A/70/PV.6 General Assembly

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Vice-President of the Republic of Botswana.

It is a distinct honour and privilege for me to address the General Assembly on behalf of the President of the Republic of Botswana, His Excellency Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama. At the outset, allow me to extend Botswana’s warmest felicitations to the co-Chairs on their well- deserved appointment and for the very able manner in which they continue to guide our deliberations. In the same breath, allow me, on behalf of my delegation, *1529223* 15-29223 (E) to join in expressing our deep appreciation to the Permanent Representatives of the Republic of Kenya and Ireland for the diplomatic dexterity with which they skilfully navigated the intergovernmental negotiation process of the post-2015 development agenda. Today we are witnessing history repeating itself. We have come full circle. In the year 2000, we gathered here for the Millennium Summit, which culminated in the adoption of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), whose implementation deadline is this year. Fifteen years later, we have once again converged in New York to adopt a new pro-poor, gender-sensitive, transformative and inclusive global post-2015 development agenda (resolution 70/1), which is to guide sustainable development efforts over the next 15 years, under the theme “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. This is yet another significant milestone in our pursuit of sustainable development and a just, equitable, prosperous and peaceful global order. We note with profound appreciation and satisfaction that the post-2015 development agenda is to be underpinned by a set of 17 comprehensive, time-bound Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which seek to promote sustained and inclusive economic growth and job creation, eradicate poverty, empower people, promote shared prosperity and protect human dignity and planet Earth. We furthermore note that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the 169 targets of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda are inherently imbued with the potential to significantly and irrevocably alter the course of human development, charting a new era of sustained prosperity for all. Botswana is therefore proud to be part of this epoch-making event. The significance of this historic moment is unparalleled in its aspirations for a better world, but will remain a meaningless enterprise without the very vital political will at both national and international levels. It is therefore imperative that the international community make every effort to garner the necessary political will and resources to ensure the successful implementation of this new universal sustainable development framework, which promises a life of dignity for all. Rightfully so, the aspirations and expectations of the people we represent for a better quality of life are very high. It is therefore our moral duty and responsibility to leave no stone unturned in our endeavours to live up to their legitimate expectations. At this juncture, permit me to seize the opportunity to reaffirm Botswana’s commitment to the post-2015 development agenda and to its effective implementation. In broad terms, the agenda resonates with Botswana’s national development agenda as enshrined in the National Development Plan 11, National Vision 2030 and the Excellence Strategy for Economic Diversification, as well as with many values that my country espouses. We believe that inclusive governance, democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law should form the fundament and bedrock of our sustainable development efforts. We continue to be inspired by our steadfast commitment to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family it proclaims. We are therefore firm in our conviction of the need to end abject poverty and hunger, to remove systemic barriers to development, including inequalities and discrimination, the lack of decent jobs, inadequate access to social services and economic opportunities. We fully recognize the need to ensure the sustainability of consumption and production patterns as part of the broader strategies for climate change mitigation in order to heal our planet and secure the home for both present and future generations. This, we believe, is not an option, but a compelling moral obligation that every responsible member of the international community must uphold. We need to constantly remind ourselves that we are not here to bury the MDGs, but instead to effectively leverage the springboard they provide. While the MDGs have not been fully realized and the progress achieved has been largely uneven within and across nations, they have succeeded in significantly reducing extreme poverty worldwide, closing inequality gaps and increasing access to economic opportunities and social services. They have truly made a profound difference in people’s lives. In my own country, the progress has been very encouraging. We have reached universal access to education and almost closed the disparity between girls and boys in schools. Health services are practically free and have been brought within an 8-kilometre radius of each community across the country. HIV antiretroviral drugs are provided at no cost for all in Botswana who need them, and transmission of the virus from mother to child is almost at zero. Focused interventions for youth employment and income-generating opportunities have resulted in the improved quality of life of our citizens. One notable area of success worthy of special mention has been the national flagship programme aimed at the eradication of abject poverty. Through the deliberate actions of that strategy, evidence is beginning to show that steady progress is being made. Interestingly, evidence also shows that women are the greater beneficiaries of the programme and achieve significantly higher and better results that actually transform their livelihoods and that of their families. That has been a patent reminder of the role that women can play in national development when given the opportunity. In that connection, the Botswana Government continues to be firmly committed to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, as well as to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against them. Despite the notable achievements of the MDGs, serious challenges exist impeding efforts to close the gaps and disparities that still remain. It will take the concerted efforts of national Governments and close cooperation and collaboration on the part of the international community, civil society, the private sector and all the relevant stakeholders to complete the job left undone during the lifespan of the MDGs and to realize the targets of the SDGs by 2030. The means for implementing the SDGs are a crucial element for success. In that regard, Botswana heartily welcomes the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, adopted in July of this year during the third International Conference on Financing for Development. The robust financing mechanisms for the SDGs must mobilize international action around very specific initiatives that have the potential to generate positive results. Beyond financial support, technological cooperation that promotes the development, transfer and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound technologies will also be critical. Follow-up and review will be necessary and should be universal in scope, while taking into account national circumstances, as well as the needs and priorities of individual countries. Botswana therefore calls on development partners to assume their role in supporting efforts by developing countries to implement the SDGs. In conclusion, my delegation wishes only to reiterate its absolute commitment to “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. We further pledge to remain actively engaged in galvanizing international efforts towards the future we want, as envisaged in the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development of 2012. It is our belief that such efforts can and should deliver a future that leaves no one behind. We look forward to a day when every member of the human race, in every part of the world, will be able to realize his or her fullest potential and prosper on a planet that is peaceful, safe and secure.

I thank the Vice-President of the Republic of Botswana for his statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Vice-President of the Republic of Guatemala.

I come from a latitude with sun and mountains. Guatemala is our home. It is a shimmering mosaic of 24 languages. I am the spokesperson for the President of the Republic, who represents the unity of the nation of nations, which, since mid-April and over the course of 20 consecutive weeks, has served as an example for the world. In a massive and peaceful manner the people of Guatemala took to the streets to express their outrage at the inability of an economic, social and political system that has not made it possible to overcome poverty and segregation of all kinds. The discovery of networks of corruption that went beyond the limits of the public administration and caused unease in the political culture did not result in acts of violence. On the contrary, it was transformed into a profound feeling of solidarity and unity that forced the resignation and prosecution of the leading authorities of our country. Citizen discontent has not gone away, but it has also not degenerated into scepticism. Citizen participation in the elections of 6 September surpassed historical records and marked the highest turnout in a general election since the return to democracy 30 years ago. In our new democratic spring, not only did abstentionism decline, but corruption declined as well. The citizens turned a deaf ear to the siren songs that called for an interruption in the elections, which will culminate in a vote on 25 October when the new President and Vice-President of the Republic will be elected. In Guatemala, we took a first step towards the eradication of poverty with a change of focus. To this Summit, convened to adopt a new Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), we bring the experience of the awakening of our citizenry, which clamours for change, beginning with that of overcoming the poverty of our citizens. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, we must begin by recognizing that the poor are not the only ones who suffer from the inadequate distribution of income and wealth, as His Holiness Pope Francis so poignantly recalled this morning (see A/70/PV.3). First, conditions preventing people’s full participation in economic, political and social life must be overcome. The poor are those who do not have the material or non-material resources to meet the demands and social mores that characterize all citizens. The poor are the object of statements, analysis and compassion, but they are not able to be the subjects of their own lives and destinies. Poverty cannot be eradicated if it is still considered an obstacle to the building of citizenship. The problem in Latin America  — the region of the world with the greatest inequality in terms of wealth and income — is poverty caused by an absence of justice. The strength, independence and effectiveness of the justice system is the foundation for economic and political freedoms. In our country, the greatest discrimination suffered by the majority of the population living in poverty and those neglected in various ways, that is, the invisible Guatemala, is that they cannot find justice when they appeal to it. Mario Vargas Llosa noted that the greatness of Great Britain in the nineteenth century lay not in its industrialists, adventurers or military officers, but in those dark judges, with their heads covered by ridiculous wigs, who, through their actions, were teaching the entire population that the law was the same for rich and poor, and that a modest court could punish the powerful neither more nor less than the powerless and could also redress large and small injustices. Equality before the law is what has characterized the democratic spring we are now experiencing. The Office of the Public Prosecutor, with the support of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, established in 2006 by an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of our country, has identified, investigated and worked to dismantle criminal networks that have affected the fundamental rights of the population. The current President of Guatemala, as a constitutional judge, is one of the signatories of the decision that approved the International Commission against Impunity. Justice for women in particular is necessary in order to meet the Millennium Development Goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women. Very few women participate in decision-making in Government agencies. That inferiority is absurd when we consider that justice is represented by a feminine image. We call for addressing the struggle of women for their rights and interests so as to create a new era in which men and women share the responsibility for leadership and peace. We express our solidarity with the migrants suffering a humanitarian tragedy in various parts of the world, including along the borders of Europe, and with the Central American migration, particularly the migration of unaccompanied migrant children. The Guatemalan identity has been determined by the volume of migration and the status of exiles. Both exile and migration have their roots in despair, but do not lead to the same hopes. Migrants do not renounce the possibility of return. Exiles, however, hastily abandon their homeland to save their lives and cannot return until the circumstances that led to their agonizing departure change. The invisible Guatemala, made up of indigenous people and peasants who have been marginalized by the system, has not been satisfied with the resigned approach taken by their leaders; it has flooded the streets to warn that the amendment of a few laws is not enough. They demand reforms of the State for a profound transformation of the economic, social and political system that would allow them to overcome poverty, exclusion and racism, thereby developing a true concept of national and international solidarity, an essential element of peace and security. The President of the Republic of Guatemala has echoed the complaint of the citizens and, to that end, he will, in the Council of Ministers, put forward to the Congress of the Republic legislative initiatives that reflect the demands for reform and the healing of the political system as a first step in reorganizing the State. This Summit brings us together to finalize an ambitious programme to eradicate poverty, promote prosperity and the well-being of people and protect the environment. There is a relevant reference to such aspirations in the Popul Vuh, the Magna Carta of the Guatemalan soul, with its pure form of the Guatemalan morning call: “Let all rise up. Call everyone. Let no one stay behind. Not one or two among us, but all of us as one.”

I thank the Vice-President of the Republic of Guatemala for his statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania.

Despite all the progress and growth achieved, the world is still home to unbearable poverty, to people who continue to lack basic needs and vital services, which is unacceptable, and to various insecurities and multiple challenges. This new, bold, ambitious and transformative global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) demonstrates our commitment to lift people from exclusion to inclusion, from poverty to the path of prosperity and from insecurity to predictability and solutions, and to move from a simple collaboration to global partnership. It is the pact of a generation turning towards its future in a world that moves forward at a faster pace. It is a new global deal with a solemn promise that no one should be left behind. In the common goal of coherent, inclusive and collaborative action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals within the next 15 years, we are committing to a life of dignity for all. The new Agenda is universally applicable, and it concerns all of us, all countries, with all our differences and distinct national realities. It certainly concerns my country, Albania. Let me briefly explain what sustainability means to us for the present and the coming years. It means reinforcing the rule of law, strengthening our society’s democratic values and deepening our broad-based social harmony. Those are the foundations of our development path and the guarantees of our social cohesion. Social cohesion, religion, coexistence and cooperation are some of the main assets of Albanians, wherever they live, not only in Albania. In his visit to Albania  — his very first visit in Europe  — Pope Francis stated that Albanians’ interreligious harmony was an inspiring example for the world, showing that Christian/Muslim coexistence is not only possible but beneficial for our country’s development and that Albania is a unique country where peaceful coexistence and collaboration exist among Muslims, Catholics, Orthodox Christians and people of no faith at all. Albania has been, still is and will remain an example of coexistence, as it is based on a real, untouchable part of history. We have gone through a long and painful transition, which has brought about profound change, but has also unveiled disparities. We need to further refine an inclusive domestic economic agenda, based on continued growth, while being respectful of the environment. We need increased employment in general and the integration of youth in the labour markets in particular, as well as the inclusion of persons with disabilities. In addition, all that which contributes to development and the empowerment of women and girls are key elements. The provision of high-quality education and free, high-quality health care for all, which are already two main priority areas of our development agenda, will keep us very busy in the years ahead. They will be crucial components on our road to sustainability. At present, we are embarking on a transformative judicial reform, a vital process that will bring the State and the citizens closer, give justice its true meaning and deeply and positively impact the way the country will move ahead in the coming years. Like other countries, we have embarked on the irreversible process of European integration, which, to put it simply, includes and affects everything we do. Energy security, water management, waste and sanitation, rural development, territorial management and urbanization, just to mention a few key areas of sustainability, are all part of it. Albania is evolving within a region, the Balkans, that is still struggling to find its proper place in a united Europe. Yet while qualifying for European Union membership, we are doing everything we can through concrete initiatives to bring all the countries of the Western Balkans closer and to increase cooperation in every field. It is common knowledge that the more we cooperate with each other, the more we share, the more connected we become, the more we know and accept each other, the better our chances will be of living and working together in peace and harmony. Cooperation is of course key to sustainability. Presenting a vision of the 15 years ahead in a few minutes is an almost impossible mission, but I think that what really counts is not what and how much we say here, but what and how much we do in our respective countries and regions. Let me therefore conclude by highlighting that the post-2015 development agenda, embodied in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, represents a remarkable success on the part of multilateral diplomacy based on a bold sense of collective responsibility. The same spirit should lead us to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris this December. A long- overdue agreement there will give our commitments here true meaning, the missing component without which the Agenda will not be complete, and will provide a much-needed tool for the protection of our planet, our life and our future.

I thank the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania for his statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway.

We are meeting today at a time of great hope, but also grave crisis. We have hope when we see the success of the Millennium Development Goals: 1 billion people have come out of extreme poverty; maternal mortality rates have been halved; millions of people have been saved by vaccine partnerships. We have hope when we look at the historic 2030 Agenda (resolution 70/1) we have agreed on today, which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, to conserve oceans and ecosystems, to leave nobody behind. We have hope for the most vulnerable people, for the United Nations and for our common future on this planet. Yet at the same time, a global humanitarian crisis is unfolding. Sixty million people are now refugees or displaced. They are fleeing conflict, poverty and poor governance. The war in Syria has forced 12 million people from their homes. Others are fleeing economic hardship and fragile States. We need to spread good governance and the rule of law to the most vulnerable people and societies. Business as usual will not lead to real sustainable development. Let us follow up the Secretary-General’s call for human dignity, first, by scaling up humanitarian assistance to save lives and meet urgent needs, including in protracted crises. This is an investment in resilience and in human development. The United Nations appeals for the Syrian crisis are severely underfunded. We have to do more. This is why we have offered to host an international donor conference for Syria and we have doubled our humanitarian aid to the Syrian crisis. We call on all nations to be generous, so that we prevent a lost generation. Secondly, we must invest in education and health. Almost 60 million children are still not in primary school. Another 60 million do not attend secondary school. Gender equality and women’s rights must be a top priority for all. When girls attend secondary school, this brings about huge health benefits, not just for the girls themselves, but for their children, families and local communities. This is why Norway will double its assistance to education. Globally, millions of children need good nutrition and education. We can build on the successful partnerships in global health. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization and the Global Fund are excellent examples. Education and health are the keys to inclusive growth and job creation. Thirdly, we must invest in stability and resilience in fragile societies. Without peace and stability, there will be no sustainable development. Goal 16, on stable institutions, rights and freedoms, the rule of law and justice, is an important innovation in the 2030 Agenda. These are all key elements of good economics and democratic governance. We must also step up efforts to find political solutions to conflicts. Norway will continue its support for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East, Colombia, South-East Asia and Africa. Fourthly, we must protect ecosystems and prevent climate change. Through close regional cooperation, we have secured sustainable management of common fish stocks in the North. Now we support developing countries in the important mapping of their marine resources. We will continue to work with Brazil, Indonesia, Liberia, Colombia and Peru to protect forests and biodiversity. Our goals are universal. They apply to all countries and all people. More than ever, the responsibility rests with all Governments to promote business investments and job creation, to create greener and more inclusive economic growth. Official development assistance remains important. Norway will continue to give one per cent of gross national income as development assistance. But poverty reduction depends primarily on domestic resources and economic growth in partnership with the private sector. We cannot solve this problem without achieving more equal distribution of wealth. National Governments must take ownership. We will use aid as a catalyst to raise revenues and fight poverty. Norway will do its utmost, both at home and abroad. We can end extreme poverty and save the planet. If we work together in partnerships and through multilateral cooperation. Let us build on the positive momentum from this Summit as we prepare for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Paris.

I thank the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway for her statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister of the Principality of Liechtenstein.

This is a proud moment for the United Nations. By adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) we are crossing the threshold to a new era of international collaboration. We are promising nothing less than a better life for future generations, and we have reason to be optimistic that we can keep this promise. We have come a long way. With the 2030 Agenda, we are building on the success of the Millennium Development Goals, but we have also learned from their weaknesses and designed a blueprint for the future. The new Agenda fully recognizes that sustainable development can be achieved only by tackling all of its three dimensions: the economic, social and environmental. We are finally connecting the dots. We will not be able to increase prosperity if we fail to preserve our planet. Our investment in our people will not yield any return if we fail to invest equally in women and men, girls and boys. And we will achieve our goals only if we truly commit to the rule of law and to a new global partnership. The Goals and targets apply to all States equally. Today every Member State is publicly committing to creating an environment that will help mobilize domestic resources and private investments for sustainable development. This is a challenging task — one that will help us overcome outdated categories, such as those of developed and developing countries and donors and recipients. The Agenda is the result of a fully inclusive process. Member States worked alongside civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders. This may not have resulted in the shortest document possible, but it has resulted in an Agenda for all people. Liechtenstein is well-prepared. We have made great efforts towards ensuring sustainable development in recent years. Liechtenstein reached, and even exceeded, the official development assistance target of 0.7 per cent in 2012. My Government will continue its commitment to the internationally agreed development targets. I hope that other countries will also do their best to meet the 0.7 per cent target. We focus in particular on long-term development. For example, our support goes to projects on including women in peace processes, on demining farmland and on promoting good governance and the rule of law. Liechtenstein is home to a financial centre that fully complies with international standards. It is no haven for illicit financial flows. We have an effective system in place to prevent and detect the transfer of proceeds of corruption and to freeze and return such assets. Our authorities continue to share their expertise with the relevant international programmes. We also support international cooperation in tax matters, based on the principle of a level playing field. Most important, Liechtenstein has committed to the early adoption of the new global standard on the automatic exchange of information. Liechtenstein has also been at the forefront of global efforts to protect the planet. We have committed to reducing carbon emissions to 40 per cent of our 1990 level. We are on the right track. Since 1990, our population has grown by 25 per cent and our gross domestic product by 140 per cent. Yet our emissions today are already lower than they were 16 years ago. The goals and targets we have set for ourselves are highly ambitious. Monitoring their implementation is therefore key to their success. The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development will be the centrepiece of this effort at the global level. It will allow us to recognize problems, learn from one another and exchange best practices, with all stakeholders at the table. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the successful third International Conference on Financing for Development are also proof that multilateralism remains alive and functioning. This should give us hope that we can succeed a third time when we gather in Paris to agree on a new climate change agreement. Let us seize that opportunity for the sake of our peoples and our planet.

I thank the Prime Minister of the Principality of Liechtenstein for his statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Corporate Governance of Antigua and Barbuda.

We as leaders are gathered here with one mission and a singular hope for the transformation of our world by 2030. We are a community of nations, a brotherhood and sisterhood. It is therefore important for us to understand and respect differing views, outlooks and objectives among ourselves. At this Summit, in the name of the nations we represent, we have adopted a grand statement with pledges and promises (resolution 70/1), and with the usual phrases: “we pledge that no one will be left behind” and “we commit ourselves to working tirelessly for the full implementation of the Agenda by 2030”. Previous declarations have failed to deliver on a number of their promises, including the Millennium Declaration, which announced the Millennium Development Goals, which remain partly unaccomplished today. Antigua and Barbuda calls on the international community to commit to the post-2015 development agenda and to its Sustainable Development Goals as a guide to eradicating poverty. Inequality within and among countries is still unjustifiable, while the majority of the world’s poorest live in middle-income countries. I appeal to developed countries to continue to hold true to past commitments, including fulfilling their official development assistance mandates. North-South cooperation remains the core of this partnership, and strengthened commitment from developed countries is therefore required to enhance international cooperation and scale up support for developing countries. South- South cooperation from developing countries that are in a position to offer assistance should not be seen as a replacement of commitments by developed countries, but instead as complementary to achieving sustained development. More frequent and intense natural disasters arising from the climate change that some countries unconscionably deny continue to devastate small countries in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The post- 2015 development agenda must address issues of climate change and environmental sustainability. We call for the strengthening of global partnerships in our efforts to build resilience in order to be able to absorb internal and external shocks and increase economic viability, including the right to development and to achieve sustained development. The economic and social development initiatives of small countries, particularly in financial services, are crippled by the unilateral actions of big countries and their institutions. Unfair and uneven trade and investment pacts are imposed upon developing countries with little regard to the crude disadvantages that they inflict. And extraterritorial laws are enforced by economic pressures that developing countries cannot withstand. Yet international laws are being ignored when it comes to powerful countries fulfilling their obligations to weak ones. In the Declaration contained in the resolution we have adopted, “States are strongly urged to refrain from promulgating and applying any unilateral economic, financial or trade measures not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations that impede the full achievement of economic and social development, particularly in developing countries” (resolution 70/1, para. 30). But we do no more than urge States to refrain from unilateral economic, financial or trade measures; we do not prohibit them, nor do we condemn those who do apply such unilateral measures. In that respect, the Declaration acknowledges that our countries still exist in a world of disparities, defined by power. Despite all the grand statements and declarations that are made, we remain a world divided between rich and poor, between powerful and weak, where might is right. That is our sad reality. We make a number of affirmations in the Declaration. Among them are the recognition that each country has the primary responsibility for its own economic and social development and that every State has, and shall freely exercise, full permanent sovereignty over all its wealth, natural resources and economic activity. At this Summit, we proclaim 17 Sustainable Development Goals with 169 targets. We also announce that the new Goals and targets will come into effect on 1 January 2016. But we must remind ourselves that announcing those Goals and targets is not the same as achieving them. Therefore, while we should take some comfort from the fact that we were able to agree on them, celebration should await the delivery of results. Our nations have yet to recognize the global society in which we live, our planetary civilization, our interdependence and the duty of care that we countries have to one another. If we are to stop small islands from disappearing because of climate change, if we are to stop the steady flow of refugees resulting from poor economic conditions, and if we are to stop the spread of disease that occurs in conditions of poverty, we must be truly committed to what we say. The Assembly will forgive me for taking a practical and realistic view of our meeting today. I am glad that we are holding this Summit. I am glad for the Declaration that we are jointly issuing, if only because it is a measure of the pledges and resolutions of all of us, to which each of us can be held. It is the mirror in which we will see our faces in 2030. We must not just say what we will do; we must do what we say. We should recommit to broadening and strengthening the voice and participation of developing countries  — including African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States (SIDS) and middle-income countries — in international economic decision-making, norm-setting and global economic governance. Small island developing States recognize the enormity of this moment and the new era that we are approaching. We ask the world to prioritize us because of our unique geographical characteristics. We have no ability to change our categorization as SIDS. We can neither graduate nor upgrade nor be elevated from being SIDS. Our challenges are unique; we ask that we not be marginalized for those characteristics that make us unique. Do not marginalize us because we are fragile, do not marginalize us because we are vulnerable, and do not marginalize us because we are small; instead, prioritize us for those very reasons. In closing, I would like this Summit to be remembered as a defining moment in human history. I would like it to be the Summit whose outcome was not just another declaration; not just another statement of goals and targets, but one that actually led to positive results. The judgement as to whether it is such a defining moment will have to be postponed until 2030, the date we have set to meet the Goals and targets. I hope that in 15 years’ time, our peoples will not judge us harshly. Let us therefore create a new post- 2015 global development architecture that will be truly inclusive, democratic and, certainly, egalitarian. A post- 2015 world should be a world in which there is mutual respect and understanding, a world of collaboration and commitment and of equality of opportunity and justice, so that the little boys and girls of Antigua and Barbuda can have the same opportunities as little boys and little girls in the developed world, a world where the voice of Antigua and Barbuda can be a unified voice of the world, a world where Antigua and Barbuda’s economy is allowed to flourish just like those in the developed world, a world where all Antiguans and Barbudans and our global brothers and sisters share the same opportunities, because we as leaders took a stand and ensured that all peoples are prosperous and happy with the new transformative post-2015 world.

I thank the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda for his statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia.

The new Agenda is the most comprehensive development action plan so far. It is global and universal. It is visionary. It is concrete. It is people- and planet-centred. It promises to leave no one behind and to build a life of dignity for each and every individual. Why does Slovenia believe that this new Agenda can make a difference? First, it provides a firm commitment to implement the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals, so that all men, women, boys and girls, no matter which country they live in, are able to fulfil their basic human needs, always and forever. This was our promise 15 years ago. We have already achieved a lot, but we need to make a greater effort to fully deliver on our promise. Secondly, the new Agenda reaffirms our commitment to the respect, protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without discrimination on any grounds. Only universality, indivisibility and the inalienability of human rights can guarantee that no one is left behind. Gender equality, the empowerment of women and the protection of their rights is an important and integral part of the new Agenda. Thirdly, the new Agenda recognizes a strong connection between peace, security and sustainable development and, at the same time, emphasizes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The new Agenda also responds to other global challenges such as migration. The global migration crisis, which we are currently facing not only in Europe but also in other parts of the world, requires urgent action. First and foremost, we should address its root causes and prevent any further loss of life. My country, together with other European countries, has intensified its activities in resolving the current migration crisis in Europe. The main principles of our action are based on not only humanity and solidarity, but also security. We should pool our efforts in combating illegal migration and suppressing the trafficking of migrants and human beings. This cannot be the responsibility of any one country; it is a shared responsibility of the whole international community. There is another pressing global challenge that needs our immediate attention: climate change. I sincerely hope that the successful adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be complemented by an ambitious, durable, universal and legally binding agreement later this year in Paris. It goes without saying that such an agreement is essential for sustainable development, and time is quickly running out. Implementation will be a common journey. Everyone should participate; we will be successful only if we work together. We have a strong implementation framework; it provides us with the full spectrum of means to successfully implement the new Agenda. Official development assistance (ODA) will remain a key element of development funding. In line with our public-finance capabilities, Slovenia will strive to increase the volume of ODA funds and improve the quality of ODA. We will prepare a national plan for the gradual increase of ODA so as to fulfil our commitment in the time frame of the new Agenda. Slovenia’s approach to the implementation process will follow two tracks. We will implement the new Agenda at the national level, including through the preparation of a new Slovenia development strategy, which is already under way. We will also contribute to poverty eradication and sustainable development on the basis of updated legal and strategic documents on international development cooperation. In the 10 years of my country’s involvement in international development cooperation, we have contributed to the economic, social and environmental progress of more than 80 developing countries. Our goal for the future is clear: to further strengthen our international development cooperation and demonstrate that the efforts of small donor countries can also be an important contribution to the realization of global development objectives. I am confident that we will succeed. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the opportunity of a lifetime. We need to seize it. We need to embrace it. We need to realize it. We should not forget that we are doing this for our people, our future generations and our planet.

I thank the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia for his statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister of Tuvalu.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of Tuvalu on this occasion of the Summit for the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. May the good Lord bless us all at this gathering. I would first like to add to others’ my congratulations to Mr. Sam Kutesa, outgoing President of the General Assembly, to the current President and to the co-Chairs of the Summit for their extraordinary leadership of our work. I also wish to commend the Secretary-General and his staff and all the Permanent Missions and their partners for their dedicated commitment to producing the Goals and targets for our new Agenda. Today, as we adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), we were aware that this year is also the seventieth anniversary of this body, for which I offer Tuvalu’s sincere congratulations. Long live the United Nations, its Charter and its noble values and principles. We have all worked hard and diligently to map out the future we want — a world where poverty and hunger are eradicated; where peace and security, good governance and opportunity are shared equally; where every citizen’s human rights and larger freedoms are honoured and realized with dignity; where all individuals are empowered to better their lives and our planet is healed and sustained for successive generations. That is everybody’s agenda. The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the road map for them must be implemented with commitment and dedication if we are to transform our world into one that is focused on peace, security and prosperity. Our actions must address the root causes of poverty, human vulnerabilities and human insecurity. They must free the human race from all discrimination and address our increasing disparities, including trade imbalances and the digital divide. Our primary target must be the most marginalized, the poorest and most vulnerable and the discriminated against; those who have lost their self-worth or dropped out of formal education systems; those who lack access to health care; those whose human rights are ignored or who are marginalized by the nature of their countries’ physical geographical features. They are the ones we should focus on, for they are the ones who are closest to being easily left behind. Each country will craft and drive its own agenda, but we support wholeheartedly the call for partnerships in the means of implementation and, for example, the inclusion of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, as agreed on in Addis Ababa at the third International Conference on Financing for Development. It is also critical to ensure that application of the means is based on an inclusive approach aimed at benefiting all. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Government and the people of Tuvalu, to offer our sincere and heartfelt appreciation to the Members of the United Nations that, directly or indirectly, have helped Tuvalu with its development via the pathway of the Millennium Development Goals. We are also grateful to non-members of the United Nations, including partners such as Taiwan, Republic of China, for their continued assistance, which has greatly supported our development efforts. It is vital that this type of multilateralism be maintained if the 17 new Goals and 169 targets that we have set are to be strategically attained. Our new Agenda must be supported by institutional reforms in the United Nations targeted to making the Secretariat, the General Assembly and the Security Council fit for purpose. We must strengthen capacities and technicians not only at the United Nations but also at the country level. It is also our view that a reformed Security Council should include climate change as a security issue and a permanent agenda item, given the security threats that the effects of climate change are causing, particularly for highly vulnerable countries, such as small island developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and other parts of the world. We must also commit to monitoring and reviewing our progress in order to sustain and focus our transformative Agenda. The role of the High-level Political Forum, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, is critical in that regard. In addition, we should conduct a proper review, particularly where the Economic and Social Council is concerned, of the criteria for least developed countries and their application, especially to the least developed SIDS, in order to better account for those countries’ unique vulnerabilities. Under the regime of the Millennium Development Goals, we achieved successes. But there are still many unresolved issues, gaps and chronic and protracted discords. The world is so technically and technologically sophisticated and yet, for example, we cannot overcome the energy crisis that is linked to the causes of climate change. We have one question: why? Why are we still in this situation? We world leaders who are here to formally adopt the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we hold the answer to that question. We, the leaders, must step up for we, the people. As much as we need capacity enhancement, science, data and new technology, we must match all that with leadership. Leadership must demand that the only things that should be left behind are wars, inequality, bad governance, self-interest, greed and a profit-only mentality. Leadership means re-targeting our efforts away from strife and towards saving lives. Leadership is about reaching the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for official development assistance, and about helping the most vulnerable, particularly least developed countries and SIDS. Tuvalu welcomes the parliamentary speakers’ 38-point declaration, which encourages us leaders to be accountable for our SDG outputs. Tuvalu is pleased that, in the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway and the 2030 Agenda, SIDS are recognized as a special case with unique vulnerabilities — social, economic and environmental — and particularly a vulnerability to the effects of climate change. If the post-2015 Agenda seeks to respect, protect and fulfil all human rights for all peoples, we need, at the forthcoming Paris Conference on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to reach a credible and comprehensive agreement that sets a goal of achieving a temperature stabilization level well below 1.5° Celsius above that of pre-industrial times. It must include a new stand- alone, permanent loss-and-damage mechanism that is separate from adaptation activities. It must also include a mechanism that facilitates the fast tracking and mobilization of funding resources for urgent adaptation actions. But the vast disparity and physical distance between SIDS such as Tuvalu and world centres, especially the United Nations, makes it imperative that under the new Agenda we see increased connectivity and inclusiveness, and certainly an increased presence of the United Nations on the ground in Tuvalu and other far-flung SIDS. We must not continue to marginalize these most vulnerable members simply because of their distance from Headquarters. They remain deserving and needy, particularly as they try to cope with the elements of disaster and climate change. In conclusion, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to members of the international community, including our own island neighbours and bodies in the Pacific, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Asian Development Bank and others, and to our bilateral friends from around the globe who so kindly responded by supporting and helping Tuvalu following the devastation wrought by Tropical Cyclone Pam earlier this year. We greatly value their support and look forward to continuing our partnership in our recovery and future protection efforts. We thank them. Tuvalu will never forget their generosity. Tuvalu pledges its full support to the new agenda, “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. Let us work together to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want, and to heal and secure our one planet for successive generations. Let us lead by example in order to shift the world’s development trajectory onto a sustainable and resilient path, a path that can save human beings, Tuvalu and the world.

I thank the Prime Minister of Tuvalu for his statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister of Barbados.

There are defining moments in human affairs when differences dividing countries and cultures are laid aside in pursuit of the higher common purpose of benefiting all humankind. Our modern era has witnessed two such moments: the Millennium Declaration in 2000 and now the establishment of a post-2015 development agenda. The gathering of world leaders to adopt eight international development goals some 15 years ago represented unprecedented hope at the dawn of a new millennium. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) highlighted the intention of the global community to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and promote sustained economic growth and sustainable development. Since becoming independent, in 1966, Barbados has pursued the goal of eradicating many of the social and economic contradictions that we inherited from our colonial past. In that connection, the Administration over which I have the honour to preside has crafted a vision of creating a Barbados that is socially balanced, economically viable, environmentally sound and characterized by good governance. That vision brings us squarely in line with the ideals embodied in the international development agenda that this special Summit of the United Nations has been convened to endorse. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) developed a set of region-specific MDGs to cater to the unique realities of our region and member States. Gender, violence, and chronic non-communicable diseases were and are among our priorities. Though buttressed by our dreams, our progress in achieving the MDGs has regrettably been limited by our capacity to finance our development objectives. With the citizens of the world impatient for progress, we must invest our collective intellectual capital and the technology at our disposal in the design of the tools and the mechanisms we need to realize the promise of our stated goals. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) provides us with a blueprint for achieving the transformation we seek. But that blueprint must be translated into reality and take us seamlessly from the eight Goals and 18 targets of the MDGs to the 17 Goals and 169 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. The unprecedented scope of the 2030 Agenda rises to the challenges facing today’s interconnected world and is firmly rooted in the three dimensions of sustainable development — the economic, environmental and social. Even more important, it is undergirded by a people-centred and planet-sensitive ethos, with people, the planet, prosperity, peace and partnership at its core. The outcome of the third International Conference on Financing for Development — the Addis Ababa Action Agenda — specifies the policies and actions needed to finance our countries’ sustainable development. Now is the time for us to address the need to develop transparent measurements of progress that reach far beyond the narrow scope of per capita gross domestic product. Small island developing States (SIDS) such as ours should not be punished for the limited development that we have been able to achieve, very often against stubborn and unyielding odds. The third International Conference of Small Island Developing States, held last year in Samoa, built on the platforms of the prior Barbados Programme of Action of 1994 and the 2005 Mauritius Strategy of Implementation. It unequivocally reinforced the status of SIDS as a special case for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities. The long-term effects of climate change, including the ravages of more frequent, intense and destructive natural disasters, pose an existential threat to small island developing States. The recent devastation of our sister country Dominica by Tropical Storm Erika is a stark reminder of that peril. Barbados and other CARICOM countries are firmly of the view that climate change can be tackled only through a comprehensive international effort, grounded in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). For us, sustainable development and climate change are inextricably linked. Let us use the momentum of this Summit to ensure the adoption of a meaningful and ambitious accord in Paris at the twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC. Our region desperately requires a strategy of debt relief in order to create more fiscal space and engineer much-needed economic development in order to realize the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda. A re-examination of the basis for the graduation of the countries of our region from access to concessional finance remains an urgent necessity. As we look towards the future, it is important, indeed necessary, that previously agreed commitments be kept. The United Nations, on the strength of its universal membership, legitimacy and comprehensive mandate, will play a pivotal role over the next 15 years in reaching the goal of sustainable development. But we cannot put new wine into old wineskins. As we consider the post-2015 development agenda, adequate, consistent and predictable financial support must be mobilized and allocated for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The acid test of the value of the Goals will be their impact on the quality of life of ordinary men, women and children everywhere. The United Nations was created at a time when the world was grappling with the political and economic consequences of a vast global conflict. Some 70 years later, though much has changed, we have failed to eliminate the scourge of war. Development cannot be achieved in the absence of peace. The post-2015 development agenda is our compass as we continue on the journey towards a better world for all. With political will and dedicated action, Agenda 2030 will ensure a safe and secure future for current and future generations. We cannot allow this historic opportunity to slip from our grasp.

I thank the Prime Minister of Barbados for his statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

It gives me great pleasure to address this Summit of the United Nations on the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda (resolution 70/1). I wish to extend my congratulations to the co-Chairs who are presiding over this historic Summit. It is difficult to conceive of a more fitting time than this, the seventieth anniversary of our universal Organization, for embarking on a newly revitalized international partnership for development. The genuine hope we have is that this Summit signifies the commitment we all have made to transforming our world. That is what the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for. There is no doubt that our future lies in the actions we take to carry out the commitments we make. Never before has the international community made such a bold and far-sighted commitment as the one we make now towards eradicating extreme poverty in a relatively short period of time: At the dawn of the new millennium, we leaders made the landmark commitment in the Millennium Declaration to spare no effort to free our people from the dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty. It was that commitment that gave birth to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which have been a true inspiration to all of us, and, through their implementation, we have saved the lives of millions and improved conditions for many more. The past 15 years — the period of the MDGs — have indeed been ones of notable achievements. These accomplishments inspire us all to spare no effort and to continue to do more to overcome the many development challenges our world currently faces. Though much progress has been made in implementing the MDGs, we should nonetheless acknowledge that, by and large, the MDGs are unfinished business. Progress has been uneven across regions and countries. Moreover, despite that progress, many millions still live in poverty and hunger, without access to basic services. The gap between the poorest and richest households has widened. Gender inequality persists. Climate change and environmental degradation undermine the progress achieved, and conflicts remain the biggest threat to human development. All these challenges call for urgent and concerted actions. As we stand at the dawn of a new development era, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) we are about to begin implementing will require far more concerted and resolute efforts than those witnessed in connection with the implementation of the MDGs. This is not because the SDGs are simply big in numbers, but because they are universally applicable and much more ambitious. There is no doubt that the SDGs represent aspirations to transform the international development cooperation landscape. Failure to achieve them in one country or region means failure in the entire world. We need to draw lessons from the implementation of the MDGs. One of the factors that contributed to the difficulties of fulfilling the MDGs was the problem encountered in the provision of adequate means of implementation. As we are about to embark on a journey to implement the new Sustainable Development Agenda, we need to commence the journey with confidence, knowing that a great deal of work has already been done prior to this Summit. It was a couple of months ago that we agreed on means of implementation for the realization of the SDGs when we gathered in Addis Ababa to adopt a comprehensive policy framework — the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. That agenda has now become an integral part of the post-2015 development agenda and is critical for the achievement of the SDGs. It is therefore crucial that the international community ensures that the Addis Ababa Action Agenda is fully implemented so that the SDGs can be fully realized. We are pleased that this is well reflected in the 2030 Agenda. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development means many things for us in the developing world, particularly in Africa. It means the beginning of the fight to eliminate extreme poverty once and for all. It means the commencement of an important journey to transform our respective economies into high- value sectors to generate jobs for our youth. It means developing human-resource capacity through the creation of a learning society. And it means conserving our environment while adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change. The coming years will no doubt continue to witness changes in the global political and economic landscapes. In order to serve our collective interest, these changes must be shaped by us in conformity with our common but differentiated responsibilities. The role that the United Nations plays in this regard is critical, and this Summit is an opportunity we must seize to commit to the realization of the aims and purposes of the Organization. For all its imperfections, the United Nations is still an institution for which there is no substitute. As we commemorate its seventieth anniversary this year, the task that we give the Organization should be matched by the necessary political support to enable the United Nations to discharge its responsibilities. We in Ethiopia are committed to embarking on the important journey of implementing the SDGs. We have now launched our next five-year national development plan — the Growth and Transformation Plan. The task of mainstreaming the SDGs into that plan could not have come at a better time. The alignment of these development strategies therefore affords us the opportunity to pursue our efforts to build a resilient and greener economy. As much as we are determined to achieve our development objectives through the mobilization of our domestic resources, we stand a better chance of realizing them fully and effectively if our efforts are supplemented by support from our development partners, whose contributions have been paramount over the years. We are confident that through continued and strengthened collaboration, including in connection with securing and protecting peace, we can do even more to achieve the transformative Agenda that we have. This Summit of ours once again affords us the chance to pledge our commitment to humankind. Let this be the occasion from which will emerge a collective resolve to embark on a genuine journey of building a safer and prosperous world where no one is left behind.

I thank the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for his statement.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

The United Nations is 70 years old. For 70 years, the United Nations has maintained global peace, protected human rights and upheld international law. It has helped to stop the use and spread of nuclear weapons and prevented a third world war. For 70 years, the United Nations has reaffirmed the sovereignty of nations, bringing into its fold new Member States, irrespective of their size, population, wealth or power. This is especially important — in fact, it is critical — for otherwise small, vulnerable countries like mine, Bhutan. For 70 years, the United Nations has led the global fight against poverty, disease and hunger. As we conclude the Millennium Development Goals, our peoples are now healthier, they live longer, and they are better educated. Today, the United Nations is poised to do more. We have set ourselves an ambitious Agenda for Sustainable Development, one that calls for collective action to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and save our planet. The vision and principles set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development resonate strongly with my country’s own development philosophy of gross national happiness. As early as the 1970s, we in Bhutan stressed that gross national happiness is more important than gross national product. Gross national happiness is a holistic approach to development aimed at improving the happiness and well-being of our people. For that, we carefully balance material growth with social inclusiveness and environmental sustainability, all within a framework of good governance. Gross national happiness drives development in Bhutan. Our people, for example, enjoy free health care and free education, even though we are a poor country. And our economy is still largely clean, green and renewable. But more importantly, six years ago, in 2009, we pledged to remain carbon-neutral. In fact, we are carbon-negative. That is because 72 per cent of our country is under forest cover, and more than half of my country is protected as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. And, most importantly, we have institutionalized good governance by embracing democracy. Democracy in Bhutan is unique in that we, the people, did not want democracy; we did not demand it, and we certainly did not fight for it. Instead, democracy was instituted in an unprecedented manner. It was imposed by our King, against the will of his people. This, in my humble view, is gross national happiness in action. His Majesty the King has called gross national happiness “development with values”. This, in effect, is what the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are about: development with values. My Government has already started integrating the SDGs in our own development plans, and we look forward to working diligently to fulfil their promise. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is an exciting testament to the collective will and wisdom of all nations to transform our world meaningfully. But to transform our world, we must first transform ourselves; we must transform the United Nations; we must transform it to make it fit for purpose, to implement the SDGs. The United Nations has served us well for 70 years. To serve us for the next 70 years, it must stay relevant. And to stay relevant, it must reflect the geopolitical realities of today. Countries such as India, Japan, Brazil and Germany must be made to serve as permanent members in the Security Council, and Africa must be appropriately represented. If we do not reform the United Nations, we risk making this sacred institution irrelevant and ineffective. That would harm all nations. But small countries, vulnerable countries, countries such as mine and many others, would suffer the most. Now, if we reform the United Nations, if we make it relevant and if we make it effective, it will continue to serve us well. And 70 years hence, our future generations will gather here, in this very Hall, and they, like us, will celebrate the United Nations for having made their world more secure, more peaceful and more prosperous.

I thank the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan for his statement.

I now call on Mr. Prakash, Man Singh, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

I bring with me the warmest greetings to all present from the people and the Government of Nepal. This morning we adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). The Agenda is both universal in scope and transformative in nature. With people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership at its foundation, the Agenda manifests our collective pledge concerning the world’s sustainable development for the next 15 years. However, if we look at the past, it tells us that adoption is not enough. Implementation remains a huge challenge and will demand huge resources. It will also require good national policies, priorities and capacities as well as robust global partnerships to realize those Goals in all dimensions of sustainable development. Most important, for any development to be sustainable, my delegation believes that people have to be at the centre of governance and have a sense of ownership in the development process. It is the responsibility of all of us to develop a system that makes people feel that they are an integral part of the process in all socioeconomic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. We are confident that, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a national focus, we will be able to observe significant progress in our goals of peace and prosperity in the days ahead. Development and democracy are complementary concepts and preconditions that go together. It is our firm belief that democracy is indispensable for sustainable development. That approach alone will orient to implementation ensure that the concerns and aspirations of the poorest and most vulnerable people of the world will be duly addressed and that no one is left behind. It is against that background that Nepal expects enhanced and revitalized international support as conceived in the Agenda. Furthermore, even though undergoing reconstruction and rehabilitation work in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal early this year, such international support must address, among other things, the need for capacity-building, disaster risk-reduction and national resilience-building. Besides official development assistance, debt relief and additional financial resources, we also expect support measures such as trade concessions, transfer of technology, special economic packages, including foreign direct investment, in an adequate, consistent and coherent manner. That is even more necessary for least developed and landlocked countries like Nepal, which are economically vulnerable and prone to disasters. Experience in the field of international development operations suggest that there exists a gap between commitments and delivery. That is not a good indicator. We must therefore devise a monetary mechanism to ensure that commitments are translated into actions and actions into results in an effective and time-bound manner. The United Nations has been instrumental in setting the stage for the deliberations and adoption of this people-centred transformative Agenda. We sincerely hope we will be as proud of our achievements when we assess progress on the implementation of the Agenda after 15 years. Before I conclude, let me share with this Summit meeting that, in the past week, Nepal promulgated an inclusive democratic Constitution written by the people’s elected representatives in the Constituent Assembly. The promulgation of the Constitution was the culmination of nine years of dialogue and negotiations among parties with extremely opposed views and a transformation of the decades of armed conflict into the peace process preceding it. The Constitution is a historic achievement for the people of Nepal. The Constitution-making process was democratic, inclusive, participatory and transparent. The Constitution institutionalizes the federal democratic republican governance system. It firmly invests in its rights-based approach to development and seeks to fulfil the aspirations for sustainable peace, good governance, development and prosperity within an overall framework of democratic policy. We sincerely thank our neighbours, India and China, and all those Member States and international organizations that supported us in the process of historic transformation.

I now call on Ms. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for International Relations and Cooperation of Namibia.

I am delivering this statement on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia. At the outset, I would like to express sincere appreciation and thanks to the President of the General Assembly for his able leadership and excellent stewardship in hosting this United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post- 2015 development agenda. I also commend the previous President of the General Assembly at the sixty-ninth session for having successfully steered the negotiation process for the post-2015 development agenda. There is an adage: “When you lose hope, you lose everything”. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) gave hope to millions of people living in poverty. For Namibia, being one of the countries that championed the launch of the Millennium Development Goals process, the significance of the MDGs cannot be overemphasized, as ample evidence exists to attest to their tangible impact. Therefore, poverty eradication must remain the central and overarching objective of the post-2015 development agenda in order to continue to transform the lives of the majority of people living in absolute poverty and to reinforce the commitments of the international community to eradicate poverty in all its forms by 2030. It is Namibia’s strong belief that the post-2015 development agenda is a historic opportunity to eradicate extreme poverty and lead us to a world of prosperity, sustainability, equity and dignity for all. The Agenda is also a major transformational shift that puts sustainable development at the core of the development agenda, thereby transforming economies to drive inclusive growth, to build accountable institutions, to ensure good governance and peaceful societies and to forge a new global partnership based on cooperation, equity and human rights. Namibia has declared war on poverty. Therefore, the global recognition that the eradication of poverty is the greatest challenge facing humankind must be effectively addressed, and the post-2015 development agenda must deliver on that noble promise. Achieving an ambitious post-2015 development agenda, including all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), will require an equally ambitious, comprehensive, holistic and transformative approach with respect to the means of implementation. This should be supported by effective, accountable and inclusive institutions, sound policies and effective governance at all levels. In this regard, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda we adopted in July 2015 should anchor, reinvigorate and strengthen financing for development, identify the obstacles encountered for the achievement of the goals and the action needed to overcome those constraints as well as the support required to implement the post-2015 development agenda. As a member of the African Union, Namibia is convinced that the implementation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 will complement the realization of the post-2015 development agenda. Additional financial resources, foreign direct investment, official development assistance and public and private financing remain important sources of financing for poverty eradication and development. In this regard, as we call upon developed countries to meet and scale up their existing bilateral and multilateral official development assistance commitments to assist developing countries, we also call for favourable financing terms as well as a true global partnership in terms of trade and investment, as we believe this will enable us to meet the SDGs as set out in the post-2015 development agenda. Climate change is a global problem and requires a global response from all of us in both the developed and developing countries. Africa has been singled out as being the most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change. As one of the driest countries on Earth, Namibia, like some developing countries, faces the immense challenges of drought, land degradation and desertification. Hence we welcome targets 13 and 15. Later this year, in December, we will convene in Paris for the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to adopt a legally binding agreement that will give us hope with respect to our aspirations to address the challenges posed by climate change, for this generation and those to come. The Millennium Development Goals were about inclusion and not exclusion. The same principles are embodied in the SDGs. Therefore, the international community has an obligation to ensure that the people of both Palestine and Western Sahara realize their inalienable right to self-determination and the creation of their independent and sovereign State. Let me conclude by stating that the time to demonstrate the necessary political will and leadership to holistically implement the post-2015 development agenda is now. Everyone must be included, including women and young people. It is our duty as leaders to do the right thing and address the issue of poverty eradication in order to ensure that no one is left behind. This is the best legacy we can collectively bequeath to posterity. Namibia commits itself to the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.

I now call on Mr. Joël Morgan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport of the Republic of Seychelles.

I am addressing the Assembly on behalf of President James Alix Michel, President of the Republic of Seychelles. In September 2000, Seychelles, along with 189 other States Members of the United Nations, endorsed, at the United Nations Summit, the Millennium Declaration, which included eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Today we can say that a lot of changes have taken place at the global, regional and national levels during these past 15 years. However, as we come to the end of this 15-year process, it is important to note that there are still huge disparities across and within countries. The MDGs have saved the lives of millions and improved conditions for many more. The work is not complete, and it must continue in this new development era. Seychelles takes pride in having achieved almost all of the MDGs; some were achieved even before the process was launched. For example, in education and health, Seychelles had already had near 100 per cent enrolment of both boys and girls in primary schools. Women giving birth were assured of the best possible care and of the attention of trained medical personnel. Child mortality rates were already low compared with many other countries with similar per capita gross domestic product. Environmental protection was already a flagship cause for Seychelles. Despite these achievements, my country continues to inspire greater impetus to ensure that the few challenges of the MDGs that remain unaccomplished are fully met. Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets, which are incorporated and indivisible, have been announced today. World leaders have never before pledged common action and ventured across such an expansive and universal policy agenda. Reflecting on the MDGs and looking further to the next 15 years, there should be no issue that we cannot deliver on given our mutual responsibility to put an end to poverty, leave no one behind and generate a world of human dignity for everyone. We believe that the post-2015 development agenda must continue to put greater emphasis on the fight against climate change and poverty and on education, including early childhood development and higher education, as well as a strong emphasis on gender equality as tools to achieve sustainable development and strengthen international support for small island developing States (SIDS). The more widely the SDGs, a to-do list for people and the planet, are understood by everyone, the more politicians will take them seriously and the more Governments will finance them properly, refer to them frequently and make them work. It is the most important long-term plan we have for our survival. Seychelles continues to develop its national strategic documents, which we hope, as we aim to achieve the SDGs, will provide policies for superior community commitment in building the future of the Seychelles we ought to have. We have this year extended the level of education from 10 to 11 years of compulsory studies. The year 2015 was an important one in achieving agreement on diverse key development issues, from the Addis Ababa Action Agenda to the forthcoming Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Paris. Seychelles supports the outcome document transforming our world, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. I wish to highlight Goal 14, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. For SIDS, our smallness and our seclusion are structural elements of our vulnerability. Ever-increasing threats surround our oceans, and the failure to call for control of these threats increases this vulnerability. With 75 per cent of our planet made up by the oceans, the weak global governance of our oceanic spaces undermines our overall security. We are all vulnerable. Seychelles, like many SIDS, has not agreed to simply be an onlooker with respect to these issues. We are adopting the perspective of being a large oceanic nation. We are aiming to better manage our oceans, setting an example of good oceanic governance. Like many other island nations, Seychelles claims a vast exclusive economic zone of 1.3 million square kilometres, the second-largest in Africa. The country has reaped considerable benefits from its ocean resources, with the development of fisheries, tourism, trade, and international and domestic shipping to support trade. At the same time, it has established itself as a global leader in marine conservation, with the Government having time and again maintained that healthy oceans and seas are vital to a sustainable future for the whole planet and not just for small island developing States. Undeniably, over the past few years, the emerging concept of the “blue economy” has been adopted by many SIDS as a method for realizing sustainable growth based on an ocean economy. Seychelles calls for the enhancing of the capacity of developing nations to sustainably harness the potential of oceanic spaces. With the support of the United Arab Emirates, Seychelles held its first blue economy conference in January 2014, organized as part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The conference was a success, as it enabled the global community to share its views and objectives for the future in relation to the “blue economy” concept, and it established a solid partnership with a view to mobilizing more research into ocean-based economic activity compatible with the sustainable development of our planet. The success of this first conference led to the pledge made at the twenty-second ordinary session of Heads of States and Governments of the African Union to embrace and expand the blue economy concept as an essential part of Africa’s future development and expansion, as outlined in the AU’s Agenda 2063: The Africa we want. Seychelles is planning to host a second blue economy summit in January 2016, with the support of the United Arab Emirates during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The summit is perfectly timed to build upon the outcomes of this Summit to adopt the post-2015 development agenda and of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris later this year, and will conclude with a declaration in support of the implementation of the blue economy concept through an enrichment of relevant national and international initiatives for concrete deliverables. Seychelles will continue to reaffirm the importance of the blue economy as part of the efforts to develop a “green economy” to better harness our natural resources for sustainable development, for combating climate change and for growth and food security. The new Sustainable Development Goals and targets, which will come into effect on 1 January 2016, will channel the decisions that we take over the next 15 years. All of us will work to put the Agenda into operation within our own countries and at the regional and global levels, taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development and while respecting our national policies and priorities. They are universal goals and targets that engage the whole world, developed and developing countries alike. No one should be left behind.

I now call on Ms. Faeqa bint Saeed Al Saleh, Minister of Social Development of Bahrain.

I am pleased to transmit to the General Assembly the greetings of His Majesty King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, who entrusted me with the honour of representing him at this Summit. He wishes the participants every success. This Summit coincides with the seventieth anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations. The founding Member States undertook not to allow another world war to emerge, pursuant to the commitments entered into seven decades ago when the Charter of the United Nations was adopted. This by itself underscores the importance of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) because it is a collective agreement that will permit our countries to rise to a higher level of development and prosperity, which can only be achieved if the obstacles that prevent us from achieving our goals are overcome and taking into consideration the cultural and religious specificities of every society. We can therefore say that the Agenda, with its 17 Goals, allows us an opportunity to design a joint action plan that gives us clear and tangible mechanisms for development while protecting our special human achievements. The Kingdom of Bahrain was able to implement most of the Millennium Development Goals, which were set forth in the year 2000, particularly in the fields of education, health, child welfare, poverty elimination, ending illiteracy, promoting the role of women, enhancing the role of youth, supporting gender equality and promoting respect for human rights. To those ends, the comprehensive development strategy that was pursued by His Majesty King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa played a fundamental role in contributing to the success of the work of the Government of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Prime Minister received the International Telecommunication Union’s Sustainable Development Award for 2015, which confirms the international community’s appreciation for the efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Bahrain and its achievements in the field of sustainable development. It also signifies the forward-looking vision of our Government. Our vision has already been covered in the United Nations reports on human development over the past few years, the most recent of which made special mention of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s achievements in the field of human development. My country continues to promote events and programmes to guarantee the implementation of the post-2015 development goals in their three dimensions — economic, social and environmental — in accordance with the Kingdom’s strategy. To promote these objectives, my country decided to host a ministerial conference on the implementation of the post-2015 strategic development agenda under the auspices of Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Prime Minister, on 6 and 7 December 2015. This conference is part of the efforts made by the Kingdom to host many regional and international conferences and meetings to promote sustainable development. The Kingdom of Bahrain would therefore be among the first countries of the world to host a follow-up conference on the implementation of the post- 2015 development agenda as adopted in our meeting. We are all aware of the grave challenges that we are facing today. We note that we must stand together to be more determined and willing to overcome obstacles without hesitation or slacking. This meeting is proof of our determination to use our collective will to give an impetus to our efforts bring about a brighter common future through comprehensive and sustainable development for all.

I now call on Mr. Erlan Abdyldayev, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan.

It is a great pleasure to participate in this historic United Nations Summit. Today we adopted a long-term development agenda for the international community (resolution 70/1), which, to a great extent, will condition the preservation of our planet and ensure a good life for all human beings. The Kyrgyz Republic fully supports this ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is essential that the principles of general but differentiated responsibility, accountability and transparency be an integral part of our renewed Agenda; they will undoubtedly help to achieve its goals. Kyrgyzstan commends the fact that our new development Agenda specifically addresses the needs of highly vulnerable countries. In that regard, we welcome the inclusion in the Agenda of the challenges currently facing mountainous countries and landlocked developing States, both categories to which Kyrgyzstan belongs. It is essential to note, however, that the prospects for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in least-developed and developing countries will also depend on solving the problem of ensuring adequate international financing. The Kyrgyz Republic hopes that the commitments made by the international community today and at the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development will be met in full so that we can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. At the same time, we agree that least-developed and developing countries should increase the financing for their national programmes through the efficient use of their internal resources. It is very important to ensure that our development Agenda is based on the experience gained through the efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals while also possessing the key qualities of universality, inclusiveness and accessibility. While there can be no doubt that the international community’s chief task should continue to be fighting hunger and poverty, attaining those goals requires new and inclusive approaches. We support a comprehensive approach to addressing poverty issues and combating hunger through education, health care, gender equality, the rule of law, economic development and combating climate change. We can achieve effective results only by ensuring a good balance of all three aspects of sustainable development. And we call on the States Members of the United Nations to demonstrate political will and arrive at a legally binding agreement on climate change in December at the Paris Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which can lay the foundations of a more responsible attitude to the world around us. We are ready to use the experience we have gained and to mobilize all our available resources and capacities in order to implement our new Agenda. The Kyrgyz Republic adopted a national strategy for sustainable development as long ago as 2013. The programme puts social justice and the people’s welfare at centre stage, along with protecting citizens’ rights, freedoms and security, building a peaceful and lawful State with a high level of education and, most important, preserving the environment. Factors of physical geography and climate limit our country’s ability to reduce poverty reduction and increase sustainable development. In Kyrgyzstan’s mountainous areas, poverty rates are above average, owing to difficult living conditions and high economic costs. Mountains, whose ecosystems are sensitive to climate change, make up more than 70 per cent of our territory. We are already seeing our glacial reserves shrink, and experts have predicted that Kyrgyzstan’s glaciers could be reduced by 40 per cent by 2025. That would reduce the volume of water in Central Asia’s rivers by a third. In that connection, one significant factor for sustainable development in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia is water, the shortage of which is growing faster than was expected around the world. Today water has an economic dimension as well as a humanitarian and environmental one. In that regard, Kyrgyzstan supports the cost-effective use of water resources. The development of hydro-electric power as a branch of the “green economy” is an essential prerequisite for sustainable development. Kyrgyzstan’s principled position is that water resources and hydropower are indissolubly and inseparably linked to each other, a position that fully accords with the Secretary-General’s initiative in declaring 2014-2024 the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All. We would particularly like to emphasize the importance of creating and maintaining an environment conducive to States’ sustainable development. Based on its regional experience, the Kyrgyz Republic is of the view that every State has the right to determine its own development. We consider that to be an integral right that cannot be limited by anyone or anything in any way. We firmly believe that the issue of guaranteeing that right is just as immediate for the majority of developing and least-developed countries all over the world. It is particularly relevant to to landlocked and small island States, the countries most vulnerable to climate change, as well as those with large debts and few possibilities for eradicating poverty. The Kyrgyz Republic believes that respect for and guarantees of a State’s right to develop over time should form the basis of building fair international relations at the global level, along with such principles as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs and refraining from the use of force. In that regard, Kyrgyzstan considers it extremely important to promote the concept of a State’s right to development and the gradual strengthening of international partnerships for Member States to that end. In conclusion, I call on all States Members of the United Nations to unite their efforts to ensure that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that we have adopted today (resolution 70/1) accords as closely as possible with the slogan “No one must be left behind”. For my part, I would like to assure the Assembly that my country will make every effort to realize the Sustainable Development Goals within its financial capabilities and taking into account its specific national development needs.

I now call on Ms. Aïchatou Boulama Kané, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, African Integration and Nigeriens Abroad of the Republic of the Niger.

I would first like to convey warm greetings from His Excellency Mr. Mahamadou Issoufou, President and Head of State of the Republic of the Niger, who wishes the Summit every success. On behalf of the delegation of the Niger, I would like to assure the co-Chairs of our full support for and willingness to participate in their work in fulfilling their mission. I would also like to pay well-deserved tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his leadership and commitment to the implementation process of the post-2015 development agenda that is the subject of this Summit. As the Assembly knows, in the Millennium Declaration of 2000 the world’s leaders identified the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with the overall objective of making a substantial contribution to reducing poverty and hunger and promoting economic and social development in developing countries. The new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted today at our Summit (resolution 70/1) is not only timely but, while taking into account the areas of the MDGs that remain incomplete, it is also broader and more comprehensive. And it is universal. In addition, it will promote sustainable development in an integrated manner by providing balanced emphasis on its three dimensions — the economic, social and environmental. The adoption of this programme by all the world’s nations is, in our eyes, a major commitment to our planet. We see in it the expression of a voluntarily accepted solidarity and sharing designed to ensure the survival of all. It must be emphasized that it is not just a question of solidarity of the rich towards the poor; it is also a matter of mutual solidarity and shared values, and in that regard poor nations also have much to contribute. My country, the Niger, in the middle of the Sahelo- Saharan strip, is facing every kind of development challenge, to which there has been added in recent years and an acute security challenge. The Niger recalls the 2013 visit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Niamey to promote the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel at a crucial point in its history, where the dynamics of development were being thwarted by a combination of security issues and persistent climate shocks, against the backdrop of a demographic challenge. Despite this unfavourable environment, as part of our implementation efforts of the Millennium Development Goals, we have shown significant progress, particularly in the areas of reducing poverty and hunger, education, including primary education, health, particularly in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and infant mortality reduction, with the related MDG having been achieved. However, we are fully aware of the efforts that remain for us to do. For that reason, we wholly subscribe to this vast and ambitious sustainable development programme, which we will strive to integrate into our development strategy while taking into account our national realities and priorities. Transforming our world in 15 years through 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets is admittedly ambitious and difficult in the light of the many economic, social and cultural constraints that we face, but all of us, together — all nations — have to commit ourselves with resolve. For their part, the people of the Niger make that commitment. Through their commitment, the people of the Niger are expressing their willingness to continue to make efforts towards eradicating poverty and hunger; their intent not to be ranked last in the world in terms of human development due to their performance in the areas of education and health; their will to ensure that youths of the Niger under 25, who make up more than 70 per cent half of the population, have a better future with decent jobs; their will to overcome the effects of climate shocks by improving the ability to adapt; their determination to continue their water mastery programme to make it accessible to all and promote the development of agriculture and the raising of livestock; their commitment to promote a just and culturally fulfilled society in which women’s empowerment is ensured; their willingness to contribute to peace and security in the world through the reaffirmation of their commitment to combat terrorism; their desire to consolidate democracy through strong democratic institutions; and, finally, their determination to continue to promote good political and economic governance. In conclusion, I reiterate the full commitment of the Republic of the Niger to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the commitment to implementing it in a spirit of solidarity and partnership with all nations. We believe in this programme, we believe in the ability of the United Nations to lead it to a successful conclusion, and we are proud to be among those whom history will remember as having contributed positively to the transformation of the world.

I now call upon Mr. Jean- Claude Gakosso, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of the Congo.

I have the great honour to speak from this rostrum on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo. At a time when world leaders endorse before us an ambitious programme, following a process of negotiations in which my country was fully invested alongside other Member States as a member of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, my delegation can only welcome the outcome of what it sees as a great historic achievement (resolution 70/1). It was here, in 2000, that we promised to help the Organization to adapt to the new era that was opening and strengthen its ability to manage the challenges of peacekeeping and poverty eradication. Encouraged by this promise, we then adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were intended to achieve eight targets for the fight against poverty by the year 2015. Today, at the arrival of the deadline, it seems appropriate to take the full measure of the progress made in achieving the Goals and at the same time appreciate our ability to ensure a dignified life for our peoples as we had committed to do 15 years ago. Admittedly, since 2000, considerable progress has been made towards achieving these Goals. Global poverty continues to decline. More children than ever before now attend primary school. The infant mortality rate has fallen dramatically. Access to clean water has been greatly expanded. Targeted investments in the fight against malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis have saved millions of lives. Undeniably, the MDGs have transformed people’s lives, although, especially in Africa, the eradication of poverty remains an elusive goal. In the Republic of the Congo since 2000, remarkable progress has been made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, even if the road ahead is still long. Diverse and varied constraints require more effort from us, but our Government applies itself with determination. Therefore, to overcome these difficulties in order to go beyond the MDGs and meet the challenges of a more inclusive sustainable development, we adopted in July a national strategy for sustainable development that reconciles the demands of economic growth and those of social development. The evaluation of the MDGs should enable us to grasp the full potential of our Organization 70 years after its creation to act and move forward together in building a world that meets the aspirations of our States and our peoples. We have just adopted a new framework for post-2015 development — a programme that we wanted to be transformative, innovative, universal and centred on the three dimensions of sustainable development. However, the implementation of the Agenda will require suitable and sufficient internal and external financing that can ensure that our lofty aspirations are long-lasting. To do so, I believe that we must undertake ambitious, robust reforms of the global financial system by devising new rules that would allow States to enhance their capacity to mobilize development resources. This, in our view, is the relevance of the programme of action emenating from the third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa in July. We believe that the Agenda’s implementation will be a decisive step towards ensuring the successful meeting of upcoming deadlines and for the future of humankind and the legacy we must bequeath to future generations and posterity. I would like to express the hope that the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Paris in December, will lead to an agreement that breaks new ground, which will be crucial to reaching the new development Goals that we have just adopted. Our destinies are interconnected, and the bright future we want can be built only if we take action together, if we act on different fronts by basing our future actions on new paradigms based on sustainable development. The success of this transformative Agenda depends fully on the political will of our Governments and the determination that we must demonstrate in its implementation for a more generous world with greater solidarity.

I now call on Ms. Niermala Badrising, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Suriname.

On behalf of the President of the Republic of Suriname, His Excellency Desiré Delano Bouterse, and the Government and the people of my country, I wish to congratulate the Assembly and the international community on the convening of this Summit and the adoption by world leaders of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). We welcome the fact that the Agenda has made provisions to include unfinished matters in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We also welcome the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development and its focus for the next 15 years on people, planet and prosperity. We endorse the targets and the Goals as well as the integral role of peace and partnership in this regard. For the past five years, closing the inequality gaps in my country has become a high priority in the social contract between my President and the people of Suriname. Suriname has therefore placed special emphasis on improving education, health and its social conditions. In this regard, primary education is now free of charge for all children in Suriname. In addition, we are implementing a national after-school programme with the aim of enhancing conditions for better learning. We further established a universal medical insurance programme, including the provision of health insurance, free of charge, to senior citizens and children below 16 years of age. Since non-communicable diseases are leading to decreased productivity and have now become the principal cause of death in Suriname and in the Caribbean region, we are developing policies and programmes to fight these diseases, including by promoting healthy lifestyles. In addition, legislation has been adopted establishing a national minimum wage and a national pension floor for all workers. Despite all of these efforts to achieve sustainable development, we cannot ignore the challenges we face in realizing these objectives, especially as a middle-income country. In this regard, we support the recognition in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the special challenges of middle-income countries. Climate change is a major threat to my country. We are particularly vulnerable to climate change because of our low-lying coast, where 80 per cent of our population resides and major productive sectors operate. Suriname has set an example to the world that we can be carbon-negative. My country has maintained a forest cover of well over 90 per cent of its total land area and a deforestation rate of 0.02 per cent. Suriname looks forward to a successful outcome of the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Paris later this year. Our commitment and objective is to continue our tradition of protecting our environment. We are ready for partnerships, in particular those related to cooperation within the context of adaptation and mitigation. A revitalized global partnership for development is of paramount importance for the successful implementation of this new Agenda on the ground. Suriname reaffirms South-South cooperation as an important vehicle to advance sustainable development and achieve greater unity and solidarity among developing countries. My Government supports the people-centred approach of the sustainable development agenda, with special emphasis on the most vulnerable in society: the elderly, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, children, women and youth. Hence every effort possible needs to be undertaken to invest in increasing their active involvement and opportunities in society, including in productive sectors. In particular, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, as well as the elimination of all forms of violence against them, should be ensured. In conclusion, success and a better world will depend on all of us, individually and collectively. As Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently stated: “We cannot have a Plan B, because we do not have a Planet B”. Therefore, we have to be bold and strong in our political and financial resolve, since failure is not an option.

I now call on Mr. Abdulaziz Kamilov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

It is with great satisfaction that I convey my greetings to all participants. I will briefly touch upon some of the proposals and issues discussed today at the United Nations Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. First, allow me to underscore that the Republic of Uzbekistan supports the new Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), put forward by the Secretary-General for the future of humankind, which contains the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the period 2016-2030. This should become the logical and appropriate continuation of the Millennium Development Goals process for 2000 to 2015. The Republic of Uzbekistan, according to international economic and financial bodies, occupies fifth place globally among States with rapidly developing economies. During the past 10 years, in spite of the ongoing global economic crises, gross domestic product grew on average by more than 8 per cent. Over the years of independent development, that is, the past 24 years, our economy has grown more than fivefold and the population’s real income ninefold. Average life expectancy rose from 67 years to 73 years; for women, to 75 years. About 60 per cent of the State budget is being channelled into social development, including into education; that is, 10 per cent to 12 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), with the share of expense items in State budget expenditures making up 35 per cent. That is particularly important if it is understood that a huge part of our population, 60 per cent, is under 30 years of age. Large-scale reforms in health care in 2009 allowed us to achieve, as envisaged by the Millennium Development Goals, a one third decrease in the child mortality rate, and in 2013, we achieved a one-third decrease in maternal mortality. By 2009 we had reduced the spread of HIV/AIDS. Indicators of tuberculosis sickness rates decreased by 1.6 times since the peak level of 2002. By 2013, not a single case of malaria was registered in the country. The measures undertaken in raising environmental sustainability enabled a reduction in the volume of pollution emissions per capita from 95 kilograms in the year 2000 to 61 kilograms in 2015. Over the past 15 years, we were able to reduce the GDP energy usage by more than two times our original energy usage. Conditions with regard to gender equality have tangibly changed. About 50 per cent of the total number of those engaged in the economy are women. We would like to specifically stress that the 2016-2030 programme for deepening and reforming education and economic structures, as well as expanding private ownership and private enterprise, will serve as a strong basis for our efforts. Our main target is for our country to join the ranks of States with an above average income level by 2030, according to standard world indicators. Today, the international community continues to pay particular attention to the disastrous consequences of climate change. Major environmental disasters have become commonplace for the first time in history, such as the tragedy of the Aral Sea, which, within the span of one generation, is on the verge of complete disappearance. Dramatic climate change was felt not only in Central Asia, but also in other regions. As a direct consequence of the drying up of the Aral Sea, a new saline desert with an area of more than 5.5 million hectares of land has emerged on the exposed part of the Aral Sea. Sandstorms rage for more than 90 days a year, carrying into the atmosphere over 100 million tons of dust and toxic salts. The threatening impact of the Aral Sea catastrophe is now observed throughout the world, according to international experts. Toxic salts originating from the Aral region have now been discovered on the Arctic coast, Greenland’s glaciers, Norway’s forests and many other parts of the Earth. The most serious impact has been on the living conditions and the gene pool of more than 65 million people in Central Asia. The extremely adverse ecological environment, the lack of and decrease in the quality of water and the increase in dangerous diseases are just a short list of the consequences of the Aral Sea tragedy. Uzbekistan hopes that the catastrophe of the Aral Sea will be taken into consideration in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. We understand that climate change and all the related matters being discussed during this Summit will have an immediate impact on the issue. In line with the words of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his trip to the Aral Sea in 2010, that requires collective responsibility on the part of the entire world, not just the countries of Central Asia. At its sixty-eighth session in 2013, on a proposal by Uzbekistan, the General Assembly adopted as an official document the programme of measures on eliminating the consequences of the drying up of the Aral Sea and averting the catastrophe of the ecological systems in the Aral Sea region. Taking into account the universal nature of the Aral Sea disaster, it is necessary to expand actions and establish specific financial mechanisms in that regard. It would be appropriate to establish under United Nations auspices a special trust fund on the Aral Sea and the Aral Sea region. The main task would involve coordinating efforts and implementing specific programmes and projects in the following key areas: protecting health and preserving the population’s gene pool; elaborating a system of effective stimuli for the socioeconomic development of the Aral Sea region; creating conditions for ensuring decent living conditions for people living in the region; preserving the ecological balance of the Aral Sea region; adopting consistent measures to fight desertification and introducing a reasonable water consumption policy; recovering and preserving the unique biodiversity of flora and fauna, which remains on the brink of extinction; and using limited water resources in the region, first and foremost the transboundary river arteries — the Amu Darya and Syr Darya — in the interests of all the countries of the region and in strict compliance with the norms of international law. As a result of the implementation of construction plans for gigantic dams and large hydropower stations on the tributaries of those rivers, on whose waters the lives of millions of people depend, we must prevent the disruption of the natural flow of the rivers, worsening the supply in the lower areas. Such an occurrence would lead to a radical breach of the water and environmental balance and exacerbate the problem of the Aral Sea and the underlying ecological security of the region.

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Wilfred Elrington, Attorney General and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Belize.

Today marks another historic milestone in the United Nations global development journey. The identification and pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals were the defining first leg of that journey. Those goals galvanized international solidarity in an unprecedented fashion and laid the foundation for international cooperation on an internationally agreed development agenda. The newly adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), which consists of 17 Goals and 169 targets, requires that development policies integrate economic, social and environmental considerations. Belize is irrevocably committed to embrace this Agenda. As a natural resource- and people-based economy, Belize has long pursued a holistic, socially and environmentally sensitive development agenda. We have developed a national strategy that fully integrates the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their targets, and our Cabinet has adopted a national growth and sustainable development strategy that was developed with the invaluable support of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The strategy brings together our national development framework, Horizon 2030, and the 2030 Agenda. It speaks to an ambitious vision for our own human ecology, namely, to live in peace and tranquillity and in harmony with nature, while enjoying a high quality of life and being enabled to look after our own development in a sustainable way. We intend to operationalize that vision through four rubrics of development — one, optimizing national income and investment; two, enhancing social cohesion and resilience; three, sustainably managing natural, environmental, historical and cultural assets; and, four, improving governance and citizen security. Collectively and in cooperation with our development partners, we will seek to realize that vision. We know that the task ahead is a daunting one. Limited human and financial resources are enduring challenges for my small country. Small in size and hard-pressed to deal with multiple exogenous shocks and diminutive fiscal space, Belize, like many other small developing countries, is stretched. We repeat our concern that the graduation criteria unilaterally imposed by international financial institutions upon countries like my own make it difficult for us to access grant-based and other concessional financing internationally. This situation obtains even though our small country is on the front line of confronting the prohibitively expensive adverse impacts of climate change, which contribute greatly to increased burdens to our domestic coffers in the form of high ratios of external debt to gross domestic product. This is a blight that severely afflicts all Caribbean nations. Recalling the small island developing States (SIDS) Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the revitalized global partnership entrenched in this new 2030 Agenda, Belize is moved to call for better policies to facilitate enhanced access to international public sources of financing, especially grants and highly concessional loans, for small island developing States; better multilateral trade policies to ensure improved market access for small vulnerable economies; and more inclusive governance structures at the international level to ensure that the concerns of small developing states with middle-income status are taken into account when setting and executing policies. Our situation is further prejudiced when some of our partners from developed countries unilaterally utilize domestic measures to assess or rate our countries, subjecting us to blacklists absent any form of due process. These measures have perpetuated what can only be called an international disabling environment for our small middle-income countries and our equally small enterprises. Belize reaffirms the call in the SAMOA Pathway for genuine and durable partnerships. The most beneficial to us are those that put our people’s priorities first. We continue to deepen our partnerships globally. We firmly believe that they are essential for the successful implementation of our 2030 Agenda. While improvements to the wider enabling environments and partnerships can catalyse transformation in our economies, we know that no such transformation can be sustained in the face of the dangerous, adverse impacts of climate change. In the case of SIDS, a simple storm can erase decades of development and erode the very land that sustains us. Ours may very well be the last generation that is seized of the opportunity and capacity to save the planet from the cataclysmic effects of climate change. Let us seize the moment. The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Paris must deliver a robust outcome that entrenches the highest ambition to address climate change. We are at a crossroads in our development exercise. At this juncture, let us choose the right path — the sustainable and resilient path. We must safeguard Mother Earth. Let us do so with social and economic justice on our side and solidarity in our stride. Today and onward, there is no turning back.

I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I now call on Mr. Yves Germain Joseph, Minister for Planning and External Cooperation of the Republic of Haiti.

It is an honour for me to speak on behalf of the President of the Republic of Haiti, His Excellency Mr. Michel Joseph Martelly. At the outset, allow me to extend the warm congratulations of the Republic of Haiti to the co-Chairs appointed to head this extraordinary Summit on development. It is a happy coincidence that the Summit is taking place at a time when the Organization is commemorating the seventieth anniversary of its Charter. This is of course a very good sign for the success of our work. Rarely has the United Nations had a strategy that has brought people so closely together as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), initiated in 2000 with the ambition of breaking the cycle of poverty for far too many people on the planet. The Millennium Development Goals have unquestionably contributed to raising the awareness of the international community and strengthening our struggle against extreme poverty in all its dimensions. Today, 15 years later, where are we? The attainment of the Millennium Development Goals has been uneven, as we have noted during the preparatory work for this Summit. In fact, the Millennium Development Goals have led to very good policies through which remarkable results have sometimes been achieved. One of the most impressive is reducing by half extreme poverty, which was the case for more than 700 million people in a 20-year period. At the same time, the campaign against malaria and tuberculosis has prevented the deaths of millions of people. Access to safe drinking water has been expanded and millions of lives have been spared from HIV/AIDS. There has been greater access to child and maternal health-care services and education for girls, and women have had greater participation in political life. Those are just a few examples that can be considered outstanding successes. Nevertheless, no matter how important and impressive, such progress cannot conceal the fact that often when we talk about poverty reduction, it is an illusion. How can we ignore the tragic reality of billions of individuals who continue to suffer from malnutrition or who die of hunger? Hundreds of millions of children cannot realize their full potential. Multitudes of vulnerable people live in extremely precarious situations as migrants, refugees, deported persons or those displaced in their own countries? With regard to the Republic of Haiti, I am extremely pleased to say that the public policies implemented in recent years, largely inspired by the Millennium Development Goals, have been fruitful. Significant progress has been recently achieved in Haiti. Whether we talk about the reduction in extreme poverty and inequality, the improvement of social protections, the fight against social exclusion or the expansion of health-care coverage, the reduction of infant mortality, the access to safe drinking water or food security, to name a few essential areas, significant progress has been achieved. Three years ahead of schedule, Haiti reached the target related to reducing the prevalence of underweight children under 5 years of age. In the field of education, thanks to a universal, free and compulsory education programme set up by the Martelly Administration, the country has reached an enrolment rate of around 90 per cent today, up from a 50 per cent rate in 1990. We have had other significant successes, particularly in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The cholera epidemic suddenly introduced into the country five years ago is in clear decline, even though it is still far from being eradicated. If Haitians have good reason to be proud of the progress made with respect to the MDGs, the country still has a very long way to go. We are well aware of the immense needs of the population and the gaps and delays to make up. Basic infrastructure continues to be sorely lacking. The country’s structural handicaps are severe impediments to wealth creation and to the delivery of services to the population. There are pressing and urgent environmental problems to overcome. The experience of recent years has taught us that there is nothing inevitable about underdevelopment. Extreme poverty is not invincible; we can contain it, make it recede and work towards its complete eradication. We can reduce inequalities and combat exclusion. The results obtained in the economic and social areas, together with the democratic achievements, are opening our country to a wide range of possibilities and real prospects for modernization over the coming years. The results of the MDG programme, with its successes and failures, provides us with lessons that will be useful in the context of the implementation of the new post-2015 development plan. For its part, the Republic of Haiti believes that the role of the State as an essential development actor is an absolute necessity, especially in sectors where the private sector is of limited value or where it has been slow to fulfil its promise. Therefore, the State should strengthen its capacity to define and implement coherent public policies and reforms to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Similarly, it is essential that Government coordination mechanisms be strengthened to improve the effectiveness of bilateral and multilateral assistance, as well as assistance from non-governmental organizations, in the context of striving to attain the SDGs. Finally, it is desirable that donors establish more flexible procedures to eliminate bottlenecks that too often limit the capacity and rate of absorption of assistance, particularly in the case of the least developed countries. The Haitian Government fully supports the approach outlined by the United Nations to win the fight against extreme poverty. It has also endorsed in its national development strategy the broad guidelines and most of the targets set forth under the SDGs: the promotion of sustained economic growth, full employment and decent work for all, reducing inequality, putting gender equality into concrete practice and accelerating the universalization of the right to sustainable development, whether it be the right to education, health, food security, justice, energy, social protection, drinking water or a healthy environment. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) carries with it great ambitions. Such an undertaking can be achieved only if each objective is accompanied by appropriate and coherent policies, programmes and action plans and adequate funding mechanisms. But above all, what will make a difference is the political will of Member States and their determination to achieve a world free of poverty and hunger by 2030. With the adoption of the SDGs, we undertake to complete the project begun in 2000 with the MDGs. The Republic of Haiti is committed to this struggle by the United Nations to eliminate extreme poverty and to establish a more just and equitable world with sustainable economic growth that benefits everyone. It is up to each of us, in a renewed spirit of solidarity, to mobilize and gather around our shared values ​and do everything we can to be able to say with pride to future generations on the day of reckoning in 2030 that the 2015 commitments were indeed met.

I now call on Mrs. Neneh Macdouall-Gaye, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Gambia.

On behalf of His Excellency Sheikh Alhaji Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh Babil Mansa, President of the Republic of the Gambia, I feel deeply privileged and singularly honoured to be present here on the occasion of this historic meeting. The Government and the people of the Gambia would like to commend the United Nations and the global community for their vision in drafting the Sustainable Development Goals as the successor plan to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The articulation of the new development goals is no doubt the supreme manifestation of our collective will and desire to enhance the lives and livelihoods of humankind. It is therefore imperative that we muster greater courage, mobilize added resources and marshal our human capital to ensure that the new Sustainable Development Goals effectively and expeditiously complete the unfinished agenda of the MDGs. As the community of nations, we have cause to celebrate, for significant progress was made during the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. The global scenario indicates that the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined, remarkable achievements have been reported in school enrolment and gender parity, and there has been an astonishing reduction in the number of undernourished people. Also in the area of health, robust and sustained immunization has reduced to more than half the under-5 mortality rate. I am happy to report that in the Gambia the targets for both infant and under-5 mortality rates have been met. It is also a source of pride and satisfaction to note that under the Millennium Development Goals the Gambia made significant strides and achieved major results, particularly with the programme for immunizing children under the age of 1 against measles. In November 2014, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations awarded the Gambia an insignia for achieving the MDG 1 target and reducing by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. It is also to be noted that the Gambia has reduced the prevalence of undernourishment from 13.3 per cent in 1992 to 6 per cent in 2012. In the education sector, after extending free education for girls, the Government of the Gambia was able to attain gender parity at the low basic level by 2005, at the upper basic level by 2009 and at the secondary level by 2014. In further extending free education for all of the secondary level, statistics show that in the 2015-2016 academic year, 221,550 girls have been enrolled, in comparison to 212,354 boys. In addition, this programme gives the population access to 12 years of free education from the primary to secondary levels. Another important milestone achievement for us in the Gambia is access to safe drinking water: the Gambia reached 91 per cent coverage in 2013. The Government of the Gambia intends to further redouble efforts to sustain and improve upon the gains we have recorded and address the challenges to improve the livelihood of all Gambians. In that regard, we are stepping up our investments in the productive sectors, infrastructure and social services. Despite the achievements made at national and continental levels, we need to acknowledge that daunting challenges remain. There are inequalities between regions and countries and between urban and rural areas. Climate change and environmental degradation will require greater attention if we are to sustain and enhance the gains already registered. In that connection, I call on all countries to come up with an ambitious climate change treaty in Paris later this year. Of equal significance, I call for massive investment in our youth, who are not only the pillars of our societies but the future of countries. Vocational training and skills enhancement to enable our youths to secure gainful employment and contribute to national development will be the watchword. It is therefore important that we strive to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as effective as possible. One way of realizing that is to mainstream the SDGs in our national developmental planning processes, giving them the weight they deserve as part and parcel of our development aspirations. Conflicts remain the biggest challenge to development. Millions, if not billions, of dollars, which could accelerate development, are spent on arms and lethal weapons. Several million people who could have constituted our human capital for development lost their lives, or are maimed or displaced, with many others living as refugees in camps that are devoid of basic facilities. The United Nations and the entire global community must give urgent attention to addressing conflicts and make the world a safer and more secure place for all. That is central if we are going to achieve the objective of leaving no one behind under the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs, no doubt, hold a lot of promise for the world, and we must learn from our experiences during the MDGs’ implementation. Doubtless, the SDGs are very ambitious and, as such, must be met with the same level of ambition as far as their implementation is concerned. Capacity- building, finance and technology are the prerequisites for the SDGs’ success. Developing countries must therefore accelerate domestic resource mobilization through innovative practices and by involving the private sector in order to finance development. To that end, we strongly call on the developed world to meet their overseas development assistance pledges of 0.7 per cent of gross national income. It should be noted that an assessment of Goal 8 of the MDGs indicates that only a few countries have met that target. The transfer and diffusion of appropriate technology and capacity-building will be fundamental in the achievement of the SDGs. A multi-stakeholder partnership must be built and enhanced to mobilize and share knowledge. Expertise must be marshalled to complement the efforts of governance, particularly those of developing countries. The implementation of the SDGs cannot be left to goodwill alone. Robust mechanisms must be set up and means of verification established. In conclusion, let it be said that the SDGs, as far as the Government of the Gambia is concerned, is a contract with humankind, and, although the United Nations may not be perfect, it is the only global institution we have which is capable of ensuring our security and development. Therefore, on behalf of the President of the Republic of the Gambia, I call on the global community to once again rally around and give undivided support to the United Nations in the noble task of uplifting the livelihoods of most notably the underprivileged. For it is only in that way that future generations will judge us in a favourable light. I wish everyone Eid Mubarak and thank them for their kind attention.

I now call on Ms. Mariame Fofana, Head of the delegation of Burkina Faso.

I take the floor on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Michel Kafando, President of Burkina Faso and President of the transition. Burkina Faso welcomes the holding of this important Summit on the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda (resolution 70/1). As we celebrate this new development agenda, a process which began back at the Rio+20 Conference in June 2012 , we must acknowledge the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, whose dedication and zeal have made it possible to achieve the success of this fortuitous initiative. Burkina Faso expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the two co-facilitators for their commitment and sense of compromise. We also congratulate all States on their devotion and patience, which has led to the adoption today of this new consensus document on which we pin much hope. This Agenda, which reaffirms the principles of the Rio+20 Declaration with regard to the eradication of poverty, the fight against hunger, quality education for all and the fight against inequalities, challenges every Member State to continue the work already begun in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With the MDGs, Burkina Faso has attained results, even if the outcome still poses several challenges for us today. This new development Agenda opens a new cycle, which gives our States an opportunity to adopt new and more ambitious perspectives in keeping with the profound and legitimate aspirations of our peoples. My delegation would also like to recognize the consensus obtained on the 17 Goals and 169 targets of the new development programme. Their indivisible nature and the commitment of all States to work for their effective implementation will ensure their awaited success. My delegation reiterates its resolve and commitment to work towards the full realization of all those objectives. However, we would like to make a special plea regarding Goal 8, concerning youth, spearhead of our nations and the most important segment of our population. It would be inappropriate, even arbitrary, to pretend that we are building a world if in that process we set aside those to whom it is destined. Henceforth, we will spare no effort to implement that objective in order to arrive at a result that will meet the expectations of our youth. The implementation of the new development plan undeniably demands a mobilization of resources. My delegation therefore welcomed the unanimous support for the Addis Ababa Action Agenda last July, particularly in terms of providing support to the post- 2015 development agenda. It would also be wise for the financing mechanisms of the new development agenda to incorporate the set of issues on States’ adaptability to the impacts of climate change. The implementation of such an ambitious project might prove difficult, hence the need for joint action by States and a responsible commitment on the part of the entire international community. It would therefore not be fair if we, as politicians, shirked our obligations with regard to official development assistance and instead advocated a greater role for the private sector in the guise of public-private partnerships as a miracle solution for increasing investment, given that social investments, which do not generate significant profits, are not a priority for the private sector. The success of the post-2015 development agenda will depend upon its full integration into our national, subregional and regional development strategies. It will also derive from the planning modalities to be implemented, as well as from the follow-up and evaluation mechanisms that will be put in place, which will, in due course, provide reliable statistics. Moreover, achieving the expected results will require us to establish a high-level follow-up framework. It is also important for African countries to create a stringent follow-up mechanism for the post-2015 agenda and the 2063 agenda of the African Union — a mechanism that will be capable of providing, in a timely fashion, transparent, reliable and disaggregated statistics that will yield an objective assessment of the remaining challenges, along with a step-by-step analysis of the outlook for their resolution. As was stressed by the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held in New York from 26 June to 8 July, the problems of climate change remain central to our agenda and deserve particular attention in the implementation process. In that regard, whether we address desertification, land degradation or drought, my country, Burkina Faso, along with other developing countries in general, remains extremely vulnerable to climate change. My delegation would like to urge all stakeholders to redouble their efforts so that at the close of the work of the twenty-first session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Paris at the end of this year, we can achieve tangible and practical results to protect our planet from global warming. Because peace, security and stability are indispensable factors for development, special and sustained attention should be given to Africa to support it in its efforts aimed at conflict prevention and resolution and peacekeeping. Convinced of that reality, the African Union will organize a high-level event on peace and security on 1 and 2 October 2015, in the context of the commemoration of the seventieth anniversary of the creation of the United Nations. To conclude, Burkina Faso reiterates its support for the new global development Agenda in the hope that this new covenant will allow us to respond to the pressing needs of our populations.

I now call on Mr. Anthony Mothae Maruping, Commissioner for Economic Affairs of the African Union Commission.

I have the singular honour and special privilege to read this statement on behalf of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Ms. Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma. The African Union Commission recognizes, acknowledges and welcomes the progress made in some areas and notes the lessons learned in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in the last 15 years. Africa welcomes the post-2015 development agenda just adopted in the form of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which form the road map towards ‘‘the world we want’’. That Agenda will, in addition, provide the conditions necessary for the completion of the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals. It was with satisfaction that Africa contributed substantially and influenced the work of the Open Working Group and the intergovernmental negotiation process by submitting a comprehensive and well- articulated common African position. Africa welcomes the new Agenda, which represents a balanced agenda that covers the three principal areas of development that have been identified, namely, the social, economic and sustainability considerations. The continent of Africa was also gratified to host the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which produced the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in July. Africa is ready to pursue the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals by using the vehicle of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which is a more detailed, more broadly encompassing and longer- term development framework. Agenda 2063, which encapsulates the Sustainable Development Goals, will assist the continent to achieve accelerated, sustained, stable and inclusive economic growth that leads to sound, resilient, sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic development. Agenda 2063 will create jobs, in particular for the currently marginalized sections of society such as women, youth and people living with disabilities, and will address inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth. That should contribute towards the poverty eradication we seek. Through Agenda 2063, Africa also seeks to structurally transform the economies of its member States by ensuring much higher added value and diversification. That will require, inter alia, particular focus on infrastructure development and energy generation, investment in human development, including education and training, agriculture production improvement, accelerated industrialization, especially in manufacturing, and the provision of relevant services. Furthermore, accelerated integration and trade, along with enhanced productive capacities, including technology development, transfer and diffusion, should lead to increased competitiveness and productivity, attracting investment and boosting Africa’s ability to join regional and international value chains. In addition, Africa has decided to pay special attention to the realization of the vast potential of its blue ocean economy and to put in place measures to sustainably manage the continent’s rich biodiversity. Agenda 2063 is a strategic framework for people-driven development that relies on the potential of the African people, especially women and youth. Gender parity and women’s empowerment in all spheres of life and the elimination of all forms of discrimination will be vigorously pursued. High priority will be given to the economic engagement of youth. Women’s economic and financial empowerment and youth engagement in economic activities can ensure the mobilization and utilization of all of the human resources and talents available for Africa’s accelerated economic growth and socioeconomic development, as well as poverty eradication. On the social front, Africa will achieve excellence in human-resources capacity development by improving the quality of education and training, by ensuring universal and equitable access to high-quality health care, by providing universal and reliable access to safe water in a sustainable manner, especially access to safe drinking water in urban and rural areas, and by promoting sustainable social protection programmes, among other endeavours. Key concerns will include, inter alia, good governance, adherence to human rights and the skilful management of diversity, peace and security. Why is Africa so hopeful? Because broad-ranging consultations with stakeholders have been undertaken, ensuring wide ownership and commitment, because the means for financing have received due attention, because risk analysis has been carefully conducted and the relevant management strategies duly devised, because the assessment of the capacities required for implementation of the Agenda has been conducted and modalities for closing capacity gaps have been delineated, because an appropriate accountability framework is being developed, and because the goals, targets and indicators are clear and are being quantified to enable an effective monitoring and evaluation process, which will ensure results-based management. There is no need to re-emphasize that statistics enable meaningful policy formulation and the articulation of development projects and programmes of action. Statistics also enable the formulation of a credible accountability framework. Without the adequate, reliable and timely statistics management of development programmes, an effective monitoring and evaluation process would be constrained. Strengthening statistics systems is therefore imperative for success in the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals. Against that background and with the cooperation of the international community, Africa should be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals within the specified period and within the framework of the African Agenda 2063 implementation plans.

I now call on Mr. Dmitry Pankin, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Eurasian Development Bank.

I will not reiterate how important it is that the General Assembly has adopted the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (resolution 70/1). It is clearly important, as many of those speaking today have already noted. What remains to be discussed is how we should organize our work in order to achieve the Goals. In other words, we need to identify the practical steps that need to be taken. I wish to note that it is extremely important that the attainment of certain goals should not lead us to undermine other ones, which would create a conflict between the attainment of some goals and the achievement of others. I will offer one specific example, based on the countries that founded the Eurasian Development Bank after the collapse of the Soviet Union. For 14 years, from 2000 to 2014, the growth of real income compared to labour productivity rose in those countries by two and a half times, while in developed countries, real income during the same period was ahead of the growth in labour productivity by only 11 per cent. In other developing countries, that ratio was around 20 per cent. What does that mean? On the one hand, it is a good thing; the real income of people in many countries has risen, poverty measures have declined, and the incomes of pensioners and retirees have significantly increased. But the fact that revenue was so far ahead of labour productivity means that those countries became non-competitive, which made them less attractive for investment. That, in turn, meant that the long-term outlook for sustainable development slowed down and was undermined. Therefore, we need to fundamentally redesign our future models of economic development. In that regard, the conclusion that we can draw is that, as we move towards the Sustainable Development Goals, we must do so in a way that does not undermine the attainment of certain goals at the expense of other goals and targets. I would like now to draw members’ attention to another issue. Returning to the development bank that I represent, in recent years, following the financial crisis of 2008, we saw many of the most powerful international banks reduce their operations in the developing world. We saw capital flight from the markets of developing countries towards those of developed countries. Basically, we have witnessed what we call an outflow of quality investment. We therefore face the serious question of who is going to continue to finance the infrastructure projects that are the most important projects in emerging market countries. It is no coincidence that, in that context, we are seeing many projects aimed at the creation of new development banks. What do we see? We see that the countries of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa group are creating new banks, along with the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, in which China plays the leading role. In those conditions, the most serious and important issue is how to coordinate the work of all those banks. In my region, the Eurasian area, we now have the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. As I have said, we now have new players coming on the scene, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, for instance. The issue of coordinating the work of the banks is fundamental. We see several banks working at the same time on a number of infrastructure projects. We need a single unified approach, along with unified standards, so that the same norms and expectations are applied to the various projects being financed. What is crucial here, I believe, is the vital role that the United Nations could play, as a body, as an institution, by functioning as the coordinator with regard to organizing the efforts of the various international development banks.

I now call on Mr. Saber Chowdhury, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) aspire to shape the lives of peoples in each and every country. Never before has the focus on people been so closely interwoven with themes of the planet, peace, prosperity and, last but not least, partnerships. This Summit has thus presented a once in a lifetime opportunity to steer the world towards a safer, sustainable, inclusive and prosperous path. It is my distinct honour as President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world’s organization of parliaments, to thank the General Assembly for the opportunity to address the Assembly, which has now adopted this challenging, ambitious and transformational Agenda. The world we have known over the past few years is going to change dramatically with the adoption of the SDGs, and we as a parliamentary community are pleased to express our solidarity and full support for the just adopted Sustainable Development Goals. The perspectives of parliaments and parliamentarians from across the world have enriched the formulation and articulation of the SDGs, thanks to the outreach efforts initiated by the United Nations and the resulting global conversations. The IPU is proud to have contributed to that process. We welcome the recognition of the IPU engagement and its contribution to the outcome document that contains the Goals. In this very Hall earlier this month, speakers of parliaments from around the world held their fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, at which they unanimously adopted a declaration that attests to the strong and growing partnership between the United Nations and the IPU. The preamble to the Charter of the United Nations begins, as we all know, with the words “We the peoples”, and parliaments are the institutions that represent the will of the people. It is that common focus on people, their rights, their dignity, their security and their aspirations that bring the United Nations and the IPU together as natural partners. It is that centrality of people and their interests that binds us as legislators to the executive arms of Governments. The 2 September declaration of the fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, entitled “Placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development: Building the world the people want”, will help to galvanize political will and show national ownership, which is critical for the implementation of the new post-2015 development agenda through the active engagement of the parliamentary community. It provides political guidance to parliaments on major issues facing the world today from inequality and poverty to climate change and disaster-risk reduction. It talks about youth disenchantment, migration and terrorism. It reiterates our commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons, which will be marked again tomorrow, 26 September, by the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Those challenges are all interlinked and require coherent and robust action by all States. In solidarity with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Speakers’ declaration pledges to place the concerns of people across the world at the very heart of policymaking. At the Inter-Parliamentary Union, we are particularly heartened by the inclusions of the Goals on governance, women’s empowerment and the need to address inequality. Those goals are part of our core business. We note with satisfaction that the governance goal, in particular, points to the need for reform in order to make all institutions of Government, including parliaments, fit for purpose. That goal is a huge political breakthrough. It sends a very strong signal and a very powerful message that we are serious about changing the way we do business at the highest political level, including the core functions of representation, the appropriation of resources through the budgetary process, law-making and oversight, as well as national ownership of global processes, Parliaments have a crucial role to play in translating those goals into reality. Parliaments are thus critical to the success of the Sustainable Development Goals. To succeed, we must all act together in concert and in a coherent, coordinated manner across political divides. All institutions of Government, as well as other groups in society, such as academia, civil- society organizations, community and religious leaders and youth must work together to ensure effective implementation. Parliaments can make a real difference by fulfilling their constitutional role and mandate in monitoring progress, holding Governments to account and ensuring that we deliver locally what has been pledged globally. Ultimately, it is visionary political leadership that will propel those goals forward and translate them from words into action. As a body of world leaders, the General Assembly has the power to build a better world for our people and for future generations. The IPU and national parliaments are available to help. Together we can shape and create the future that our citizens want and which we have pledged and are duty-bound to deliver. I wish the Assembly an excellent Summit.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by Mr. Zhang Xinsheng, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) strongly believes that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), with its Sustainable Development Goals, provides an important framework to address the challenges that we face today, and we commend members for adopting those transformational Goals. The IUCN commends Governments for their open spirit throughout the negotiations and for including the concerns and advice of civil society and other stakeholders. Most of all, we commend them for taking the initiative to jointly agree on a vision for a better future in which no one is left behind and people can live in harmony with nature. Today’s adoption is more than just a symbolic act, it is a promise to millions and to all generations. The IUCN has long envisioned sustainable development as a path that leads to a just and prosperous world that values and conserves nature by ensuring, through effective and active governance, that its resources are used sustainably. The 2030 Agenda reflects those wishes. As the Assembly knows, all life on Earth depends on well-functioning ecosystems. A nation’s ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, just adopted today at the United Nations Summit during the opening days of the General Assembly at its seventieth session, depends on a well-functioning ecosystem. If a nation fails to create or can no longer sustain such an ecosystem, it will not be able to make meaningful steps towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. At the special IUCN high-level international meeting, the Eco-Forum Global, held in China, the declaration adopted at that meeting particularly highlights that, as an organization rooted in nature conservation, the IUCN continues to promote the sustainable use of natural resources. Established in 1948 in Paris, the IUCN is now based in Geneva. The IUCN is particularly delighted to see the manner in which environmental dimensions have been integrated in the SDGs, not only in those Goals specifically dedicated to protecting our natural environment — the land, air and oceans — but also through the inclusion of entities that refer to the role played by nature in our response to current challenges. The latter include poverty, food security, water security and disaster-risk reduction, among others. The IUCN calls for nature-based solutions to sustainable development issues. Accordingly, the SDGs are an opportunity to address convergent key issues that demonstrate that there can be sustainable development only if we protect the planet and its ecosystems. Given that a supportive functioning ecosystem will help achieve many of the Goals, it is of the utmost importance that we invest our efforts and resources into conserving and restoring such systems. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda provides channels for mobilizing the necessary resources. Some of them, such as redirecting funds away from harmful subsidies towards clean investments, are long overdue. At the national level, development policies need to take into account the role that countries’ ecosystems will play in national development and do so in a manner that actively contributes to the implementation and achievements of the SDGs. Investing in nature is investing in people. While we have spent the past several years talking, discussing, negotiating and agreeing, now we need to shift our attention to implementing our universal Agenda. We have to work together through integrated partnerships across various dimensions. Every State, every person and every stakeholder needs to play their part, in order to ensure the success of this great Agenda. We are ready to act together for a sustainable future.

I now give the floor to Mr. Martin Kreutner, Dean and Executive Secretary of the International Anti-Corruption Academy.

We have all witnessed today history in the making. We have seen the adoption of a comprehensive post-2015 development agenda — the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — in resolution 70/1, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. That new Agenda provides the most consultative and comprehensive path and the most inclusive and illustrated process ever, reaching out to and taking on board all relevant stakeholders, our peoples and the global community. It is, therefore, a genuine honour for me to be here on this memorable day to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. Let me start by commending the States Members of the United Nations and all of the stakeholders involved; in that connection I pay particular tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as well as his staff, for his leadership, devotion and dedication. We have come a long way, and we have reached a point today where it is fair to allow ourselves humble feelings of pride. However, we will all be judged by concrete and tangible results in a world that is entering turbulent times. We face a series of mounting, perhaps unprecedented, global challenges: economic uncertainty, huge numbers of refugees, increasing distrust among the leading Powers and climate change, among others. What is more, we must address those challenges at a time of declining trust in political, institutional and corporate leadership, as well as a time of scepticism about the ability of national and international actors to make the world a better and fairer place. Therefore, in that context, I would like to talk today about two journeys that the world must take between this Summit and 2030. And I want to urge members to consider how closely interrelated they are. Ideally, there should be a single comprehensive avenue or one compass for actions that sets our trajectory and shines the light on the way forward. The first involves fulfilling an ambitious and inspiring global Agenda with 17 new SDGs, aimed at securing a better future for all of the human beings on this planet, and the second involves strengthening our efforts to fight corruption everywhere, in all its forms. Let me be clear — this second, anti-corruption journey is not an optional extra. Nor is it a small part of some global policy buffet that one can taste hesitantly and then leave on the plate. On the contrary, a strong, relentless fight against corruption, with leadership from the very top, both nationally and internationally, both in the political but also in the corporate world, is essential for realizing this Sustainable Development Agenda of ours. Let us look at our record in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There were real achievements in reducing extreme poverty and child mortality and in increasing the numbers of girls going to school, for example. But it is no secret that corruption, at the same time, greatly hampered the fulfilment of the MDGs overall. The good news is that by multiplying our anti-corruption efforts, we can make sure that the SDGs meet with a more fortunate fate. That will be a huge task because we are facing a formidable opponent. Corruption is an evil that knows no boundaries. It is present throughout all continents, all societies and sectors. It costs more than 5 per cent of the global gross domestic product, adding between 5 to 10 per cent to any single contract in business. Corruption hits the world’s most vulnerable people the hardest. Research suggests that in countries where more than 60 per cent of the population pay bribes to receive public services, more women die in childbirth, fewer people have access to clean water and more young people are illiterate. As I have said in many other forums, corruption is the antithesis to human rights, the venom undermining the rule of law, the poison attacking prosperity and development, and the opposite of equity and equality. Most fundamentally, it erodes trust and confidence and contributes to the collapse of societies and economies. Encouragingly, the global anti-corruption movement has already come a long way since its beginning nearly 20 years ago. Among other regional instruments, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Anti-Bribery Convention came into force in 1999, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption, with its global reach, entered into force in 2005. To date, it is the only convention in the United Nations set of conventions that has also implemented a State-owned review mechanism in 2009. There is also a growing awareness, among both political leaders and the public, of corruption’s devastating effects. The International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), the organization that I have the honour to lead, is proud to have actively contributed to the post- 2015 development agenda process. We have done so by repeatedly emphasizing the necessity of making good governance and the rule of law, which require strong and stable, fair and just anti-corruption regimes, an explicit component of that process. I am therefore delighted to see strong anti-corruption language in the outcome document for this Summit (resolution 70/1), in particular under Goal 16, which aims to “[s]ubstantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms... [d]evelop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels... [and p]romote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all”. Just as encouragingly, the outcome document also recognizes that an inspiring vision needs daily implementation. That is absolutely crucial, if the SDGs are to become a reality. That is where anti-corruption efforts are most needed. The anti-corruption agenda has significantly broadened its perspective since the mid-1990s. Back then, it consisted of a single pillar — criminal law and enforcement. Today, there are three more: prevention, education and awareness- raising, and international cooperation. IACA’s activities span all three of those new pillars, empowering anti-corruption professionals across the globe. We are an independent intergovernmental organization with an ever-growing constituency of 64 parties, bringing together more than 5 billion people, or two thirds of the world’s population. The International Anti-Corruption Academy is also a post-secondary educational institution that offers technical assistance, capacity- building, world-class anti-corruption programmes and related research. In July, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 29/11, which explicitly recognized the negative impact of corruption on human rights and sustainable development and the significance of anti-corruption education. In that context, it noted with appreciation the capacity-building activities and specialized curricula developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and IACA, respectively. Nelson Mandela once said that education has the power to change the world. In our context, it is fair to argue that anti-corruption education has the power to help us achieve the SDGs and transform the world or, in the words of Malala Yousafzai, which touched us all this morning, “Education is hope. Education is peace.” I am confident that, if we unite in a spirit of global partnership, the fight against corruption will prevail and the SDGs will become reality, so that we can, as I mentioned at the start of my statement, successfully complete the two journeys via a single path. Investing in anti-corruption education and empowerment is the smart way to work towards achieving sustainable development, safeguarding human rights and strengthening the rule of law on the road to 2030 and beyond. Let us therefore be inspired by the vision of this new Agenda, and be energized and focused in our daily efforts. On behalf of the International Anti-Corruption Academy and on a personal note, I pledge my full support to this Summit and to the successful implementation of the SDGs.

I now give the floor to Mr. Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

On behalf of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, I would like to thank the Assembly for the opportunity to address this historic Summit. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) is ambitious, universal, holistic and more inclusive. We are pleased with the emphasis it places on the most vulnerable and marginalized. We also welcome the strong focus on resilience, which recognizes that disasters, humanitarian crises and global health epidemics have the potential to reverse hard-won development gains. Those issues, as well as those of forced displacement, migration, violence, peace and human rights and human dignity, must be addressed if we are to achieve sustainable development. An estimated 250 million people are now being affected by humanitarian crises. We are seeing an increase in the intensity, frequency and unpredictability of disasters, often exacerbated by climate change and unplanned urbanization. Over the past two years, we have been reminded yet again of the threat posed by international health emergencies, which are critically exacerbated by underdeveloped health sectors. Tens of millions of people are affected by conflicts that are becoming more and more protracted, stretching the capacity and imagination of humanitarian organizations. There are an estimated 60 million forcibly displaced people, half of whom are children. That is the highest level since the end of the Second World War. In recent weeks, we have been at many of the borders in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and have seen at first hand the terrible human toll on refugees and a migrant crisis that is testing our capacity to respond and, more important, our shared humanity in the face of so much suffering. If we are to truly leave no one behind, then the new post-2015 agenda must address the needs of people affected by humanitarian crises. The ambitious 2030 Agenda must be backed by resources and commitments, and not least by financial resources. As the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have said, we must go from billions to trillions if we are to have any hope of delivering on the promises we are making today. In order to do that, we will have to scale up our ambitions and diversify our sources of funding. Moreover, more resources must be aimed at the local level, where the needs are greatest and services can be delivered to the most vulnerable and hardest to reach. Through their trained staff and 17 million volunteers, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are permanently present in communities and work across a continuum of development and humanitarian settings to serve the most vulnerable. That unparalleled presence is enhanced by the auxiliary status that our national societies possess vis-à-vis their Governments, and is complemented by the solidarity and universality of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Our Movement is uniquely and powerfully placed to drive meaningful and sustainable change at the community level by building and strengthening resilience. We are happy to endorse the 2030 Agenda, and our network stands ready to partner with Governments, United Nations agencies, civil society, the corporate sector and, not least, communities themselves in order to make this ambition a reality.

I now give the floor to Ms. Michaëlle Jean, Secretary General of the International Organization of la Francophonie.

At this seventieth anniversary of the creation of the United Nations, the year 2015 will go down in history as one of major events, commitments and hopes for humankind. In March, in this Hall, we undertook a review of the commitment made 20 years ago in Beijing at the Fourth World Conference on Women to eradicate unjustifiable inequalities between women and men. In May, at Incheon, we committed to ensuring an equitable, quality education and lifelong learning for all. In July, at Addis Ababa, we committed to revitalizing global partnerships and mobilizing the financing and investment needed for development. The International Organization of la Francophonie was represented at all those events and has endorsed all the resulting commitments, because with its 80 States and Governments, scattered over five continents, it is at the centre of every emergency around the globe, all the world’s inequalities, terrible disparities, security crises and continuing and recurring bloody conflicts. But it is also at the centre of all that this world has to offer in terms of energy, achievement, extraordinary diversity and an infinite capacity to make, produce, create, innovate and invent. So, yes, the International Organization of la Francophonie is firmly committed to our ambitious post-2015 development agenda. In order to give substance to that new hope, we will work with the most vulnerable of our member countries to help them take advantage of the opportunities presented by the prospects of improved financing for development, in line with the Addis Ababa International Conference on Financing for Development, and to support them in the sometimes complex process of formulating national strategies for sustainable development. And, yes, the International Organization of la Francophonie will continue to work actively to ensure that in a few weeks’ time we reach an ambitious and lasting settlement in Paris. The work we have done with the Institute for Sustainable Development of la Francophonie to strengthen the capacities of negotiating teams from highly vulnerable countries, particularly in Africa, is part of that effort. The work we have done to ensure that multilingualism is a reality in those negotiations will also enable everyone’s voice to be genuinely heard and taken into account. That is important, because the fate of every country on the planet is at stake. It is an issue of international democracy and a principle that we will do everything to defend. The International Organization of la Francophonie is committed to all those efforts in an acute awareness of our interdependence. There are no more local challenges, tragedies or threats. We must therefore respond to this globalization of our problems by globalizing our decisions, solutions, solidarity and partnerships. States have their own responsibility to achieve these goals, and they should be well aware that they will have to be more and more accountable to their increasingly engaged citizens, civil society and young people. And so much the better. But we also have a collective responsibility, through international, regional and non-governmental organizations and private companies. Every effort, every repository of knowledge, expertise and financial resources — and they are important — must make a contribution to our shared strategies, with their sole expected and declared aim being the realization of the common good. The International Organization of la Francophonie is committed to those efforts, too, in an acute awareness of their urgency and of the fact that time is short. It would be a grave mistake to believe that we have 15 years in which to get this done, because every day the consequences of the inaction, selfishness, indifference and irresponsibility of recent years are added to the goals we have set in 2015. Yes, to the goals we have set today we must add the consequences of the conflicts we have allowed to metastasize, sometimes after starting them, conflicts now seen in terms of the hundreds of thousands of refugees they have produced and the kilometres soaked with blood gained every day by terrorist movements seeking lands. Yes, to the goals we have set we must add the consequences of the poverty to which we have turned a blind eye too long and which now includes hundreds of thousands of migrants. So this is urgent and time is short. We must take concrete steps, immediately and now. We should not be content to manage these consequences piecemeal. Let us act resolutely to tackle their causes. That is the choice that the International Organization of la Francophonie has made. We want to go faster and further. Besides our work in education and training in the areas of peace, democracy and human rights, we have adopted an economic strategy that, in the spirit of the post- 2015 agenda, puts the emphasis on economic growth and employment, particularly for women and young people — the women whose contribution to development and prosperity is invaluable and indispensable, and the young people who in 2030 will make up more than half of many countries’ populations and who are so eager to work and succeed. All they are asking is to be able to regain their hope and confidence. It is for them that we are launching an incubation programme in Africa for regionally focused, job-creating businesses. The fact that this is so urgent means that the more of us there are taking part — countries, private and institutional partners, and United Nations agencies, funds and programmes — the better will be our chances of winning this race against time. We must play as a team to bring home this and every other victory. We are at a crossroads. Whatever actions and decisions we do or do not take will have irreversible consequences and repercussions for the future of our shared planet. Let us prove that we can truly give meaning to our words of compassion and humanism and our ambitious, hopeful resolutions through a sense of a duty done, because our duty begins now.

I now give the floor to Mr. Badre Eddine Allali, Under-Secretary- General for Social Affairs of the League of Arab States.

The League of Arab States is pleased to be able to participate in this historic Summit and support every effort of its members aimed at achieving comprehensive sustainable development. We all suffer from the effects of conflict, leaving aside the Syrian crisis itself and Israel’s inhumane practices, which hinder the development and security of the Palestinian people. The League of Arab States commends the General Assembly’s decision to raise the flag of the State of Palestine in front of United Nations Headquarters. That is an important and major step that will contribute to the achievement of our shared goal. The League of Arab States, in cooperation with its member States, its specialized agencies and its Ministerial Council, started to prepare for the Agenda for Sustainable Development as early as 2012. At the various summits held by the League of Arab States in 2013, 2014 and 2015, the League adopted important resolutions aimed at setting priorities in the framework of this new development Agenda. Achieving this important Agenda is a demonstration of Arab political will at the highest level. We would like to thank the United Nations, its specialized agencies, the United Nations Development Group and the Regional Coordination Mechanism for all of their efforts to help forge an Arab position in the negotiations led by the Arab Group in cooperation with friendly and brotherly groups. The League of Arab States will continue to coordinate action with its member States. In March 2015, the League adopted a decision to hold a ministerial conference on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Arab States. This is the first such conference to be held at the ministerial level with the participation of all ministries concerned. It is aimed at forging an Arab action plan aimed at implementing the Agenda, which is considered an Arab priority. The challenges facing us are tremendous. It is important, therefore, to foster international cooperation aimed at implementing this ambitious plan. This will witout a doubt have a positive effect on the Arab world. We have a strong focus on promoting the role played by Arab youth, because they are major contributors to achieving development. In conclusion, we would once again express our heartfelt appreciation to all of those who have taken it upon themselves to support sustainable development in the Arab world. We wish the Summit every success.

I now give the floor to Ms. Brenda Killen, Deputy Director of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

I am very pleased to deliver this statement on behalf of Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary- General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is a privilege to participate in this historic event as we chart a more inclusive and sustainable future for all. We have set ambitious goals, but they can be achieved. We are not starting from scratch. The Millennium Development Goals helped to lift more than 1 billion people out of extreme poverty. Now we have agreed that in less than 800 weeks we will lift the remaining 800 million people out of extreme poverty. It is a job for everyone. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) apply to every person in every society, in every country, rich or poor. The OECD can and will help make progress relevant to all people, no matter where they live. Our broad range of policy expertise and our partnerships with more than 100 countries, as well as numerous non-State actors, can contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. Pioneering OECD work on well-being resonates with the vision embodied in the SDGs, going beyond economic growth to look at other essential dimensions of progress. To achieve the SDGs, we must create synergies across policy areas and reconcile difficult policy trade-offs. Nowhere is this more evident than in our efforts to tackle climate change. For too long, our economies have depended on fossil fuels. This must end, and it must end soon. Earlier this year, the OECD worked with the International Energy Agency, the Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Transport Forum to help put a comprehensive diagnosis on the table. Our report, “Aligning Policies for a Low-Carbon Economy”, shows how policies in areas as diverse as tax, trade and transport are often inconsistent and poorly aligned with our climate objectives. This is just one example of the OECD’s contribution to the global evidence base, which must inform deliberations at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. When it comes to financing the Sustainable Development Goals, official development assistance will remain a crucial source of funding for development, especially for the poorest and most fragile countries. The OECD will continue to shine a spotlight on its members’ efforts as they work to fulfil their responsibilities. We will hold them to account for the commitments made. We will also need far greater volumes of private investment and much smarter investment. The OECD’s Policy Framework for Investment is already helping more than 30 developing and emerging economies stimulate investment, create jobs, spur innovation and link local enterprises with global value chains. The OECD is supporting the global fight against tax evasion and illicit financial flows through the OECD/ Group of 20 base erosion and profit-shifting project, and by working with the 126 members of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes to increase transparency on tax issues. Together with the United Nations Development Programme, we are helping to build tax audit capacity in developing countries through our joint initiative, Tax Inspectors Without Borders. As we look beyond financing to the substance of some of the challenges ahead, the OECD is already actively engaged in the development of a new urban agenda in preparation for the third United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, next year. In the area of education, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is already helping to monitor progress towards the aim of ensuring basic skills for all in more than 70 countries. The OECD’s PISA for Development initiative promises to increase our understanding of how children learn, teachers teach and school systems operate in developing countries, making a tangible contribution to the monitoring and achievement of a new education and learning goal. Our work on water governance and financing promises to make a tangible contribution to SDG 6. Far-reaching follow-up and review will be essential to incentivize action and learning around the 2030 Agenda. This will depend on robust data to pinpoint needs and capture progress at the global, regional, national and local levels. OECD data and evidence-based analyses touch on all of the 17 goals. Meanwhile, PARIS21, an OECD-hosted partnership, is helping developing countries to harness the data revolution. Partnerships are in the OECD’s DNA. We host and support a diversity of partnerships on a vast range of topics. Our joint work with the United Nations to support the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation has created a dynamic community of practice on development issues, and our Development Centre continues to grow, welcoming China as a member earlier this year. The international system works best when it works together. We were privileged to welcome His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon to the OECD earlier this year, in the first-ever visit of a serving United Nations Secretary-General to the organization. Our partnership with the United Nations family is stronger than ever before. The OECD is committed to working with the United Nations and for the United Nations. Looking ahead, countries will need a GPS — a tool for piecing together evidence, for triangulating where they stand and for guiding them on the journey ahead. The OECD stands ready to help design, build and deliver the instrument that countries need to help turn commitments into actions, and to demonstrate tangible progress towards the SDGs. The OECD’s range of measurements, country assessments and peer-review and peer-learning mechanisms can contribute to that effort, including through the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The OECD exists to help promote better policies for better lives. The SDGs and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offer an unparalleled opportunity to fulfil that purpose, lending support on every level to those ambitious but achievable goals.

I now call on Ms. Fang Liu, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

It is a tremendous honour for me to address this plenary meeting of the General Assembly as the newly-appointed Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO welcomes the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). I am certain that it will contribute greatly to our common goals and support the eradication of poverty in all its forms. As a United Nations specialized agency established 70 years ago, ICAO has been mandated to promote the development of a safe, secure and sustainable global civil-aviation system, which can greatly help to create and preserve friendship and understanding among the nations and peoples of the world. ICAO’s current strategic objectives are strongly linked to 13 of the 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda, demonstrating our full commitment to their implementation. In that regard, I wish to bring to this meeting’s attention the important role of aviation as a powerful engine for economic and social development throughout the world. Air transport has grown significantly. It began with a flight of just 34 kilometres, but in today’s world aircraft travel well over 10 million times that distance in a single year — the equivalent of travelling from the Earth to Venus. Today, aviation is by far the world’s fastest, safest and most efficient mode of mass transportation. Aviation currently moves more than half of the 1.1 billion tourists who travel across international borders each year, a figure that rises to over 80 per cent in various small island States. It also transports some 35 per cent of the world’s trade by value. Moreover, aviation has directly contributed to the creation of 8.5 million jobs and has added around $700 billion to the global gross domestic product (GDP). Because of its cross-cutting nature and multiple links to other economic sectors, the total economic impact of aviation is linked with around 3.5 per cent of world GDP, equivalent to $2.4 trillion, and with the creation of 55.1 million jobs. More importantly, aviation can transform lives and societies by connecting the world, allowing access to new technologies and opening global markets for rural producers. Aviation is also well appreciated for its role in carrying life-saving medicines to communities in need, in bringing disaster relief and in reducing poverty through all of the economic factors that I have already outlined. For landlocked developing countries and small island developing States especially, aviation represents an essential lifeline that enhances connectivity, which in turn promotes greater tourism, trade and other vital business activities. We may recall that the economic damage caused by the disruption of air connectivity after the 25 April earthquake in Nepal has been estimated at $1 million per day. A one-day shutdown of air transport worldwide would cost approximately $60 million. Going forward, ICAO has been proactively working with the international community to address the challenges posed by rapidly expanding air traffic, which is now projected to double by 2030. To foster that projected growth in a sustainable manner and produce inclusive and productive employment, aviation must have coherent policies with the tourism, trade and other transport sectors to further improve connectivity and modernize infrastructure. Those measures alone could nearly double aviation’s share of global GDP to $5.8 trillion by 2030. Upgrading air-traffic systems, for example, would contribute an estimated $300 billion per year to the global economy, and at the same time would produce significant environmental benefits. In that regard, I would like to congratulate all States on the ground-breaking Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and ICAO will continue its support to the new initiatives, in particular the establishment of a global infrastructure forum. ICAO has launched a No Country Left Behind campaign to better identify and coordinate assistance to needy States so that they can foster sustainable local and regional prosperity and fully benefit from the improvement in their air connectivity. In addition to our strong and ongoing commitment, ICAO, as an official observer on the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators, has proposed global indicators under SDG Goals 8 and 9. In close cooperation with States and international partners and consistent with the visions of the SDGs and the ICAO’s No Country Left Behind goals, our organization continues to lead the development and implementation of a coherent and harmonized global regulatory framework for a safe and secure air-transport operation. The ability of the world air-transport network to safely manage 100,000 daily flights to every corner of the world has always been dependent on upon how successfully States can cooperate to their common benefit. ICAO is privileged to be able to cooperate with States and all of their organizations on the adoption and realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

I now call on Mr. José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

I would like to start by congratulating the General Assembly on having adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). We have given ourselves an enormous task that begins with the historic commitment of not only reducing, but also eradicating, poverty, hunger and malnutrition in a sustainable way. The new Agenda clearly recognizes the centrality of food security, nutrition and sustainable agricultural development, but the full range of Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without rapid progress in eliminating hunger and malnutrition by 2030. We have made progress over the past 15 years, but we still have many challenges ahead. The number of hungry people has dropped by more than 200 million since 1990, and 73 developing countries out of the 120 monitored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have met the Millennium Development Goal hunger target. But much more needs to be done. Nearly 800 million people continue to suffer chronic hunger. That is unacceptable. We can rest only when we achieve zero hunger. To do so, we must invest and responsibly respond to the needs of the world’s poor population, and promote inclusive growth. Agricultural and rural development are central to that effort, as over 70 per cent of the world’s poor and food-insecure live in rural areas of developing countries. It is clear that we need to build more sustainable agricultural and food systems that are resilient to stresses and better able to cope with and respond to the impacts of climate change. But let me add that investing in sustainable development is crucial, but not enough. Ending hunger and poverty also needs well- designed social protection systems. The combination of productive support and social protection is the only way to ensure the food and nutrition security of the poorest hungry. The three Rome-based agencies have estimated the additional investment needed to end hunger — only $160 per year per person living in extreme poverty in the next 15 years. This represents less than 0.5 per cent of global income in 2014, and it is only a small fraction of the cost that hunger and malnutrition impose on our societies. We have an enormous task ahead of us, but one that we can tackle successfully if we work together. FAO has supported the post-2015 development agenda, and we will continue to be part of that effort, supporting Governments and working with non-State actors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Now is the time to unite our forces to realize the future we want.

I now call on Mr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

I feel honoured to stand before members of the Assembly today at this historic Summit on behalf of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as we meet to ratify the most comprehensive plan of action for global development that we have witnessed in the 70 years of existence of the United Nations. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) is a bold, inclusive and collective vision for transforming the world we live in to achieve the future we all want. I take great personal satisfaction in the fact that the Agenda before us offers a universal consensus on dignity for all, a better planet for all, and prosperity for all. These are all close to the founding vision of the organization I lead. As we all know, the international community functions at its best when the relevant actors complement rather than compete with each another. With the historic agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), I am pleased that the central role that trade and development plays in sustainable development has been recognized. I assure everyone that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development stands ready to make a lasting contribution to ending extreme poverty and shifting our global economy to a low-carbon future. We at UNCTAD are uniquely appreciative of the trust that the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda place in our 50 years of expertise and experience. The challenge before us now is to turn from decisions to actions, from negotiations to implementation. The role of UNCTAD and the entire United Nations development system has been strengthened in the financing for development process and with the SDG means of implementation. At UNCTAD, we are already supporting members in preparing to monitor and ensure accountability over some 50 SDG targets. For all of us in the United Nations system, the scale at which we operate and the efficiency with which we deliver must now achieve new synergies and resonance with the Agenda before us. Let us make no mistake about it  — achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will require a massive investment push over the next 15 to 20 years into a broader set of sectors and industries than we have ever seen undertaken on a global scale. At UNCTAD, we have calculated that in developing countries alone there is an unmet need of $2.5 trillion annually. Yet today, the gloomy state of the world economy imperils the chances for such an investment push. The slow pace of growth in global trade has us on track for the slowest period of trade expansion since the end of the Second World War. That is unacceptable and incompatible with the enabling environment necessary to achieve the SDG targets. The least developed countries (LDCs) will be the testing ground for the SDGs. The LDCs will make or break the SDG Agenda. If the SDGs are to be met, massive needs must be met, particularly in investment and infrastructure. That makes it all the more worrisome that the world economy today, notably in emerging markets, is in a much more uncertain state than it was even six months ago, let alone six years ago, when we had begun to hope the worst of the financial crisis was behind us. Growth in emerging economies is what carries the MDGs, not just because of poverty reduction in emerging markets themselves, but also because of the sustained commodity boom that it fuels across all developing regions. Turning today’s more uncertain growth prospects into tomorrow’s SDG achievements raises the bar much higher for all countries, especially for the LDCs, precisely at a time when the developing world is facing growing risks from market turmoil, human suffering and violent conflict. But cooperation among peoples of all nations is most important in the darkest hours. It is my belief that the SDGs can reinvigorate the ambitions of international cooperation, and within our own sphere of expertise UNCTAD will help accomplish that aim. We have the tools needed to generate the massive push of investment needed to leave no one behind and to invigorate our multilateral spirit. And as we now turn to the actions needed to achieve the SDGs, I am confident that we can undertake those efforts with the same degree of ambition as we have committed ourselves today.

I now call on Ms. Marie-Paule Roudil, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in New York and Representative to the United Nations.

It is a real honour for me to address the General Assembly on behalf of Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO. (spoke in English) This is a historic moment. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) charts a new course to tackle challenges facing all States. It is the result of unprecedented consultation with Governments and civil society across the world. It is indeed an Agenda of the people, by the people and for the people. We have a bold road map; now we embark on a great collective journey. To succeed, we must remain guided by the moral compass that has been at the heart of the United Nations for 70 years. The human rights and dignity of every woman and man are the starting point for all action and the measure of success. The 2030 Agenda was crafted using new methods; its implementation must be equally innovative and transformative. To succeed, we must nurture the power of every development multiplier, every accelerator of inclusion, poverty eradication and sustainability. We all are called upon to contribute to that universal agenda with all means available. UNESCO is fully committed, through its normative work, upstream policy dialogue, capacity-building, inclusive partnerships and its field work. That calls for new, sustained and well-targeted financing, including from domestic sources, new and effective implementation arrangements and new multi-stakeholder partnerships. That is the importance of education, as a human right, a force for gender equality and a transformative power for society. Sustainable Development Goal 4 sets out a new framework, focusing on the quality of education, lifelong learning, skills, teaching, education for sustainable development and global citizenship. Drawing on the Incheon Declaration, UNESCO is crafting an education 2030 framework for action to take that forward. That is true for science as well. The 2030 Agenda, with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, calls for new efforts to build robust national science, technology and innovation policies and systems to facilitate the transfer of technology and solutions — including for the sustainable management of water and the ocean — to which UNESCO is fully committed. (spoke in French) For the first time, the 2030 Agenda acknowledges the power of culture and cultural diversity as an engine of sustainable development. It is a historic opportunity to give life to our main renewable resource for innovation and participation of peoples. We must enhance the capacities of countries to collect reliable and transparent data in order to understand the mechanisms of development and enhance the effectiveness of investments. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics has valuable assets available to all. The involvement of all stakeholders through free, independent and pluralistic media must be the guiding principle of the implementation of the new programme. Freedom of expression, including access and free circulation of information are a means of improving governance, enhancing the rule of law and promoting respect for human rights, which leverage sustainability. The challenges are huge, but the possibilities are equally so. UNESCO is determined to put its all at the service of this programme, and believes that education, science, culture, communication and information comprise the “soft power” that the world needs to do away with poverty and build a dignified future for everybody.

I now give the floor to Ms. Jan Beagle, Deputy Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

Let us imagine, 15 years from now, a world where every young person has access to high-quality secondary education, and where policies and legislation for gender-equality protect and empower women and girls. We have substantially increased the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The poor have access to financial services and markets and road- traffic deaths have been cut in half. The AIDS epidemic is over and with it a tremendous tide of suffering and loss of life have come to an end. Twenty-eight million HIV infections and 21 million AIDS-related deaths have been averted, while investment and a robust response have accrued $3.2 trillion in economic benefits. That is the world we have committed to today. Now it is our responsibility to support the people on the front lines of development with the means of implementation to realize the commitments made. Fortunately, we have a head start. From the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, people living with HIV demanded change on a transformative scale. People affected by the epidemic rejected the status quo and worked across Governments, academia, science, civil society and the private sector to bring life-saving medicines to people all over the world at affordable prices. Four years ago, the international community committed to getting 15 million people on HIV treatment by 2015. Sceptics said it would be impossible. They said that the barriers to progress were too high, but they were wrong. That goal was achieved. Between 2000 and 2014, the world has seen a 35 per cent decrease in new HIV infections, and AIDS-related deaths have plummeted by 42 per cent. The trajectory of the epidemic has been changed. Today we can hold our heads high and say we can keep promises and we can deliver ahead of time because every life matters. But the job is not done, and there is no place for complacency. Today the General Assembly has committed to ending the AIDS epidemic as a public-health threat by 2030. Science proves it is achievable. We have the tools and knowledge to make it happen. To get there, we must fast-track the AIDS response now: strengthening combination prevention programmes, tackling stigma and discrimination in all its forms, and reaching the 90-90-90 HIV treatment milestone by 2020. We must create a world where all people enjoy their full range of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. Laws, policies and practices in all countries must protect the rights of key populations. UNAIDS, which is itself a multisectoral partnership, is proud to be one of the first of the United Nations organizations to align its strategy with the SDGs. Next month, the UNAIDS Board will adopt a new strategy that will build on the knowledge that the journey to end AIDS demands integrated action across the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development, as set out in the SDGs. That is why UNAIDS is a champion for the entire agenda. The high-level meeting of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS to be held in 2016 will provide the opportunity for Member States to recommit at the highest political level to a robust AIDS response and means for achieving SDG target 3.3. As the global community sets out on this journey to implement the SDGs, let us reinvigorate the passion that fuelled the AIDS movement. Let us expand that energy to ignite a movement for social, economic and environmental justice that places people at the centre and ensures the well-being of all. Nothing less will do.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by Ms. Susan Hopgood, President of Education International.

I am proud to be representing the world’s trade union movement at this defining moment. The trade union movement’s very reason for being is to combat and end poverty; reduce inequalities; to achieve decent work, social protection and women’s rights; protect public services and infrastructure; and improve fiscal and wage policies. Too often, we have been leading where our Governments have fallen short. “Ambitious”, “comprehensive” and “unprecedented” are just a few of the words we have heard describing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, for the very first time, the world is going on record calling for free quality primary and secondary education for all, with qualified teachers in a safe environment. Future generations will thank us for keeping the promises we are making today. But now comes an even more difficult task — reaching those goals. Where the SDGs are lacking is in the commitments to implementing the goals through financing and progressive public policy, as well as a sound accountability framework — deeds, not words. It is obvious to us that the current means of implementation fall short. Commitments are not real unless they are binding; public interest is not protected if the private sector has unconditional access to public resources. The enabling environment needed to achieve the SDGs must include tax justice, including progressive taxation; strong public health, water and sanitation systems; and free quality education. We have goals before us that are designed for consensus, and that is remarkable. Let us move very quickly to add the structures that will show the world that those goals are also designed for success. Decent work, social protection and social dialogue are integral means and ends to achieving the new Agenda. Social dialogue that brings together social partners, employers and workers’ organizations is an excellent example of ownership of policy processes at the national level. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are key if the partnership is to work. As trade unions, we are committed to playing our part. We need Governments to step up to fulfil their obligations — deeds, not words.

The Assembly will now hear a statement by Ms. Sylvia Beales, representative of HelpAge International.

I am here to speak about ageing and older persons. My name is Sylvia Beales. I am 60 years old. I work with HelpAge International, a global network in all regions of the world. Working together with the Stakeholder Group on Ageing, we represent 800 million older women and men worldwide. We congratulate the General Assembly on embedding age in the goals and targets of the post-2015 agenda. We especially commend the pledge to leave no one behind. We look to the Assembly to ensure that those promises are kept. We call on the Assembly to count us in. Counting everyone from birth to death and reaching the farthest first means embracing all of us, young and old, as partners. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said: “I want to tell the world that I count, that older people everywhere count, that people of all ages should be included in the Sustainable Development Goals” . All of us in this Hall and beyond are ageing. We all want to age well in safety and with dignity. We want the same for our children, so it is right that the SDGs take ageing and older persons into account. The speed and scale of ageing must be responded to. I offer some facts. Today, two people reach the age of 60 every second. Every three seconds, there is a new case of dementia in the world. By 2030, 16 per cent of the world’s population will be over 60. Women over 50 already make up a quarter of the world’s women. Almost 47 per cent of those over 65 live with disabilities. Those over 60 account for three-quarters of deaths caused by non-communicable disease. Even though ageing is happening fastest in the developing world, basic requirements for living well in later life do not exist. The lack of regular income blights the lives of millions. Only one in four persons has a pension in middle- and low-income countries, and loans for business are denied on the basis of age. Older women are invisible victims of appalling abuse and violence. They experience the dual impact of age and gender discrimination. They have less access to education and health services; they have lower earning capacity and restricted access to land ownership. We older people fear — with reason — poor health, illness and poor care. Just two weeks ago, here at the United Nations, 78-year-old Esther told us about the death of her 75-year-old husband in his wheelchair after being forced to wait for over five hours in a hospital queue to see a doctor. She said that was not unusual, and she despaired over older people’s invisibility and exclusion. Ageing is both an opportunity and a challenge in our ambition to leave no one behind. We have a few recommendations for the Assembly. First, we must recognize that population ageing is a success; it is not a burden. It is a triumph of humanity and of development. We should celebrate ageing, not fear it. Secondly, in their national planning, Member States should analyse, prepare for and invest in population ageing and in older people. Thirdly, Member States must create and finance programmes that address the needs of older persons and protect our human rights. This means ending age discrimination, eradicating poverty in old age, and ensuring decent health care, pensions, opportunities for jobs and life-long learning. Fourthly, we would like to see Member States integrate us as essential stakeholders in the national, regional and global mechanisms set up to implement the sustainable development framework. We call on Member States to invest now and build capacity to fill the gaps on missing data. Comparable poverty data on old age is missing for 93 countries, especially those in Africa. Data sets that impose age limits of 49 or 64 years of age are not fit for purpose. Those age limits mean that violence against older women goes unrecorded. Ageism must end now, once and for all. In the words of Archbishop Tutu, once again: “As we get older, our rights do not change. As we get older, we are no less human and should not become invisible.” Please count us in.