A/70/PV.4 General Assembly

We have reached a defining moment in human history. The people of the world have asked us to shine a light on a future of promise and opportunity. Member States have responded with the draft 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/70/L.1). The Agenda is a promise by leaders to all people everywhere. It is a universal, integrated and transformative vision for a better world. It is an Agenda for people, to end poverty in all its forms, an Agenda for the planet and our common home, an Agenda for shared prosperity, peace and partnership. It conveys the urgency of climate action. It is rooted in gender equality and respect for the rights of all. Above all, it pledges to leave no one behind. The true test of commitment to the 2030 Agenda will be its implementation. We need action from everyone, everywhere. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are our guide. They represent a to-do list for people and the planet, and a blueprint for success. To achieve those new global Goals, we will need high-level political commitment on the part of Member States. We will need a renewed global partnership. The Millennium Development Goals showed what is possible when we work together. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda has given us a solid financing framework. Let us build on those foundations. To do better, we must do differently. The 2030 Agenda compels us to look beyond national boundaries and short-term interests and act in solidarity for the long- term. We can no longer afford to think and work in silos. Institutions will have to become fit for a grand, new purpose. The United Nations system is strongly committed to supporting Member States in that great new endeavour. (spoke in French) We must enter this new era on the right foot. I ask all Governments to adopt a solid and universal agreement on climate in Paris this December. I am happy to note that several countries are already incorporating the draft 2030 Agenda in their national development strategies, but nobody can succeed alone. All interested parties must be mobilized, as was the case when the Agenda was drawn up. We must work together with parliaments and local authorities, with cities as well as with rural areas. We must enlist businesses and their leaders. We must bring civil society into our policies, giving it the possibility of demanding accountability from us. We must listen to scientists and academics. We will also need to implicate ourselves in the data revolution. Above all, we must get down to work — and do so immediately. (spoke in English) Seventy years ago, the United Nations rose from the ashes of war. Governments agreed on a visionary Charter dedicated to “We the peoples”. The draft Agenda that the Assembly is adopting today advances the goals of the Charter of the United Nations. It embodies the aspirations of people everywhere for lives of peace, security and dignity on a healthy planet. Let us today pledge to light the path to this transformative vision. I count on your strong leadership and commitment. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Secretary- General for his statement. In accordance with resolution 69/244 of 29 December 2014, I now give the floor to Mr. Salil Shetty, Secretary-General of Amnesty International.

I speak today both on behalf of the global Amnesty International movement, with over 7 million members and activists, and also for many independent civil-society organizations around the world. At the outset, I congratulate Member States for the remarkable progress that the world has seen in the form of the Millennium Development Goals, but increasingly we hear the question: Is our world spinning out of its axis? It can feel that way. Hundreds of millions of people still live in poverty. Too many people, particularly women and girls, routinely suffer violence and multiple human rights violations. Inequality, injustice, environmental destruction and corruption are a toxic combination. There is declining trust in Governments and big corporations, and young people across the world are rising in protest. Horrific conflicts are destroying communities and countries and have fuelled the largest global refugee crisis since the Second World War. The appalling story of the three-year-old Syrian child, Alan Kurdi, whose dead body on the beach shocked the world, sums it up. We cannot hide the reality of the world we live in. And then there is the world we want — a world represented by the Sustainable Development Goals to be adopted. We cannot blame people for being sceptical, when they see yet another summit declaration. There is a huge gap between the world we live in and the world we want, but the new Goals represent people’s aspirations and rights, and they must and can be realized. I therefore suggest four practical tests to apply when realizing the Goals, so as to prove the sceptics wrong: First, there is the ownership test. The key to success is for poor and marginalized people to be primary decision-makers at every stage. The Goals must be adequately resourced and integrated into national and local plans and budgets, and they must be implemented in line with each State’s existing human rights obligations. Secondly, there is the accountability test. People should know exactly what Governments have promised and what they have delivered — that is, the right to information. Moreover, if Governments do not deliver, people should be able to hold them to account through independent mechanisms. It is not enough anymore for Governments to say that they are legitimate because they were elected or they have a mandate. They have to be accountable to the people directly on an ongoing basis. Thirdly, there is the non-discrimination test. Let us be clear. Leaving no one behind means challenging power structures and enforcing the rule of law. Inequality is largely the direct result of discrimination and exclusion based on gender, race, descent, religion or other status. Inequality is the consequence of the failure to protect the rights of the marginalized, indigenous peoples, minorities, migrants, persons with disabilities, children and the elderly. Fourthly, there is the coherence test. We are all aware of countries that performed well on the Millennium Development Goals but where outrage against persistent human rights violations has led to revolutions. Why is that the case? It is because people’s lives are not divided into development, environment, peace and human rights; only bureaucracies are. Coherence and consistency are therefore essential. We cannot claim to support sustainable development while we remain reluctant to reduce the consumption of the rich or to transfer technology. We cannot preach about human rights while using mass surveillance. We cannot lecture about peace while being among the world’s largest manufacturers of arms. We cannot allow our corporations to use financial and tax loopholes while railing against corruption. We cannot adopt the Sustainable Development Goals in the name of development and, at the same time, attack and arrest peaceful protesters and dissenters. We cannot launch those Goals and, in parallel, deny refugees access to a safe and legal route and a life with dignity. The Sustainable Development Goals present a compass for decent jobs, for justice and for humankind. As members of civil society, we will stand with the poor and the marginalized at all costs, and we will hold Governments and businesses to account. Yesterday — what was last night in New York but yesterday in many parts of the world — thousands of people marched for the Goals to light the way. They called for authentic leadership from Member States, leadership with integrity and leadership from the heart. I know that Member States can live up to their hopes. Co-Chair Rasmussen: The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/70/L.1, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. In that connection, I would like to draw the Assembly’s attention to the note by the Secretariat, contained in document A/70/391, regarding the programme budgetary implications of the draft resolution. Accordingly, the Fifth Committee will examine, during the main part of the session, the revised estimate arising from the draft resolution. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to adopt draft resolution A/70/L.1? Co-Chair Museveni: I would like to remind members that, in accordance with resolution 69/244 of 29 December 2014, the list of speakers was created on the basis that statements would have a time limit of up to five minutes per statement. In light of that given time frame, I would like to appeal to speakers to deliver their statements at a reasonable pace, so that interpretation into the six official United Nations languages may be provided properly. To order to assist speakers in managing their time, a light system has been installed at the speaker’s rostrum. May I appeal to all speakers for their cooperation in observing the time limits in making their statements, so that all those inscribed on the list of speakers for a given meeting can be heard at that meeting. Finally, in order to avoid disruption for the next speaker, I would like to seek the cooperation of representatives to remain in their seats after a statement has been delivered. Co-Chair Rasmussen: The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Republic of Croatia. President Grabar-Kitarović: I feel privileged and proud to be the first among many speakers who will in the next three days mark the end of our momentous preparatory work on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . Our meeting — one of the biggest ever in the history of international relations — also serves as a historic beginning and a milestone for humankind. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals before us are not just another chapter in the United Nations bureaucratic procedures. They are not just another tome in the endless archives of the Organization. They form the blueprint for our development for the next 15 years and beyond, a framework and tool for our better future. “Transforming our world” — that is not a phrase: it is an obligation for all of us. I want to express Croatia’s gratitude to Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and to the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, Sam Kutesa, for their exceptional efforts and leadership in the preparatory process of the post-2015 development agenda. The credit for that remarkable achievement goes to many hard-working people, but, above all, it goes to the 193 States Members of the United Nations, which worked together tirelessly and reached an unprecedented consensus on the goals and means for our future development. Some will say that we have too many goals and targets. I must disagree with that. Resolution 70/1 states that this is a “far-reaching and people-centred” Agenda. That means that no one is left behind, not the landlocked countries, nor the small island States, so perilously exposed to the hazards of climate change, nor those who are in dire need of water, nor those who have too much of it, nor the oceans, nor the mountain tops; nor those around the Equator, nor those on the snow-covered parts of the planet. We are all in this together: developed and underdeveloped, providers and recipients of assistance, North and South, and big and small. The year 2015 is the turning point in our development history, when we recognize the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and we chart the road for the next 15 years. We have to be honest about the MDGs — a lot has been done, but not all of the Goals have yet been reached. That should be a warning and a lesson for the future. Our ambitions must be matched by our determination and ability to deliver. Today more than ever, we need real leadership. We need people who do not just talk about change but make change happen. It is not enough to just keep speaking out against visible and obvious problems. It is not enough to be aware or to create a vision of the future. Instead, what we need is people who will get the job done. We are constantly exposed to well-known problems — problems with which we have been coping for many years and with limited success — and to new challenges that, not so long ago, few were able to foresee. Croatia, for example, has suddenly become engulfed by the migrant crisis, which was generated far from our borders. While we are not the final destination point, that tide of migrants is nevertheless having a profound impact on my country and the region of South-East Europe. I will speak in detail about that next week, during the general debate, but today I use it as a telling example of how interlinked and interdependent the world has become. Our world is not just our own. We must pass it down to our children, and, right now, what are we leaving them? Therefore we have to approach all 17 Goals quickly and coherently, with determination and passion. There is more to lose than could ever be regained. In Addis Ababa we reached a groundbreaking agreement on how to generate financing for sustainable development. That was the first step, and by the end of this week we shall take another one, but our work is far from done. The next milestone that awaits us is the Conference of the Parties in Paris. Only then, with the successful outcome of that climate summit, will we be able to say that in 2015 we truly set the framework for the SDGs. There was no better way to start this day than to listen to the inspirational speech by His Holiness Pope Francis earlier this morning, and there is no better way to crown our Summit than to forge our commitment to implement all of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Members may rest assured that Croatia will do its part. Let me end by stressing Sustainable Development Goal 5, on gender equality. An illustration of the fulfilment of that pivotal goal is the simple fact that the first speaker in this historic debate of ours is a woman. I promise Malala that every child will have the right to education. I want to keep this global conversation going, but it is not enough just to meet here once a year and maintain our commitments to United Nations initiatives and national development strategies. We must take ownership of problems that are man-made and therefore require us to fix them. Without leadership, there is no way to ensure that anything will take root and be sustained. Anything less than that is just not enough. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the President of the Republic of Croatia for her statement.

We have gathered together at this special assemblage of world leaders to adopt a comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and transformative goals and targets, known collectively as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to take humankind further along the journey of a global development quest, fashioned 15 years ago as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We have before us today 17 SDGs, identified separately but bound tightly in an integrated whole, to realize the mighty ambition to make lives far better, and sustainably so, for all of us who occupy Mother Earth, especially those who have had to endure the pain and anguish of indigence, poverty, vulnerability and marginalization. We have arrived at the SDGs after much stock- taking and reflection in our conversation on the post- 2015 development agenda. Solid and, in many cases, spectacular progress has been made on targets embedded in the MDGs. Still, as always, much more remains to be done, and time is not on the side of the almost 1 billion persons globally who currently live in extreme poverty. It is a damning indictment of our world civilization that one in five persons in its developing regions lives on less than $1.25 per day. Fundamentally, faith and reason have brought us together to adopt the SDGs and to build upon the achievements of the MDGs to end poverty, promote prosperity and well-being for all, protect the environment and address climate change. But faith is not an abstraction and reason is not a fanciful construct. All the major world religions correctly advise that faith is made perfect with works and made complete with deeds, and reason must always be grounded in the real conditions of life and living. Always, too, we must apply our hearts to wisdom. Making Mother Earth a better place for all of us to live means that our deeds must match our words. I acknowledge that the world is a complicated place awash with contradictions and that humankind is not perfect. Surely, it is still unacceptable for our global economy to be designed and elaborated in practical ways to condemn nearly a billion persons to a life of abject poverty. Clearly, the current model of a perverse and environmentally destructive global capitalism needs to undergo fundamental restructuring for the SDGs to be accomplished. Nor will they will be achieved if there is failure in SDG 17, which mandates a revitalization of the global partnership for sustainable development. My country, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, like all small island developing States, has a special vulnerability to the deleterious effects of climate change. The poor throughout the world suffer most from the maddening acceleration of global warming. For us in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, this matter represents an existential issue of our survival, yet we contribute nought to this looming danger. Over the past 17 years, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has made immense progress in the attainment of the MDGs touching and concerning the eradication of extreme poverty, achieving universal primary and secondary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability. We commit to consolidating and building upon these accomplishments and pursuing in a focused way the Sustainable Development Goals over the next 15 years with the help of our global partners. It is true that the challenging global times in which we live make the achievement of the SDGs a difficult exercise, but our world civilization must rise to this awesome challenge. Failure will result in an apocalypse too horrendous to contemplate. We are at the crossroads of a historic and unprecedented opportunity to do far better for all humankind, but especially for the poor. Let us resolve to do so. Let not our hands be idle; let not our faith waver; and let not our combined reason desert us. Let us simply shape a better future, together, with love. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister, Minister for Finance, National Security, Grenadines and Legal Affairs of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for his statement.

First of all, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to all the Heads of State and Government, the Secretary- General and all the delegations present at this historic global Summit for the debate and for the consensus that has been reached so far and for the crucially important resolution 70/1, which has been adopted for the future of humankind. Indeed, we are deciding on how to transform our world by 2030 because we wish to live in a much better world that guarantees sustainable development, prosperity and opportunity for all. In 2000, in our common home that is the United Nations, we made the commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Today, 15 years later, we can proudly say that it was worth the effort and that the world is a much better place, although not all Goals have been achieved and not all have honoured their obligations. We are once again being called upon to make new commitments, now oriented towards sustainable development, to be fulfilled by 2030. Each one of our countries is responsible for its own development, but as Pope Francis said, we will have to adopt the ethics of global citizenship and share responsibilities. At the time of its independence in 1975, Cabo Verde was considered inviable as a country. The conditions under which it began its history as a sovereign nation were extraordinarily difficult. A small island developing State comprising a series of islands and without any traditional natural resources, Cabo Verde was characterized by drought, desertification, the scarcity of water, famines and emigration. Now, 40 years later, thanks to the determination of Cabo Verdean women and men in the islands and in the diaspora, good governance and hard work, we are a middle-income country and on track to achieving all the Millennium Development Goals and their related targets. We have come a long way. However, we are aware of the great challenges we have to face, particularly poverty, which still affects nearly a fourth of the population, and the high unemployment rate, especially among youth and women with little professional skills. We must also deal with climate change and its effects. In 2003, with the strong participation of local authorities, civil society, enterprises and non-governmental organizations, we shared a development agenda aimed at building a modern, competitive, prosperous, fair and inclusive nation with opportunities for all and at transforming Cabo Verde into an international service centre and a logistics platform on the West African coast. In 2014, we evaluated our implementation of that agenda, redefined its methods and timetable and committed to building a developed Cabo Verde by 2030. Our main ambition is to raise the current $3,800 per capita gross domestic product to at least $12,000, and to achieve a high human development index based on strong investments in education, health, social security, housing, land planning and management, infrastructure and water mobilization. In order to meet those objectives, we must speed up the pace of our economic growth and build a green and blue economy that is dynamic, sustainable, innovative and able to create jobs and promote progress and social well-being, a fair and inclusive economy that can eradicate poverty, fight inequality and create opportunities for all. Small island developing States face huge obstacles to their sustainable development: difficulties in accessing financing, high costs for transportation, energy and infrastructure and social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities. Along with lower-middle-income, African, least-developed and landlocked developing countries, they therefore deserve special attention from the international community if they are to meet all their commitments directed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Cabo Verde therefore fully supports today’s resolution 70/1, “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. We will do our homework and work to build partnerships and bridges that will enable us, in a win-win scenario, to help humankind, build a developed and prosperous country and contribute to making the world a better place. Co-Chair Rasmussen: I thank the Prime Minister and Minister of Reform of the Republic of Cabo Verde for his statement.

We are meeting at a historic moment, as we leaders adopt resolution 70/1 on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is the hope of the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas that we are agreeing to a new agenda that is people-centred, planet-sensitive and inclusive in its approach to development, grounded in the common values and principles that we as the United Nations espouse. I am pleased to be here today to revisit the themes I addressed last year — the environment, crime and security and the education and training of our young people. What is more interesting is that this is a time to be here when His Holiness Pope Francis — whom I had the honour and privilege to meet just before Christmas in 2013 — has come to speak to us. In his encyclical Laudato Si’, issued on 24 May, His Holiness reminds us that the Earth is our common home, a gift from God. He says that the Earth cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on it through our irresponsible use of the goods with which God has endowed it. What more can we say? It is clear that as we adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we must keep in mind our responsibility to protect the Earth, its resources and its people. We can be proud of the successes of the Millennium Development Goals that we set for ourselves way back in 2000. It goes without saying that there is much more to be done to eradicate poverty, eliminate substandard housing and infant mortality, improve gender equality and the rights of the disabled, and end racism, crime, violence and war. Those themes are at the top of the Bahamian agenda. The Government of the Bahamas is committed to the full and effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and to building a stronger and more sustainable Bahamas. We are fully aware that we are primarily responsible for our national development, a responsibility that we have never shied away from. Recent events have shown that small countries must have the resilience, elasticity of response and institutional infrastructure needed to withstand the economic shocks that may come from unexpected directions. Our international economic partners, as well as private investors and financial institutions, all have a role in making sure that this resilience is sustained, particularly as we look towards managing the biggest issue of all — climate change. I have come here today to renew our commitment to protecting our oceans and their species, migrating by 2030 to renewable sources of energy and making a sustained effort to educate the public on our need to do so. We will need the assistance of the international community. The Bahamas, along with the rest of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), has long held that per capita gross domestic product should not be the sole determinant of the economic support given to our region, and that our vulnerability to economic and other exogenous shocks must also be taken into account. Indeed, the collapse of a single large investor can throw an entire country out of whack. Similarly, one hurricane can wipe out the gross domestic product of an entire country three times over. That was sadly evident in the tragic loss of life and widespread damage caused by the devastating passage of Tropical Storm Erika over our sister CARICOM island nation of Dominica at the end of August. Those kinds of shocks have produced the high levels of indebtedness that we in CARICOM face today. They have certainly challenged our ability to achieve internationally agreed development goals. It therefore becomes increasingly important for our renewed global partnership to meaningfully address those issues in order to buttress our attempts to implement the new Development Agenda, including the SDGs. The Bahamas is pleased that the new Agenda speaks to the sustainable development challenges that we all face. It represents a firm political commitment to leaving no one behind and ensuring a sustainable future for present and future generations. As we agree here on the SDGs and targets, we also agree to align them with national priorities and anchor them in our national plans for sustainable development. As we implement the new Agenda, we must continue to acknowledge that small island developing States (SIDS) remain a special case for sustainable development, in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities, including to the adverse effects of climate change. It is important that the new Development Agenda will lead up to a climate treaty to be signed in Paris later this year. It is the position of SIDS that to put the world on a pathway at or below an increase of 1.5° Celsius, the Paris agreement must establish a global legally binding framework with commitments that are strong enough to reverse the current upward emission trends by 2020 and to ensure that fossil-fuel carbon dioxide emissions from the energy and industrial sectors are reduced to zero by 2050. The survival of SIDS must be the benchmark for the 2015 agreement, and developed countries must honour their financial commitments under the Copenhagen Accord of the 2009 Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and provide adequate means of implementation, including through capitalization of the Green Climate Fund. The stage has already been set, and we have delivered a robust agenda. But our work has only just begun, and exactly how the next scenes will play out remains to be seen. What we can be certain of, however, is that our world of more than 7 billion people is watching and waiting in the hope that we will rise to the challenge of truly transforming it. Nowhere is that challenge more important than in educating, training and preparing our young people for the future. In the area of education, my Government has committed to serving the needs of every demographic of our population, able and disabled, young and old. We recognize education’s continued role in supporting efforts to achieve economic growth and eradicate poverty, as well as being a tool for socialization. As I conclude, I would like to say that I am particularly concerned about the young people of the world. We have an obligation to them to address the joblessness and sense of hopelessness that pervade our planet. I want to bequeath to them a sustainable world, free of violence, war and crime, and a fair chance to access the economic benefits of the world. I say again that if we fail to address that, we do so at our peril. I leave the Assembly, then, with the wish that we recommit to being the shepherds and protectors of Mother Earth. Co-Chair Museveni: I wish to thank the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas for his statement.

In a few days’ time, we in Germany will celebrate 25 years of German unity. In Europe we will celebrate the end of the Cold War. What was a divided Europe has grown together in peace and freedom. For decades, many dreamed of that, but few believed it could ever happen. Today, however, we know that nothing is obliged to remain the same, and that change — change for the better — is possible. We also know that every great plan has its seed in our minds. At this event today, we are united by our goal of eradicating poverty by 2030, another that not so long ago was too often dismissed as a pipedream. But now, 15 years after the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals, we can see that it can in fact be achieved. We have already come halfway. Poverty has been halved, giving us every reason to believe that we will achieve the next stage too. We want to change our world, and we can. We want to give it a more humane face, and we can. That is the goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). To that end, we are adopting new goals that cover the entire spectrum of global sustainable development and that apply to all, industrial and developing countries alike. If we are to achieve them, we need a new global partnership. In order to establish such a partnership, we first need effective structures at every level – national, regional and global. That is why Germany plans to further develop its national sustainability strategy in the light of the 2030 Agenda. As early as 2016, Germany will be one of the first States to report on its implementation of its national strategy at the high-level political forum on sustainable development. Germany also supports regional organizations and partnerships that can enable us to combine our efforts. Furthermore, we are committed to strong global structures that can help us deal with challenges that would overwhelm individual States. The Ebola epidemic in West Africa was one such challenge. It was also a painful warning that made it abundantly clear that effective cooperation among all stakeholders, with a reformed World Health Organization at the centre, is absolutely crucial. Together with Ghana and Norway, we have asked the Secretary-General to establish a high-level panel aimed at identifying the right lessons to be learned from the epidemic and ensuring that the world will be able to respond faster and more effectively in future. Seventy years since it was founded, the United Nations, with its unique legitimacy, is still essential when it comes to resolving the issues facing humankind. But it, too, must adapt to new challenges. Germany will play an active part in the necessary reform process. Secondly, a global partnership needs the necessary financial resources, while resilient structures will enable us to make more efficient use of those resources. The Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Ababa in July showed how we can mobilize those resources. Germany stands by its commitment to devoting 0.7 per cent of its annual gross domestic product to development assistance, and our budget for development assistance will increase substantially over the next few years. But while State support is important, it can be only one aspect of that assistance. Private investment is also crucial to our States’ development, and mobilizing it must be a policy focus for us. In Paris at the end of this year, at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, we want to adopt an ambitious climate agreement that will oblige all States to do more to protect the environment. The agreement would fix the framework for a path of sustainable development that can ensure that global warming remains below 2° Celsius. To achieve that, we need a shared vision of how to end carbon emissions at a global level by the end of this century. And to do that we also need the right kind of investment. It is important that the industrialized countries — and Germany, as one of them, will do its part — stick to the pledge they made in Copenhagen and, beginning in 2020, make $100 billion a year available to developing countries to help them protect the environment. That will help to create the belief that all countries in the world can develop in a climate-friendly way and that vulnerable countries in particular will get the help they need to adapt to climate change. Peace will always be the key prerequisite for successful development. Yet millions of people — more than at any time since the Second World War — are being forced to flee war, terror and violence. Their suffering is exacerbated by their lack of prospects for the future and by the destruction of their environment. Anyone who has witnessed the suffering of those who have left their homes to seek protection and a future elsewhere, and who is aware of the challenge facing the countries that are taking them in, knows that in the end there can be only one solution, which is that we must tackle the causes of their flight and expulsion. The 2030 Agenda provides the right framework for that. It balances the economic, environmental and social aspects of development. Each and every one of us should — indeed must — work to implement it so that people the world over can live lives of dignity. That must be our shared ambition. By agreeing on the Agenda, we are laying the groundwork for efforts to tackle the issues. Our priority now is to work for that end at every level, national, regional and global, and that is what Germany will do. Co-Chair Rasmussen: I thank the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany for her statement.

That towering figure of our times, Mahatma Gandhi, once said that we must also care about the future world that we ourselves will never see. And indeed, whenever the world has risen collectively to meet its obligations to the future, humankind has made progress in the right direction and gained in strength. Seventy years ago, when a catastrophic world war ended, the Organization represented the birth of a new hope. Today, we have gathered here once again to chart a new course for humankind. I would like to commend the Secretary-General for organizing today’s very important Summit. The vision behind the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) is lofty, and its Goals are equally comprehensive. It gives priority to problems that have persisted over the past decades and reflects our evolving understanding of social, economic and environmental issues. It is gratifying that we all share a vision of a world without poverty. Its elimination is our number-one Goal. Some 1.3 billion people in the world today are forced to live a life of wretched poverty. But the question we face is neither merely about how to meet the needs of the poor, nor is it simply a question of their dignity or of respect for them, or of our moral responsibility. If our shared vision is of a just, peaceful and sustainable world, that can never be possible as long as poverty still exists. Eliminating it is therefore the greatest obligation we have. A great Indian thinker, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, placed the welfare of the poorest at the centre of his thoughts, and that is also what we see in the 2030 Agenda. It is a happy coincidence that in India we are beginning the celebration of Deen Dayal’s hundredth anniversary today. We welcome the prominence the Agenda gives to environmental goals, especially those relating to climate change and sustainable consumption, and we particularly welcome the focus on the future of island States and the specific Goal on ocean ecosystems. I have always been a proponent of the blue revolution, which encompasses the protection and development of small island States, as well as of the lawful and appropriate use of marine resources and open skies. Those three aspects are all connected. It is a matter of great satisfaction for us in India that much of the country’s development agenda is mirrored in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Ever since we gained independence we have nurtured the dream of eradicating poverty as well. We have chosen the path of empowering the poor, with education and the development of skills as our priorities. We are working on providing the poor with that education and those skills. We have made it our mission to achieve financial inclusion within a specific time frame. We have opened 180 million new bank accounts, which I believe is the greatest conceivable way to empower the poor, since it enables benefits to be directly transferred to them. We are also making progress with an ambitious project for giving insurance benefits to the poor. Very few people in India have the benefit of pensions, and we are working on providing them to the poor. Today even the very poorest have a new hope of being able to fight and overcome poverty. Our citizens are now confident that they will be able to realize their dreams. All over the world, when we speak of economic development, we usually limit ourselves to discussing two sectors: the public and the private. What we have done is to focus on a new sector, which we define as the personal, represented by individual enterprise, so that we have the private, public and personal sectors. For us, that individual enterprise sector includes small enterprises, micro-finance, innovation and start-ups. Our priorities are housing, power, water, education, health care and sanitation for all. All are essential to a life of dignity. In order to achieve them, we have created concrete initiatives and a specific time frame. The empowerment of women is an integral part of all our development programmes. We have a programme with the slogan “Save the girl child, educate the girl child” that we have taken to every household in the country. We are trying to make our farms more productive and better connected to markets, and our farmers less vulnerable to the vagaries of nature. We are working to revive manufacturing and improve the service sector, and we are investing in infrastructure on an unprecedented scale. We are making our cities smart and sustainable and turning them into engines of progress. We are committed to a sustainable path to prosperity, and that commitment stems from our traditions and culture. At the same time, it also demonstrates our commitment to the future. I represent a culture that regards the Earth as our mother, for there is a saying in our ancient texts that the Earth is our mother and we are her children. Our national plans are ambitious and purposeful. Over the next seven years, we plan to build new capacity totalling 175 gigawatts of renewable energy. We are focusing on energy efficiency and carrying out afforestation on a large scale. We have imposed a carbon tax and are reforming our transportation and cleaning up our cities and rivers with a waste-to-wealth movement. I believe that ensuring the sustainable development of the one sixth of humankind that our population represents will have great consequences for the sustainable development of our beautiful planet. It is clear that such a world would be one of fewer challenges and more comprehensive hopes and aspirations, and I think that we can be confident that we would succeed. We will share our success and resources with others. In the Indian tradition, we see the world as a family, and as our texts say, the wise regard the entire planet as one family. Today, India is fulfilling its responsibilities as a development partner in Asia and Africa, and with small island States from the Pacific to the Atlantic. All nations have a national responsibility for sustainable development. At the same time, they also need space in which to make their own policies. We are here at the United Nations today because we all believe that international partnerships should be at the centre of our efforts, whether directed towards development or the challenges of climate change. The bedrock of our collective enterprise is the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. When we speak of climate change, there is a hint, unspoken or not, of safeguarding what we already have. But when we speak of climate justice, the responsibility of saving the poor from the vagaries of climate will help us to develop a positive attitude. It is important to focus on solutions to the challenges of climate change that can help us reach our goals. We should forge a global public partnership to harness technology, innovation and finance in order to make clean and renewable energy available to all. We must also work to effect changes in our lifestyles that can make us less energy-dependent and our consumption more sustainable. It is also vital that we launch a global education programme that can prepare future generations for the task of protecting and conserving nature. I hope that the developed countries will meet their financial commitments in the area of development and climate change without in any way lumping them together. I also hope that the Technology Facilitation Mechanism can help make technology and innovation into effective instruments for the global public good, not just for private profit. We have seen that distance does not insulate anyone from challenges, which can rise out of the shadows of conflict and deprivation in distant lands. The entire world is connected. We are all dependent on one another, so we must focus on the good of humankind in our international partnerships. We must also reform the United Nations, including the Security Council. That is essential if we are to ensure that our institutions have greater credibility and legitimacy. With a more broad-based representation, we can be more effective in achieving our goals. We must work towards shaping a world where every individual can look forward to a future of security, opportunity and dignity. We have the responsibility of leaving behind a better environment for the generations to come. I believe there can be no greater cause or challenge than that. At the United Nations, we are called to rise to that challenge, employing all of our wisdom, experience, generosity, compassion, skill and technology. I am confident that we can. In conclusion, let me express my good wishes and hopes for everyone’s well-being with these lines from our ancient texts: “May all be happy, may all be healthy, may all know well-being, and may there be no sorrow of any kind”. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister of India for his statement. As he represents 1.2 billion people and exceeded the time limit by 13 minutes, that equals one minute for every 100 million people.

I am honoured to address this historic Summit. Transforming our world is not only ambitious but essential. The actions of each nation are absolutely critical to how we will live together on this planet that we call home. On our small Atlantic island, the Irish people carry the generational memory of occupation, hunger, conflict and mass emigration. As a result of our history, we have a deep commitment to addressing suffering and hardship wherever they are found. Our past has taught us that no one country can stand alone in an interconnected world. Global challenges need global responses. The suffering of men, women and children — people just like the people of all of our countries — caught up in conflict and hardship through no fault of their own, requires a response that draws on our common humanity and our common compassion. As we meet today, we are facing humanitarian challenges on a scale not seen since the Second World War. In Europe we find ourselves responding to a refugee crisis that has its origins not just in conflict but in abject poverty and underdevelopment. Ireland will therefore work closely with our European Union partners to save life and to give the chance of new life to people trapped in conflict and trapped in poverty. But we have to have equal focus on tackling the causes that motivate people to flee their homes in the first place and to risk their lives for an uncertain future. That is why the agreement adopted at this Summit (resolution 70/1) is so vital to guarantee not just hope but sustainable lives and futures. From the beginning, Ireland has been very clear on what is needed: first, an agreement galvanizing action; secondly, action to end extreme poverty, hunger and undernutrition and make better, faster progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women and young girls; and, thirdly, action to promote the critical role of good governance and the rule of law. This what we commit to in our country: our development aid programme will continue to be central to our foreign policy; we will continue to work to achieve the United Nations 0.7 per cent target for development assistance; we will continue to focus our aid on the poorest countries, especially in Africa, as we have been doing for many years; and we will work relentlessly with our partners for the elimination of extreme hunger and malnutrition by 2030. Let me therefore salute the vision and tireless efforts of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in leading us to this point. Our country, Ireland, was honoured to play its part in co-facilitating intergovernmental negotiations with Kenya. I would like here to thank Ambassador Donoghue and Macharia Kamau for the extraordinary work that they did in getting 193 countries to agree to this Summit proposal. Today’s agreement, however, is the work of all the States Members of the United Nations. In the Irish language, we have a saying: “We live in the shelter of each other” — a shelter that our human family in the Middle East is now looking for urgently. Our shared future and our shared humanity are evident not only in what we do but in the mutual recognition that we are “kind” together. At this Summit, here in New York, we have shared our vision for life and its living with our own “kind” in our own “home”. This morning, the world listened to Pope Francis. What did he say? He said that human beings take precedence over everything else. So now, united nations of the world, let us act in the interests of those people. Co-Chair Museveni: I thank the Prime Minister of Ireland for his statement. He finished right on time; I congratulate him.

I am pleased to represent the Government and the people of Jamaica at this Summit to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). The year 2015 has been pivotal and decisive for the international community. We celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations, recalling its origins as an institution that rose from the ashes of war to embody the hopes and aspirations of peoples around the world for peace and development. From the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Sendai in March, to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa in July, to this Summit, the States Members of the United Nations have been working together to develop solutions to some of the most vexing and complex challenges confronting our nations. We remain hopeful that this high level of commitment to tackling multidimensional challenges through global action will continue through the end of the year, to our next meeting in Paris at the Climate Change Conference. The 2030 Agenda was designed to be transformative and to ensure that people are placed at the centre of the development process and that our stewardship of the planet is characterized by our respect for its resources. Indeed, the Agenda has the potential, if properly funded and implemented, to change the lives of our peoples, to protect the planet and to engender prosperity in ways we are yet to realize. Jamaica stands fully behind the 2030 Agenda. We believe that it is a worthy successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For while the MDGs provided a useful tool for focusing development efforts, this Agenda will help ensure that these efforts are sustainable. It is no coincidence that it is an Agenda for people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships. These are the ingredients that will make for a world free of extreme poverty, where prosperity can be achieved and sustained. At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, we made a clear commitment to shift the paradigm towards sustainable development and away from the fragmented approach that until then had dominated the treatment of development issues. The 2030 Agenda makes good on that commitment. However, while we laud the breadth of the new agenda, we must also acknowledge that this is the very quality that will make it difficult for it to be effectively implemented. Significant external support will be required in many cases. In this regard, we are pleased with the commitment to a more robust and revitalized global partnership for sustainable development. We must work, therefore, to ensure that the global partnership does not fall behind. This is one lesson we have learnt from the MDGs: that deviation from our commitment to partnership can lead to underachievement. We are conscious of the fact that implementation of the Agenda requires financing from a range of sources, inclusive of domestic, international, public and private sources, as well as capacity-building support and the transfer of appropriate technology. We are therefore pleased that the Technology Facilitation Mechanism is being launched at this Summit. Access to scientific research, technology and innovation is central to our efforts to ensure successful implementation. As a small island developing State (SIDS) and a middle-income country, Jamaica is familiar with the range of challenges that attend both categories. We know that SIDS in particular will face numerous challenges in their implementation efforts. We welcome the support for SIDS that has been built into the Agenda, particularly in relation to the means of implementation. We look forward to working with other members of the international community to ensure that SIDS are able to make effective use of this support. We are particularly attentive to the need for capacity-building in the areas of data collection and statistical analysis, given that in the absence of these capabilities it would be difficult, if not impossible, to measure our progress. We would not wish to be left behind in the wake of the advances facilitated by the ongoing data revolution. After all, the basic premise of the Agenda is to leave no one behind. This is but the beginning of our journey towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We must forge ahead in the knowledge that the Agenda is emblematic of the range of challenges that are currently before us. We must therefore remain committed to this Agenda and work together to tackle the challenges and embrace the opportunities. Jamaica is firmly of the view that it is only through joint action at the international level and adherence to the principles of multilateralism that we will be able to achieve our development aspirations. Let us not be daunted by the estimated multi-trillion-dollar price tag. We must each do our part, in keeping with our respective capabilities, to ensure that succeeding generations are truly the beneficiaries of the future that we want. We owe no less to the current and future inhabitants of our planet. I have no doubt that we are equal to the task ahead. Co-Chair Museveni: The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Jamaica exceeded the time limit by two minutes. That is not so disastrous. I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.

Let me at the outset convey to you, Co-Chair Rasmussen and Co-Chair Museveni, the warm congratulations of His Excellency Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, on your well-deserved appointment to chair this special United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. The President would have very much liked to participate in this special Summit, but national obligations prevented him from attending. I would also like to pay tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose determination to work for a better world for all has resulted in the elaboration of the new Development Agenda that we are discussing here. I pay tribute also to the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, the eminent personalities and the various groups of experts whose commendable efforts provided us with the outstanding resolution on the Agenda for Sustainable Development that we have just adopted (resolution 70/1). The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015 shows that tremendous progress has been made, which is very welcome. However, as many challenges remain that have yet to be taken up, this new, more ambitious and more transformative Development Agenda takes on even greater importance and relevance. In Côte d’Ivoire, during the 2012-2015 period, significant progress was made in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in several areas. In the health sector, infant mortality fell sharply since 2002, from 181 to 125 per 1,000 in 2015. The maternal mortality rate dropped from 597 per 100,000 live births in 1998 to 544 in 2015. In the fight against HIV/AIDS, indicators of progress are satisfactory overall, with the prevalence rate decreasing to 1.8 per cent in 2013/2014. This year the Government adopted a mandatory education policy. Beginning this school year, education is now compulsory and free of charge for all children aged 6 to 16. With these achievements, the challenge for our country now is to continue the efforts already undertaken in order to develop the social sectors and to increase infrastructure investment so as to promote rapid growth. Côte d’Ivoire fully supports the new Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is based on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 11 major themes underpinning the SDGs figure prominently in the priorities of Côte d’Ivoire. Indeed, the national development plan covering the period 2016-2020 already incorporates the SDGs, as will future plans. In addition, Côte d’Ivoire has created an institutional and legal framework for the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development. The upcoming meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Paris, will enable us to agree on clear, firm and binding commitments. One of the major challenges currently facing the Ivorian Government is to work together with elected officials, civil society and the private sector for national ownership of the SDGs. My delegation would therefore invite the United Nations system and all of our development partners to support Côte d’Ivoire in this endeavour. Co-Chair Museveni: I congratulate the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire for finishing exactly on time, which is excellent. I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, I have the honour to address the Assembly on this occasion for the adoption of the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). I wish to applaud the efforts of all those who worked tirelessly to ensure that while this Agenda is truly global in scope, it preserves legitimacy and relevance at the regional and local levels. It is aspirational yet achievable and, though grounded in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), is more comprehensive and integrated and therefore more coherent in its application. A few weeks ago, Trinidad and Tobago celebrated the fifty-third anniversary of its independence as a sovereign State and, exactly one week ago today, its fifty-third year as a proud Member of the United Nations. On the occasion of our independence, the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Eric Williams, in his national address spoke of the aspirations of a small fledgling nation on the global stage in the following terms: “You hope soon to be a member of the world family of nations, playing your part, however insignificant, in world affairs. You are on your own in a big world in which you are one of many nations, some small, some medium-sized, some large. You are nobody’s boss, and nobody is your boss. What use will you make of your independence?” Fifty-three years on, as I stand here today to herald the endorsement by Trinidad and Tobago of a new global Sustainable Development Agenda, I reflect with satisfaction, and indeed with a great sense of national pride, upon our several contributions to global affairs. I am much gratified that our Founding Father would conclude that our independence has not been squandered. This ground-breaking Agenda, anchored in the principle that “no one shall be left behind”, is one that should represent a triumph for all States, including the small and the marginalized. Indeed, it marks a new phase in the focus of multilateralism and represents the evolution of the United Nations as a dynamic body capable of responding to emerging needs and challenges and reflecting the diversity of its membership. It is therefore fitting that, as the international community commemorates 70 years of the existence of the United Nations, we should also launch a new collective vision for the peoples of the world for the next 15 years. Trinidad and Tobago endorses this new global Development Agenda. This Agenda consolidates the progress made by the family of nations in the context of the MDGs and compels us all to do more to lift humanity out of extreme poverty and marginalization on a sustainable basis through enhanced international cooperation in the economic, social, environmental and cultural spheres, while promoting universal respect for human rights. Trinidad and Tobago’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be guided by its own national sustainable development strategy, which seeks to implement the Sustainable Development Goals through 12 strategic priority areas over the period 2015 to 2025. Our intention is to place strong emphasis on the social and economic empowerment of our people through incentivizing sustainable growth and diversification, achieving macroeconomic stability, job growth, respecting the International Labour Organization principle of decent work and the protection of the environment. It is our intention to achieve these aims through a progressive programme of institutional reform; the establishment of a permanent mechanism for improved dialogue among the social partners, namely, Government, labour and the private sector and other elements of civil society; and focused interventions for improvement in data collection and analysis. We recognize that the fulfilment of the Goals and targets of this Agenda will require the availability of accurate, timely, high-quality and disaggregated data. We are therefore pleased to note that the strengthening of data and statistical systems is one of the areas for which small island developing States will be prioritized for assistance through partnerships and international cooperation. Despite its middle-income status, Trinidad and Tobago, as a small island developing State, is still grappling with many developmental challenges that are exacerbated by its size, lack of economies of scale, openness and a disproportionate dependence on a limited number of resources. These challenges result in a high degree of vulnerability to exogenous economic and environmental shocks. Although we have achieved success in implementing the majority of the Millennium Development Goals, concerns still persist in a number of areas. Consequently, we stress the importance of the revitalization of the global partnership for development, the parameters of which are established in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. We submit that a necessary element of this revitalized partnership must be the continued recognition of the special case of small island developing States and the unique development challenges they face, and of the need to design financial tools and facilities to effectively respond to these issues. We wish to highlight that a key area of outstanding work, which should be completed as soon as possible, is the design of new and broader indices of development that complement gross domestic product per capita. Trinidad and Tobago believes that the cornerstone of the integrated Sustainable Development Agenda should be the development of tools to measure and monitor implementation that is fit for purpose. As a responsible Member State committed unreservedly to this agenda, with tremendous faith in the ability of the multilateral system to facilitate the implementation of universal agreements, Trinidad and Tobago will continue to work with all partners towards the achievement of this critically important objective. Trinidad and Tobago joins with other members of the international community in endorsing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Let us work together for the full and effective implementation of this landmark Agenda for the benefit of all our peoples. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on Mr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

It is a great honour for me to represent my country at this historic Summit. At the outset, allow me to commend the Co-Chairs of the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda for convening this gathering and to express my sincere appreciation to both for their skilful leadership and tireless efforts. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) offers a compelling vision, promising peace and prosperity to the peoples of the world through global partnerships to ensure that we live and manage the resources of our planet in a sustainable manner. His Excellency President Ghani asked me to convey to Member States that the Agenda — a synthesis of past efforts, as articulated in key United Nations conferences — is an inspired leap of aspiration into the future. We therefore pay tribute to the work of several generations of thinkers and practitioners who devoted their lives to understanding and changing the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — which, sadly, have yet to be fulfilled by some countries — focused our attention on results- oriented development, forcing Governments and their development partners to think through the linkages among policy, delivery, measuring, monitoring, accountability and having a voice in public resource mobilization and management. Yet, as President Ghani reminds us, the unfinished MDG agenda in the poorest countries and the unintended consequences of focusing on some Goals require us to pay careful attention to learning and acting on the lessons learned. One of those lessons is that, while the United Nations system does an excellent job in setting global agendas, its development machinery requires a major transformation if it is to be a catalyst for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The five pillars of the 2030 Agenda, however, require that systematic attention be paid to regional cooperation and coordination. To cite just one example, if regional barriers to trade and transit between Central and South Asia were to open up, tens of millions of people would be lifted out of poverty into a life of dignity. Even more significant, if true and meaningful cooperation in the arena of peace and security took place, the spectre cast by radicalism and terrorism over our lives would be lifted. Afghanistan began to pursue its MDGs almost half a decade later than other Member States. According to our 2005-2015 MDG report, we have had a mix of achievements and setbacks. While the poverty rate has remained constant for several years, we have made considerable progress in primary education, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and child and maternal mortality rates have been reduced. A big part of Afghanistan’s transformation decade 2015-2025 coincides with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Afghanistan will remain committed to developing strategies and policies to integrate our national development agenda with the 2030 Agenda. My Government’s efforts to provide villages across the country with a minimum level of basic services in health, education, clean water and improved agriculture through a citizens’ charter top the national development agenda. Afghanistan has been making strides to become an economic hub in the region and to establish corridors that connect people, goods and resources and create opportunities for investment, development and economic growth. I am grateful to see that the Agenda attaches importance to the implementation of special and differentiated treatment for the least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements. The adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda was a milestone. We also support interconnectedness with other relevant programmes, including the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries and the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries. We agree with the notion that responsibility for the follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development lies primarily with States. In conclusion, allow me to express Afghanistan’s firm belief that in order to achieve the ambitious Goals of the new Agenda, a strong political commitment and revitalized global partnership and cooperation are essential. I would like to reaffirm our strong commitment and dedication to implementing the Agenda and our unwavering effort in fulfilling all its Goals and targets by 2030. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on Mr. Mark Wilson, Group Chief Executive Officer of Aviva.

It certainly is an honour and a privilege for me to be here and set out the role of business in achieving the global goals. I have spent much of my career in emerging and developing economies, and have sometimes seen the unacceptable face of capitalism. But I have also seen that business and capitalism have been among the great forces of liberation in history. I am crystal-clear as to why I am in business. I am in business to positively impact the lives of customers and society. Making a profit is a by-product, albeit a very important one, that allows my business to also remain sustainable. In my company, Aviva, one of our core values is to create legacy, or, as I call it, to be a good ancestor. Aviva has been in business since 1696 because our ancestors made good long-term decisions. We do the same thing today for our 34 million customers and for the over $500 billion in assets we manage for them. The Sustainable Development Goals are a unique opportunity to create a global legacy. I was born in New Zealand, and I now live in the United Kingdom, which is also a sporting nation. To deliver the Goals and win, just as in sport, we have to play as one team. This quest is far too big for Governments, non-governmental organizations, business, finance or regulators on their own. We have got to mobilize a global coalition the likes of which the world has never seen. Nothing less than Team Humanity. Aviva is a founding partner of Project Everyone and has done a stellar job in planning to get the message about the Goals to everyone on the planet. Our duty now is to transform that message into action. The United Nations Global Compact, an excellent organization, has helped companies implement the Millennium Development Goals, and the work is even more important for the Sustainable Development Goals. The question is: How do we align business and the Goals together? The Goals certainly contain some fine aspirations for the $150 billion or so of overseas development assistance, but we have to do much more to mobilize the $300 trillion of capital in the financial markets. To return to my sporting metaphor, we are currently trying to illuminate a stadium with a candle when there is a huge set of floodlights towering above the grandstand. All we need to do is to turn on that $300-trillion switch, and I believe the glow will enlighten the world. Today I have one very simple request. I would respectfully suggest that the General Assembly target 2017 for the adoption of a resolution on sustainable finance. That resolution would set out the United Nations own road map for sustainable capital markets, which to date simply does not exist. I suggest we convene the best minds in the United Nations, around the world and in finance to work out exactly how to do this. The United Nations talks rightly of a duty to look after future generations. Our legacy will be determined by our success aligning the actions of the United Nations, its Member States, civil society, business and, indeed, finance globally. If we can do that, we will play as one team and I can assure everyone present that we will then win with the global Goals. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on Mr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group.

I thank you, Sir, and the Secretary-General for the opportunity to address this historic Summit. Together, we have reached an important milestone in adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). Its Goals and targets represent our commitment to a more ambitious agenda for international development in the next 15 years. The Goals reflect our dream for a world in which everyone everywhere can reach their full potential. And they seek to preserve our planet — what Pope Francis has called “our common home” — for all future generations. At the World Bank Group, we pledge to use our comprehensive experience and knowledge of financing development to support the Goals. We will adapt the financial tools of the rich to serve the poor. As we discussed two months ago in Addis Ababa, the multilateral development banks together plan to provide financial support of more than $400 billion for the first three years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addition, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have launched a joint initiative to strengthen tax systems in developing countries. Our aim is to assist lower-income countries to increase their tax collection by at least 2 to 4 per cent of gross domestic product. Those actions are the first essential steps towards raising the resources needed for the Sustainable Development Goals — moving from billions of dollars to the trillions needed in development assistance. We will also bring our best global development knowledge to tackle the world’s toughest challenges. We have over 50 years of development experience in helping countries grow their economies and invest in their people and insuring them against falling back into poverty. More than ever, we know what has worked and what has not when it comes to development. Working with the priorities set by developing countries, we will tackle challenges and create strategies to resolve them. Based on our experience with the Millennium Development Goals, we also know that the Sustainable Development Goals will and must change the way we work. They will ensure that we are doing all we can, as effectively and as fast as we can, to help the poor and the vulnerable. I personally have experienced the power of setting goals and putting the poor first throughout my career. In the suburbs of Lima, where we will be holding our annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in just a few weeks, my organization, Partners in Health, worked to provide poor people a standard of health care available previously only in the richest countries. When I was Director of the World Health Organization HIV/AIDS Department in Geneva, we set a target of treating 3 million people infected with HIV/AIDS in less than three years. At the World Bank Group, we have committed to ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity. In each instance, clear goals focused our wills, our minds and our actions. They made us look carefully at whether what we were actually doing helped those in need. They also made us work differently; they ensured that our strategy had a clear focus with expected outcomes. For too long, our low aspirations for the poor have often turned out to be their worst enemy. We have not been bold enough in helping them lift themselves out of poverty. The poverty of our own imagination and aspirations has prevented us from building a more just and more prosperous world, but the Sustainable Development Goals give us an Agenda that is much more ambitious than any before it. I believe that we are up to the task. The multilateral development banks and the IMF will work closely together to substantially increase the amount of financing available to meet our high aspirations. We are building upon a record of great accomplishment. Just over the past 15 years, close to 1 billion people have lifted themselves out of extreme poverty. Such progress shows that even seemingly impossible development goals are entirely possible. We are now the very first generation in human history that can see the end of extreme poverty. We must not turn away from that challenge. We must seize the moment and use all our knowledge and grit to reach those new goals. We will succeed. Together we will make the world a more just and prosperous place for generations to come. Co-Chair Museveni: I now call on Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

As we say, “In unity lies strength”. Two months ago in Addis Ababa, the international community put that to the test. We pledged to secure financing to make sustainable development not a goal, but a reality for all. Today we face yet another moment of truth as we come together to adopt the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our joint success will depend on decisive action and implementation at both the country and collective levels. With regard to countries, countries can and must act at three levels: economically, socially and environmentally. The first priority is macroeconomic stability, which is not sufficient on its own. While priorities will vary across countries, structural reforms and economic diversification will be needed. Equally, as mentioned by Mr. Kim, revenue mobilization and efficient, effective public spending, including investment, will be key. A second priority is inclusion. I affirm that more inclusive growth is also stronger growth, so we must empower people to fulfil their potential. Improving girls’ education and removing barriers to women’s employment and access to finance would not only boost growth but would also tackle income inequality and poverty because — let us not forget — poverty and exclusion are sexist. The third priority is the environment. Countries have a crucial stake in managing their natural resources efficiently and effectively. At the same time, limiting the harmful impact of economic activity on the environment can and will require targeted interventions. In short, each country must do all it can to drive its own development, but durable progress cannot be achieved in isolation — it requires the engagement of the international community. We therefore need collective action. Why? Because in today’s interconnected world, for good and for ill, cause and effect, spillovers and spillbacks travel across borders instantly and unceasingly, irrespective of the walls that are being built. And they do so at all levels: macroeconomic, where an economic shock in one country will affect all others; inclusion, where social transformations drive the winds of change; and the environment, where, with global warming, everyone reaps what others have done. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) — with its 188 members and 70-year track record of promoting global economic cooperation and stability — well understands the need for, and power of, collective action. Indeed, we are not only promising; we are also delivering. In our research, policy advice and capacity- building, we have included social and environmental dimensions that were not there, and we will continue to do so. We are also expanding our support for developing countries in several ways. First, the poorest countries can now borrow 50 per cent more from our interest-free facilities. Secondly, we are strengthening our technical support to help countries boost domestic revenue mobilization to finance development spending. We are doing that together with the World Bank. Thirdly, we are intensifying our support for fragile and conflict- affected States. Importantly, in the long-term we are maintaining the zero interest rate on our Rapid Credit Facility loans. The IMF is working with its member countries and international partners in the spirit of global cooperation to achieve the SDGs. We have done so, we are doing so and we will continue to do so. In 2000, they clapped with two hands. Earlier today, we clapped with two hands. The second Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, once said: “We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny, but what we put into it is ours”. Likewise, the year 2030 — the SDGs target date — will one day be upon us, and what it will look like lies in our hands. Let us hope that they will clap, too.