UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER, SOCIAL SCIENCES, BELFAST 24 OCTOBER 2017 'THE UN AND THE 2030 AGENDA'
- Just a few weeks ago the UN had its General Assembly in New York- this is where global leaders meet and debate key issues, although in reality much of the day-to-day business gets done in technical committees and specialised events; key decisions are also made by the Security Council- where UK is one of 5 permanent members alongside USA, Russia, China and France and 10 members elected for 2 years.
- The UN has many specialised agencies which include UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO, ILO, WHO, UN Habitat and numerous others; these have different locations with a second UN hub in Geneva. These are all IGOs (although ILO is tripartite government/labour/business); there are also many CSOs and other observer organisations accredited under the Economic & Social Council of the UN.
- In 2017 the UN elected a new SG- Antonio Gueterres, who is seeking important UN reforms, including alignment between its development arm UNDP and its emergency response and humanitarian assistance arm (OCHA) at country level between UNDP Resident Representatives and UN Resident Coordinators; and to merge the Department for Political Affairs (DPA) and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to create a new Department of Political and Peacekeeping Affairs and a new Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
- Above all, Gueterres is keen to ensure that all parts of the UN have a coordinated response to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs and their which were agreed by the General Assembly in 2015, and work with UN Member States and partner agencies to achieve these goals: partner include big development agencies like DFID and the EU which have committed themselves to implementation of the 2030 Agenda, for example under the 2017 European Consensus on Development.
- What is the 2030 Agenda? There are 17 ambitious SDGs and 169 detailed targets which cover a comprehensive range of issues, which include ending poverty and hunger, ensuring healthy lives and inclusive and equitable quality education, achieving gender equality, promoting economic growth and employment, building resilient infrastructure, inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities, reducing inequality, combatting climate change, promoting peaceful and inclusive societies with effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and much more.
- The 2030 Agenda is complemented by the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, the 2016 New Urban Agenda and other new initiatives.
- There is now global recognition that these goals are best implemented from the bottom up, involving civil society and local government, not top down. Indeed, some months ago I gave evidence to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Sub-committee which was looking at how the UK is implementing the SDGs domestically, and I emphasised the importance of having the SDGs ‘localised’ at community level.
- Universities and academia with their skilled research and other capacity have a key role in helping with the implementation of the SDGs, for example though monitoring and evaluation and providing data and know-how to government and other decision makers, both here in the UK and overseas; for example I am working with an organisation called the Ramphal Institute and King’s College London to look at supporting in particular small island developing states, which have limited capacity, in this regard.
- Today the UK is in the shadow of Brexit which could have highly detrimental impact on Northern Ireland and all other parts of the country; however Brexit is part of a wider global trend of public disengagement with democratic politics and a return of nationalist xenophobia, the rise of political populism and a distrust of ‘experts’.
- These developments have a negative impact on international cooperation in general, including the UN, where the USA has for example just pulled out of UNESCO and is threatening to cut UN funds.
- The UNA UK and UNA Northern Ireland are committed to promoting the UN and the international rules-based system and has launched a campaign for a Global Britain; many UK universities including Queen’s University Belfast have their own ‘Model UN branches’.
- In conclusion I would like to warmly invite all of you at the University of Ulster-students and staff alike- to join us in the UNA to actively defend international values, to help take forward the ambitious UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to promote the global freedoms and interchange of ideas on which academic excellence has always been grounded.