not be reopened or renegotiated. We are happy, therefore, that the resolution that we have adopted today clearly recognizes that this proposal will be the basis for integrating the SDGs into the post-2015 development agenda. We also note that it is important that all reservations made by members of the Group must be faithfully compiled in an official document that should be clearly referenced in the report of the Open Working Group, as you, Mr. President, have established. We have taken note of the your oral confirmation in that regard. The Group of 77 and China remains fully committed to participating actively and constructively in the forthcoming intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda to reflect the common voice and interests of the developing countries. With that being said, let me thank you, Mr. President, once again and all stakeholders and our partners.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of Arab States. I would like to take the opportunity to express to you, Mr. President, and to the co-Chairs of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals our sincere appreciation for your hard work, which enabled all of us to reach this final stage. The Arab Group had engaged actively and constructively in all the meetings, deliberations and consultations of the Open Working Group. With regard to the particular issues falling under Goal 16 of the proposed sustainable development goals, entitled “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”, the Arab Group voiced its concerns at a very early stage regarding the potential risk of adopting a selective and reductionist approach when addressing those issues. The way in which discussions and consultations evolved in that regard proved that the concerns of the Arab Group were valid and well founded, as some Member States tried to impose their own vision regarding those issues, thus excluding the very valid concerns and critical interests of the Arab Group. The Arab Group delivered statements during the 10th and 11th meetings of the Open Working Group whereby it acknowledged the intrinsic link between development, peace and security. However, the Group reiterated that a detailed discussion was needed and should take place in the framework of the post-2015 development agenda. Furthermore, the Group reaffirmed that, by all means, any discussion on peaceful and stable societies should take into consideration and address Arab concerns in that regard, in particular those related to ending foreign occupation. Therefore, the Group requested the inclusion under Goal 16 of the following targets: first, ending all forms of colonial domination and foreign occupation in order to achieve sustainable development for all; secondly, strengthening adherence to international law by all stakeholders, including States, international organizations and financial institutions, to achieve an international order based on the rule of the law; and, thirdly, intensifying international cooperation in the field of countering terrorism, in particular by addressing its root causes, as they are an obstacle to achieving sustainable development. The Arab Group reaffirmed that it cannot accept a selective approach when addressing the issue of achieving a peaceful and stable society in the context of sustainable development. The Arab Group regretted that the proposed target of ending all forms of foreign occupation and colonial domination was not included under Goal 16, where it naturally belongs. In that respect, the Group went along with the approval of sending the proposal on SDGs to the General Assembly with the understanding that target 16.1 on significantly reducing all forms of violence applies to ending foreign occupation, as it is one of the most extreme forms of violence. The Group’s understanding also is that target 16.3 on promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels applies to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and other Arab occupied territories, through the full implementation of all General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council resolutions on ending foreign occupation and colonial domination in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and other occupied Arab territories, as well as the application of the relevant provisions of international law and international humanitarian law, including the four Geneva Conventions on the occupied Arab territories. The Arab Group is also very concerned about the lack of any reference under Goal 16 to the issue of illegal unilateral economic sanctions, which has been raised by some Arab countries. This issue has been a major impediment severely affecting the economy and development of many countries, and it has played a major role in undermining States’ sovereignty. Since Goal 16 calls for providing access to justice for all, this issue should have been addressed and duly reflected in the Open Working Group’s report (A/68/970). The Arab Group has requested that its statements and letters dated 24 July and 29 August to the co-Chairs of the Open Working Group and to the President of the General Assembly, respectively, as well as a letter dated 25 July from the Arab members of the Open Working Group to the co-Chairs, be noted as part of the official record and in the Open Working Group’s report. So far, however, neither the letter nor the Arab Group’s position and reservations have been reflected in the report. We are comfortable, Mr. President, with the explanation you gave about this matter at the beginning of today’s meeting. Nonetheless, the Arab Group would like to reiterate its request to have its position and that of its members duly reflected in the report. We have also requested that our letter dated 29 August, along with its attachments, be circulated as an official General Assembly document under agenda item 14, entitled “Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields”; sub-item (a) of agenda item 19, entitled “Implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development”; and agenda item 118, entitled “Follow- up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit”. We also request that letter be attached to the report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals.

We thank you, Sir, for all your efforts in introducing resolution 68/309, which contains the report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (A/68/970). Our delegation associates itself with the statement delivered by the representative of Bolivia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. We have decided to speak because Guatemala and Colombia were members of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals. We would like to take this opportunity to recognize the efforts of all delegations in formulating the proposed goals. We are also grateful for the dedication and leadership in this long process of the Working Group’s co-Chairs, Ambassador Kamau of Kenya and Ambassador Kőrösi of Hungary. We should emphasize that the Open Working Group’s final product was developed through a process that was open, transparent and somewhat different from the traditional format of United Nations negotiations, with which we are all familiar. At the beginning, we all expected that negotiations would be carried out behind closed doors and among the designated members alone; instead, however, the process involved every delegation of the United Nations and included contributions from civil society as well. Now we have a proposal that emerged from a universal process with goals that are also universally applicable. Our delegation recognizes that the document is not perfect; we would have liked a more limited set of goals and targets. However, we believe that it should be considered in its entirety, and in that regard we believe that the Open Working Group’s final document should be the basis for integrating sustainable development goals into the post-2015 development agenda. We are also pleased that the document includes global priorities that had previously been relegated to the margins of the development agenda, such as Goal 13 — “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” — and Goal 16, “Promote peaceful societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. In our view, the links between the rule of law and sustainable development are undeniable. Strengthening the rule of law in order to create an environment conducive to sustainable development should be a priority, and for that reason Goal 16.3 is of special interest. Finally, our delegation was surprised that our reservations were not reflected in the report, and we ask that they be included in a corrected version of the report.

I, too, would like to thank you, Mr. President, for presiding over this important meeting. I would like to associate myself with the statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of Bolivia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I thank him and the other members of his delegation for their hard work in the past year. I would also like to express my delegation’s deep gratitude to the Permanent Representatives of Kenya and Hungary for their excellent stewardship of this process, which produced results after almost 18 months of serious consultations. The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran participated very constructively in this process, along with almost all the other delegations involved. We believe that in all its aspects, positive and negative, the report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (A/68/970) is the beloved offspring of us all. We may have complaints and concerns or be dissatisfied with certain parts of it, but, overall, it is our brainchild. That is how my delegation believes it should now be regarded and integrated into the next process of drafting the post-2015 development agenda. We really appreciate the amendments introduced into the final draft of the resolution (resolution 68/309) as compared to the early version. As paragraph 246 of the Outcome Document of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (resolution 66/288) says, the sustainable development goals “should be coherent with and integrated into the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015”. My delegation’s final comment on this report, as we clearly expressed on the day of its adoption in the Open Working Group, is that we have serious reservations about certain parts of the document that are contrary to my country’s policies, practices and circumstances. I would like to once again put those reservations on record. They will be submitted in writing to the Secretariat, and I ask that they be considered as an integral part of the Open Working Group’s report. Once again, we deeply appreciate all the energy and effort expended by the co-Chairs of the Group, and hope that the report will be a good basis for integrating its goals into the post-2015 development agenda.

We welcome the adoption today of resolution 68/309, as amended, on the report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (A/68/970), which represents an important way station on the road to 2015. We would first like to express our sincere appreciation for your leadership on this issue, Mr. President, and for the focus you have encouraged during your tenure in office on setting the stage for the post-2015 development agenda. I would also like to warmly thank the Open Working Group co-Chairs, Ambassadors Kamau and Kőrösi, for their skilful leadership, patience and good faith in bringing the Group to a fruitful conclusion. Together we did indeed travel a long way. We believe that the proposal of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals helped build substantial common understanding among all of us about the historic opportunity that we have in the post-2015 development agenda to make truly decisive gains against some of humanity’s greatest challenges — extreme poverty, disease, inequality between women and men, and so on — to name just a few. The Open Working Group proposal gives us an important point of departure for our work ahead. We are pleased by many issues that are prominently treated in that proposal: the strong recognition of the need and potential to eradicate extreme poverty in a generation; recognition of the power of sustained and inclusive economic growth to drive poverty reduction and broader development; a clear and ambitious target to cut maternal mortality; the need to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic; a standalone goal on gender equality and empowerment, including recognition of women’s sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights; and critical recognition of the fact that peaceful societies with capable and inclusive institutions are essential underpinnings of sustainable development. We also welcome the strong treatment of climate change in this agenda. We were not able to agree on every issue in the proposal, and we remind all colleagues of our explanation of position and our reservations following the conclusion of the Open Working Group. But where the proposal was not able to find common ground, we continue to believe that common ground remains possible. We now look forward to the fall and to the opportunity to reflect more deeply on the issues elaborated on in the Open Working Group’s proposal. We look forward to the Secretary-General’s synthesis report, which can make a vital contribution to our efforts, along with other critical inputs. We anticipate a productive start to intergovernmental negotiations in the new year. We want to reinforce our commitment to working in close cooperation with all partners as we embark on the next phase. We have vital input still to consider from many quarters, including from wider stakeholders in all our countries. The United States particularly welcomes this resolution’s recognition that these other inputs will be considered in our deliberations to come. The process that led us to arrive at the Open Working Group’s proposal has given us an important foundation for the next phase of our work. We are confident that together in the days ahead we will be able to craft a compelling, transformative and impactful post-2015 development agenda for all of our citizens. Finally, if I may say, we do not believe that today’s meeting is the place to reiterate any specific reservations, and we regret that some delegations have raised political issues that do not belong in this meeting and should not be addressed here and distract us from our task today.

At the very outset, the African Group would like to align itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The African Group would like to thank you, Mr. President, for having convened this meeting, whose goal was to receive and agree on the report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, as mandated by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The African Group wishes to extend its profound appreciation to the co-Chairs of the historic Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, whose devotion and exemplary leadership were evident once again in the informal informal consultations convened on your behalf, Sir, on Monday this week. The Group wishes to reaffirm the fact that despite their retirement, they remain our dear co-Chairs, whose guidance and inspiration shall be instrumental in the upcoming post-2015 development agenda process. We have received the report of the Open Working Group, which contains goals and targets in whose development all Member States and others, including representatives of civil society, the scientific community and the business sector, participated. The African Group has insisted that the report should also include the observations and reservations made by Member States during and after the final session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals. The African Group deemed it appropriate that the comprehensive and complex character of the Open Working Group process should be matched with an outcome document of similar magnitude that makes reference to elements in the proposals that were clearly opposed by some delegations. For the African Group, the consideration of the proposed sustainable development goals includes the reservations entered into against some aspect of the report. They go hand in hand. The African Group was confident that the Secretariat would heed this call in the spirit of openness, transparency, inclusiveness and consensus, characteristics that are widely associated with the Open Working Group process. We thank the President of the General Assembly for his understanding, willingness and support in finding a way to accommodate the observations and reservations of Member States. The fulfilment of this important task of receiving and agreeing on the report of the Open Working Group signifies the beginning of an important journey that will take us through the next phase of intergovernmental negotiations and, ultimately, the adoption of the post- 2015 development goals, in September 2015. The Group notes with great pleasure that this Hall has unanimously agreed that the proposals of the Open Working Group shall serve as the basis for integrating the sustainable development goals into the post-2015 development agenda. This augurs well, given the Group’s firm conviction that the Open Working Group package should be neither reopened nor renegotiated. In that regard, the African Group looks forward to participating constructively in the upcoming intergovernmental process and pledges its continued support and cooperation to ensure a successful conclusion of the said process.

The report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals is the outcome of a collective effort over a period of more than 18 months, and Japan welcomes the adoption of draft resolution A/68/L.61. I would like to express sincere appreciation for your leadership, Mr. President, and for the excellent and instrumental leadership of both co-Chairs of the Open Working Group, Ambassador Kamau and Ambassador Kőrösi. I should like also to acknowledge the efforts of all involved. The report shows that collectively we can reach the goal of achieving inclusive, sustainable development. After today, with this very important report in hand, we will proceed to the next phase, towards the negotiations on the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. We have already received significant other inputs for this purpose from the report of the High-level Panel and the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing, as well as various other inputs, including from civil society and other stakeholders. We expect the report of the Secretary- General to be a comprehensive document encompassing all of the input in a balanced manner, so that the intergovernmental negotiations can build on the report. We believe that these inputs are all equally important and available and should be considered in the next phase, so that we will be able to establish a strong and transformative agenda that can be implemented by a wide range of stakeholders. We joined the consensus on this resolution on the clear understanding that it does not change the established practices of the United Nations and that nothing in this resolution requires Member States to accept any reservation made by other Member States. Japan has also made reservations on the report, but we do not expect other Member States to accept these reservations. We will continue to be engaged in, work hard for and contribute to this process.

We commend the General Assembly for having adopted by consensus draft resolution A/68/L.61. The adoption of this resolution brings to a successful close the journey that we collectively undertook in June 2012 on crafting an agreement on a set of sustainable development goals. The path was rocky at times and our collective will was tested, not least by the fact that this was perhaps the first time that the global community had tried to fashion a consensus template of concrete goals and targets on such a large canvas. Translating the global discourse of ideas on sustainable development into an actionable agenda was never going to be easy, yet the final outcome, though clearly not perfect, is testimony to the power and indispensability of multilateralism to finding common solutions to the problems we collectively face. We would like to place on record our sincere appreciation for the two co-Chairs, the Permanent Representatives of Hungary and Kenya, for their outstanding leadership of the process. We also thank the Secretariat for its exceptional support for the Open Working Group. Resolution 68/309, adopted today, correctly notes that the proposal of the Open Working Group must be the basis for integrating sustainable development goals (SDGs) into the post-2015 development agenda. While other inputs are undoubtedly important, it must be borne in mind that the Open Working Group is the only intergovernmental process so far that has had the mandate to negotiate and develop a set of sustainable development goals. That intergovernmental process was also unique in that it enabled the effective engagement of all the relevant stakeholders. The range of inputs received from United Nations agencies, international organizations, major groups and civil society greatly enriched the discussions and outcome of the Open Working Group. The work of the Open Working Group will also feed into the synthesis report of the Secretary-General, to which we look forward. It would be useful to recall that the mandate for that report is to synthesize the range of inputs available and to propose a coherent vision to help Member States as they embark upon the process of negotiating the post-2015 development agenda. In other words, its mandate is not to propose a new or alternative set of goals or a counter-narrative to the outcome of the intergovernmental Open Working Group. India engaged constructively and in good faith in all the meetings of the Open Working Group and contributed to building consensus on key issues of interest to developing countries. The final outcome of the Open Working Group is a broad template, but also a delicately crafted political compromise. The outcome clearly places eradication of poverty at the centre of the development agenda, builds on the Millennium Development Goals, reaffirms the continued validity of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as the bedrock of international cooperation, emphasizes the role of robust economic growth, industrialization and full employment, emphasizes in a balanced way the three dimensions of sustainable development, puts in place ambitious action to rationalize consumption patterns and efforts to preserve the environment, and integrates, last but not least, means of implementation as an integral part of the goals set. Those elements, in our view, must be preserved going forward. At the same time, India does not necessarily agree with each and every element included in the final package. While we were happy to join the consensus on the document, we remain unconvinced as to the inclusion of a stand-alone goal on important but extraneous issues, such as peace, security and the rule of law, which, in our view, while exceptionally important, do not form an organic part of the developmental landscape of the SDGs. We look forward to examining the integration of the issues I have mentioned in greater detail as we engage in the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. Several other parts of the Open Working Group outcome, on the other hand, clearly remain ripe for further work. The means of implementation included in the final document (A/68/970) are, in our view, still too weak. We look forward to the outcome of the Financing for Development Conference to be held next July to substantially strengthen the means of implementation of the SDGs as part of the future agenda. Mr. President, you can count on India’s support and active engagement on the road ahead for crafting a truly transformative post-2015 development agenda, one which enables us to end poverty and leaves no one behind.

I now give the floor to the observer of the European Union.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its member States. At the outset, we would like to once more warmly thank Ambassadors Kamau and Kőrösi for the absolutely magnificent job they did in steering the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals to a very impressive outcome in spite of the considerable challenges they had to face up until the very end. Their co-chairmanship certainly raised the bar for such future endeavours. We would also like to thank you, Mr. President, as well as your team, for the very valuable support you have lent to the process throughout your tenure, not least in the last few days. The mandate set out in paragraph 248 of the Rio outcome document (resolution 66/288, annex) for the Open Working Group to prepare a proposal for sustainable development goals (SDGs) for consideration and appropriate action by the General Assembly was undoubtedly a complex one. As we noted at the closing meeting of the Open Working Group, we were happy to see that mandate brought to a successful conclusion. Beyond the very informative and helpful conversations, including with academia and civil society, the in-depth discussions we had during the last year and a half allowed us to consider a wide range of issues as part of the post-2015 goals and targets. As a result, the Open Working Group made considerable progress during the past 18 months, and the proposal contained in its report (A/68/970) will clearly provide a very important input to the intergovernmental process at the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, which will lead to the finalization of the post-2015 development agenda and the summit in September 2015. Of course, there are several questions that remain to be addressed ahead of the summit if we want to set out an ambitious and implementable post-2015 agenda. We noted that several delegations, including from within the European Union, made statements in the closing meeting of the Open Working Group. We hope that the discussions that we will have in the framework of the intergovernmental process will allow us to agree on a truly universal, comprehensive and transformative development agenda. As we agreed in the September 2013 resolution calling for the 2015 summit and adopting the outcome document of the special event to follow up efforts made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (resolution 68/6), the intergovernmental process will include inputs from all stakeholders, including civil society, scientific and knowledge institutions, parliaments, local authorities and the private sector. All those inputs will be very important. The report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing is also a crucial input. All of that will be synthesized in the report of the Secretary-General, which we trust will greatly help all of us to move our discussions forward. We are fully committed to agreeing to a truly transformative post-2015 development agenda that reinforces the international community’s commitment to poverty eradication and sustainable development and of which the sustainable development goals will be a key part. We look forward to working with all partners in the weeks and months ahead with that common objective. Under our co-Chairs’ sterling leadership, we have made impressive progress, which it is in everyone’s duty now to use to good account.

I wish to make a statement on behalf of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The LDC Group aligns itself with the statement made by the representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The LDC Group pays tribute to the co-Chairs of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals for their appreciable and tireless work and for all the efforts that they have made. We would also like to thank them for the many contributions and proposals that they were able to elicit from the Member States and various groups. We are also grateful for your efforts to lead us in our work, Mr. President. The outcome will be an essential achievement of your term as President of the General Assembly. The LDC Group is pleased that it was able to take the floor at various stages in the approximately 18 months of negotiations to voice its concerns with respect to the formulation of targets and goals identified. The results that we have achieved are to the credit of the revitalized multilateral approach that the challenges to humankind compel us to adopt. Those results appear as a compromise and just one stage in the process of drafting the post-2015 development agenda. Our Group wishes to stress the need to take into account the reservations expressed by certain States without challenging the coherence of the document (A/68/970), or indeed the substance of what was agreed as the basis of consensus. We commend the factors the document covers, in particular the concept of peaceful societies as a component of the achievement of sustainable development goals, since in order to have development we must have peace, and, conversely, there can be no peace without development. However, it is clear that no State or group can claim to be completely satisfied or to have seen all its concerns taken into account. As far as the least developed countries are concerned, they reserve the right to return, in future negotiations, to complaints they had that were not fully addressed during the negotiations. We hope that the report of the Secretary-General will reflect the international community’s commitment to the concerns of the LDCs that were not reflected in the report of the Open Working Group. The LDCs are the poorest, the most vulnerable and the countries most affected by a lack of resources, by various crises and by climate change. Throughout the negotiations leading to the report we made significant contributions and submitted many proposals in that regard. We stand ready and mobilized to continue working with other groups and States on efforts that will best contribute to the development of the new phase we are about to undertake, through to the end of the process and the adoption of what we hope will be a balanced and inclusive programme. The LDC Group echoes the commendations that have already been expressed to Ambassadors Kamau and Kőrösi for their wisdom and the great qualities of leadership they have shown throughout the entire process.

Speaking on behalf of Nicaragua as well as Brazil, we recognize your leadership, Mr. President, and the excellent work of the co-Chairs of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, Ambassadors Kamau and Kőrösi, who were essential to the achievement of what we consider the groundbreaking outcome reflected in the Open Working Group’s report (A/68/970). Nicaragua and Brazil are pleased that we were able to adopt by consensus resolution 68/309, which clearly establishes the primacy of the Open Working Group’s outcome as the main basis for integrating sustainable development goals into the post-2015 development agenda. We must fully respect the integrity of the work of the Open Working Group. Its legitimacy speaks for itself and is unrivalled. In recognition of that, and of the value of the outcome, Nicaragua and Brazil raised no reservations, and we call on all members that have done so, or believe that this is only a way station on the road to the adoption of a post-2015 development agenda, to refrain from launching initiatives in the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session that could unravel the delicate construction of the great work achieved. The means for implementing the report’s proposals will have to be brought up to standards that match the ambitions of the goals and targets we have negotiated. The report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Financing for Sustainable Development and the outcome of the third International Conference on Financing for Development will provide additional elements in that regard. We will also count on the continuation of consultations on a technology facilitation mechanism in the context of the post-2015 process. The Secretary-General’s synthesis report is awaited with great interest. It should fully consider and respect the work of members in mobilizing United Nations resources and support. We look forward to engaging constructively in the finalization of this new vision for international development cooperation that is universal in nature yet takes into account the shared but differentiated responsibilities of developed and developing countries — an outcome that is a process that should lead to a new effort within the United Nations on cooperation that is socially inclusive and promotes members’ economic growth within a framework of sustainability.

I would first like to align my delegation’s position with the statements delivered by the representatives of Bolivia, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, and of Malawi, on behalf of the African Group. Nigeria welcomes the submission of the report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (A/68/970) and commends the Working Group’s co-Chairs, the Permanent Representatives of Kenya and Hungary, for their leadership, patience, perseverance and presence of mind in steering the often difficult negotiations to a successful conclusion. We congratulate all Member States on the accomplishment of this landmark outcome through very difficult and sometimes protracted negotiations, and for showing commitment, accommodation, expansiveness of spirit and professionalism in their engagement in the process. We thank you, Mr. President, for lending your support and the weight of your Office to this process. We commend the Secretary-General and his staff for the interest they have shown throughout the negotiation process. We particularly welcome the inclusive and transparent nature of the work of the Open Working Group. Its universality gives it broad legitimacy and credibility. Nigeria approached the negotiations with an open mind and keen interest in contributing to their success. In substantive terms, we welcome the prominence that the report gives to the eradication of poverty. That is an issue fundamental to Nigeria and the entire African region, for obvious reasons. We stress that the successful achievement of the global development agenda must hinge on a sustainable partnership between and among different countries and regions, and on establishing the means of its implementation. The report underscores those two critical elements, which Nigeria hopes will be central to the global development framework beyond 2015. We sincerely hope that the Secretary-General’s synthesis report will take into account the priorities set for the African region in the common African position. The adoption of a new document emanating from the international intergovernmental process in the United Nations is obviously important to Member States. Ultimately, the Member States are the entities that will be called on to translate the provisions and content of such documents into policy at the national level. Considering that such documents will likely give rise to commitments and obligations, Member States will rightly feel entitled to express reservations on provisions that may conflict with their national policies, legislative arcs, religious beliefs and cultural values. That becomes more important particularly if the documents adopted result in the establishment of benchmarks and timelines for implementing their provisions. For those reasons, Nigeria has expressed reservations about some aspects of the document, notably on the grounds of lack of clarity and relevance to issues of sustainable development. In due course, in response to a valuable suggestion made today, Nigeria will submit in writing the reservations that it raised at various times during the negotiations of the Open Working Group.

We thank this body for adopting resolution 68/309 by consensus. Such an adoption is a recognition of the hard work by all Members of the United Nations and the invaluable input of civil society. We would like to thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership in the process and, in particular, to express our gratitude to the co-Chairs, Ambassador Kamau and Ambassador Kőrösi, for their patience, hard work and sterling leadership. We also want to thank all the negotiators for the spririt of cooperation and respect, which allowed us to develop goals that we trust will lead us to complete the unfinished tasks of the Millennium Development Goals and will help all nations towards sustainable development. We take the floor particularly to express our gratitude and encouragement for the fact that, together, we duly recognize the importance of mental health and well-being, which are so fundamental to healthy, strong and productive societies. We trust that that will allow us to understand that, in these days of continued and frequent natural disasters, calamities, man-made strife and sadness, building resilience involves psychological elements in addition to environmental infrastucture.

My delegation aligns itself with the statement made by the representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I would like to start by thanking the co-Chairs of the Open Working Group for their efforts in leading all this work during more than a year and a half of meetings. I would also like to thank the United Nations, the Secretariat, Member States, members of the Group and the lead groups, including civil society organizations, which have been supporting us with contributions and backing many of the proposals for such goals. We know that countries have different models, instruments and focuses on the basis on their national priorities in order to achieve sustainable development. For that reason, the report before us (A/68/970) contains various visions, which is not ideal. The differences should be clearly reflected and show the efforts of the entire international community. We believe that adequate measures for each of the sustainable development goals mentioned in the report, as well as strengthening the global alliance for sustainable development, are fundamental requirements without which the entire development agenda may prove futile without any possibility of success. Unfortunately, the clear and direct requests of several delegations were not properly reflected in the report of the Working Group. That is probably owing to a lack of political will by certain members and to shortcomings in some of the procedural aspects of the work of the Working Group. Finally, we would like to highlight the fact that the next challenge for the post-2015 development agenda should be to establish a transparent, fair and equitable international consultation process so that we can produce a negotiated outcome document that fully takes into account the results of the various follow- up procedures provided for in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development and the main summits and conferences on economic, social and environmental issues.

At the outset, let me add Australia’s thanks for the commitment and hard work of the co-Chairs, Ambassador Kamau and Ambassador Kőrösi, and all those involved in reaching the outcome document of the Open Working Group (A/68/970), including Member States, their negotiators and civil society. Australia welcomes the adoption of resolution 68/309, on the conclusion of the work of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, which represents the collective efforts and the spirit of cooperation of the international community. The outcome of the Open Working Group is without doubt a critical input into the Secretary- General’s synthesis report and the next stage of the intergovernmental negotiations. I would like to note, as we have before, that while Australia sees the outcome of the Open Working Group as the end product of the Group’s work, we interpret the basis as a starting point of the next stage of the intergovernmental negotiations. The intergovernmental negotiations on the post- 2015 development agenda are clearly mandated to also consider a range of other inputs, not least the report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (A/68/852/Add.1). That was reflected by our troika in our statement at the conclusion of the Open Working Group’s work, as well as by many other participants in that process, and is in line with the Rio+20 mandate (see resolution 66/288, annex) and subsequent resolutions. Australia has engaged in good faith throughout the process. I would like to reaffirm that we will continue to cooperate by working with all parties towards the conclusion of a meaningful and effective post-2015 development agenda.

We have heard the last statement in explanation of position following the adoption of resolution 68/309. I would like to express my personal thanks and appreciation to the panel of representatives of Kenya for their able stewardship as co-Chairs of the Open Working Group and for bringing us to this point today. I would like to invite members to join me in extending to them our sincere appreciation. The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 14.