A Review of the 2030 Agenda Outcome Document: Gains and Gaps for Beyond 2015 Naiara Costa, Advocacy Director, Beyond 2015

The road we travelled… SG Synthesis Report Messages for UNGA 69 Measuring up to our Ambition Reactions to Post-2015 docs High Level Panel Call for participation Policy to Action Tweets of the Day Messages for Summit And so much more at regional and national levels…

A Review of the outcome document: The Outcome Doc: “world free of poverty, hunger, disease and want, where all life can thrive”; “free from fear and violence”, “social protection”, “where physical, mental and social well-being are assured”, where habitats are “safe, resilient and sustainable”; universal respect for human rights and human dignity (although we would prefer a stronger language); a world where consumption and production patterns and use of all natural resources are sustainable (which balances the call for “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth) Beyond 2015 proposal: “An equitable and sustainable world where every person is safe, resilient, lives well, and enjoys their human rights, and where political and economic systems deliver well-being for all people within the limits of our planet’s resources”.

The Universality, Integrality and interlinked nature of the Agenda Commitment reaffirmed in several parts of the document – Preamble, paras 2, 5, 18, 55, 71 and 85. High level of ambition is clear and highlighted in the preamble and on paras 39, 55, 61 and 75 – matching the call from Beyond 2015 for leaders to “aim higher” with the post-2015 Agenda. Means of Implementation: Concerns on over-emphasis of AAAA on the private sector and private financing in mobilizing resources to implements the SDGs, including public-private partnerships and blended financing instruments. Commitment to Implementation: “cohesive nationally owned sustainable development strategies, supported by integrated national financing frameworks, will be at the heart of our efforts”. (Para 63)

The 2030 Agenda: Reviewing some issues Equality - The call from the campaign for Goal 10 and as a cross cutting theme. Leave no one behind – Strong in the document (although not “targets will only be considered met if met for all”). Nothing related to the richest 1%. The needs of the poorest and most vulnerable are considered – “the furthest behind first” but usually more as recipients of development and not as agents of change. Human Rights – Good for: gender equality (although not explicit on sexual orientation); rights of boys and girls and for some constituencies (persons with disabilities and older persons, for instance). Ambition on human rights watered down (from “rights” to “access”; instead of “fulfil”, “respect and promote”).

The Planet – In general, the doc brings a balanced perspective between the protection to the planet. SCP (a goal) and sustainable management of natural resources included. No reference to “planetary boundaries”. Not very strong on fossil fuels. Climate Change – Between the hardest paragraphs during the negotiations. Connection between poverty and climate change, the need to adapt and include reference to hold the increase in global average temperature below 2 °C or 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Peace and Access to Justice: Peace is reflected as a central and integral part of the new Agenda, including on the preamble (as one of the Ps) and on the vision. Goal 16 (Promoting peaceful and inclusive societies) and “peace” recognized as one of the five areas for the whole agenda (Preamble) The 2030 Agenda: Reviewing some issues

Participation: One of the Beyond 2015 priorities Several commitments, including of an agenda “for the people, with the people and by the people”. Participation of all people and stakeholders – reflected from the preamble and throughout the text: in the elaboration, implementation and monitoring of the commitments. Also: participation in the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Para 74d – Establishes as a principle that reviews in all levels will be “open, inclusive, participatory and transparent to all people and will support the drafting of reports from stakeholders. The 2030 Agenda: Reviewing some issues

“Follow up and review” section in general does not match the level of ambition set up in the other chapters, especially on the Declaration and on the SDGs, is not presented as an accountability framework and is heavy on the voluntary approach. The use of the word ‘accountability’ became almost a taboo during the negotiations and the fact that the modalities for the post-2015 only referred to “follow up and review” made it even more challenging to bring this concept back to the discussions. Para 45 highlights the role of parliamentarians in ‘ensuring accountability for the effective implementation of commitments’ and there are references to “accountability to our citizens” on paras 45 and 73 (although we would have preferred to see to “all people”).

Holding the private sector accountable is not covered in the document but a positive inclusion was the addition on para 67, at very late stages of the negotiations, of references to the “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, labour standards of ILO, the Convention, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and key multilateral environmental agreements”. As a campaign, we have called for the outcome document to refer to “sustainable economic development” instead of only “sustained growth” as proposed in initial iterations. The final version minimizes the negative language with “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth”. (3, 9, ). The commitment to develop “broader measures of progress to complement gross domestic product (GDP)” is welcome and was called for by Beyond Para 27 affirms that “strong economic foundations” will “only be possible if wealth is shared and income inequality is addressed”. We regret that references to “redistribution” were not maintained in the final version of the text. The 2030 Agenda: Reviewing some issues