스크랩 2015년 9월 25~27일. 유엔 총회와 신세계질서의 시작

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2015년 9월 25~27일. 유엔 총회와 신세계질서의 시작

게시일: 2015. 8. 17.

한글 자막이 보이지 않으시면 비디오 아래의 설정 버튼에서 한국어를 선택해 주세요.

이것은 원비디오에서 일부를 발췌한 것입니다.
원비디오 출처 (Original Video Source): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJrtR...

2015년 이후 개발 아젠다 채택을 위한 유엔 정상 회담, 2015년 9월 25~27일 뉴욕에서 개최
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org...

루시스 트러스트 목적들
http://www.lucistrust.org/en/service_...

월드 굿윌 유엔 블로그
http://www.lucistrust.org/en/service_...

유엔에서의 월드 굿윌
http://lucis.typepad.com/wg-un/

World Goodwill at the UN

http://lucis.typepad.com/wg-un/   유엔에서의 세계 친선 영업권

Governments Adopt Historic Final Declaration on Post-2015 Development Agenda

 On Thursday, 30 July 2015, just hours before governments began their final negotiations, a Transformative Agenda for Sustainable Development, World Goodwill was represented at a side event, “Preparing for the implementation phase of the post-2015 development agenda.”

There was a visionary air to the gathering. 

The Ambassador of South Africa, H.E. Mr. Jeremiah N. Kingsley Mamabolo, emphasized that goodwill must be ensured in order for the goals to be implemented. 

All of humanity needs to own the goals, he said, “all hands on deck,” and we all need to feel accountable.  He envisioned accountability being strengthened by systemic intergovernmental support, and defined good governance as the responsibility of governments to people and as being at the root of implementation.

“No one can be left behind to be sustainable.  We need to look at our structures and no longer ask, “Who has the mandate?” and begin to ask, “Who can empower who?””

The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Hahn Choong-Hee, spoke of the work of implementing the development agenda as a paradigm shift occurring n the process.  “It is a universal agenda.  We will need to each work on our own strategy, but within global goals.  We’re interconnected.”  He expressed the need to broaden accountability from a national level to a global level.  “No naming.  No shaming.  What is the problem?  Where is the feedback?”

Both Ambassadors left the side-event to begin final deliberations, as they joked about working late into the evening.

As it turned out, the work continued long past what was anticipated.  The conference room was full well past midnight on Friday. 

The final document outlining the agenda (including the Sustainable Development Goals) was adopted on Sunday evening to long applause as delegates rose to their feet in acclamation.

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/7891TRANSFORMING%20OUR%20WORLD.pdf

The Republic of Korea, for the Presidency of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), pledged to support a robust follow-up and review mechanism and Global Partnership that will bring all stakeholders together to implement the agenda. Calling the document, “historic”, he said, “today we are all winners.”

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07/29/2015

Time to Uphold Women's and Girls Human Rights in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Ever since the first United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 - known as the Earth Summit, it has been recognized that achieving sustainable development would require the active participation of all sectors of society and all types of people.  Toward that end, nine "Major Groups" or sectors of society were defined as the main channels through which broad participation would be facilitated in UN activities related to sustainable development activities. The 9 “major groups” are:

Women                                                       

Children and Youth

Indigenous Peoples

Non-Governmental Organizations

Local Authorities

Workers and Trade Unions

Business and Industry

Scientific and Technological Community

Farmers

In addition, during the post 2015 development planning, governments invited other stakeholders, including local communities, volunteer groups and foundations, migrants and families, as well as older persons and persons with disabilities, to participate in the post-2015 development planning. 

On Friday, 24 July, World Goodwill was represented at a side-event of the post-2015 development planning on the Human Rights of Women and Girls.  The focus was on the Global South regional perspectives from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 

There were three main points that were emphasized from all regions.

1)   In many cases, the laws have been written and put in place in addressing issues of violence against women and girls, but the laws are not enforced. 

2)   Although goal #5 is “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls,” it was the general consensus that violence against women and girls had much to do with other goals as well.  Specifically, the goals to end poverty, improve health, and ensure education were viewed as an integral part of gender equality.

3)   There was unanimous agreement that the means of implementation be included in the outcome document for the UN Summit to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda in September.

The meeting ended with recognitionof how important it is for civil society to learn from each other and to develop  and to support communications networks that allow for the cross cutting between working groups and between goals.  The call went out, at the end, for all those involved in decision making to be open minded and mindful.

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07/21/2015

Glee, relief and regret: Addis Ababa outcome receives mixed reception

Glee, relief and regret: Addis Ababa outcome receives mixed reception | Global development | The Guardian

UN secretary general hails Addis Ababa development finance summit a success but failure to establish new global tax body draws criticism.  

World leaders at the financing for development summit in Addis Ababa have reached agreement on an economic framework to support the sustainable development agenda. 

As the third and final day of negotiations in the Ethiopian capital stretched into mid-evening, countries rich and poor voted in favour of an outcome document that, nine months in the making, will shape development finance for the next 15 years. 

The agreement earned a mixed initial reception, with the UN hailing a “bold” and “groundbreaking” outcome even as other delegates complained of “a terrible precedent” and lack of moral leadership.

Funding an ambitious global agenda that includes ending poverty and achieving universal food security was never going to be easy, and progress in Addis was at times as tortured as the winding road that led there. 

Confusion among delegates about how countries were expected to debate the proposed text marked a slightly chaotic culmination to negotiations that will be remembered for a standoff over calls from the G77 to upgrade the UN expert committee on tax into a new UN agency giving all countries a seat at the table.

Tax was always going to be the biggest bone of contention in Addis, and when rich nations, particularly the US, UK and Japan, were accused of lobbying hard to block the proposed agency, civil society groups feared the talks would end in deadlock.

Those fears proved unfounded, but the outcome document rejected the idea of a UN tax body and instead proposed changes to the existing expert committee. Some rich nations, Sweden among them, recognised the need to reform existing agencies such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) but maintained a new intergovernmental body was not the solution.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, nevertheless welcomed the final accord. “This agreement is a critical step forward in building a sustainable future for all,” he said. “It provides a global framework for financing sustainable development. The results here in Addis Ababa give us the foundation of a revitalised global partnership for sustainable development that will leave no one behind.”

As delegates and civil society representatives spilled out of conference room two on Wednesday evening, the sense of relief that an agreement had been reached – and that the conference would therefore not be deemed a failure – was palpable. But not everyone shared Ban’s upbeat assessment of the summit.

“It was a painful moment to see the developed countries celebrating the fact that nothing will change,” said Tove Maria Ryding, policy and advocacy manager for tax justice at the European Network on Debt and Development, who had championed proposals for a new global tax body. “This sets a terrible precedent for the post-2015 and climate negotiations.”

Her sense of foreboding was shared by a G77 country representative who asked not to be named. “The battle is going to be tougher for the next global talks,” said the delegate. “The privileged countries have more power but they lack moral leadership.”

Others were more sanguine. Staffan Tillander, the Swedish special envoy for development finance, described the agreement as a good start, while the Indian finance minister Jayant Sinha also drew encouragement from the outcome despite his country’s support for a new tax body. 

“We made a very significant step from moving the formulation of global tax policy from the OECD to the UN, where it actually belongs,” said Sinha. “The fact that we will ensure equitable representation in the committee on tax matters significantly increases the role the developing world will be able to play, [but] I wouldn’t say any one of us is jubilant. International negotiations extend over long periods of time and there are significant steps that we still have to undertake, but the important thing is to continue to make forward progress.”

 

Manuel Montes, however, senior adviser on finance and development at the South Centre in Geneva and one of the architects of the financing for development process, felt developing countries had lost more than they had gained. 

“A study from May 2014 found that the rules of the current tax system were three times more costly for non-OECD countries,” said Montes. “What was at stake was setting up the rules so that everybody could have a fair deal. By not allowing this upgrade to happen, the OECD countries have violated one of the basic principles of Monterrey [the first FFD conference], which is good governance at all levels.”

But Ban’s special adviser on post-2015 development planning, Amina J Mohammed, called for civil society to remain hopeful. “Do we have enough doors open on every issue that we wanted? I think we do. Are they wide enough? No. We still have to fight the good fight, that’s the way the world works.”

Acknowledging that for many NGOs and delegates the outcome document was far from groundbreaking, Mohammed added: “People will say we’ve sold out, but they underestimate what the implications are of this. This is a world that has worked in different ways for north and south and for the first time we have a universal agenda that’s actually changed the equation on development.”

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07/13/2015

Make Poverty History?

'We can be the first generation that ends poverty'

We need food instead of fine words at the development finance table in Addis Ababa, and leaders must pledge the resources to ensure an equal share for all

Ban Ki-moon

An African proverb teaches that “fine words do not produce food”. That wise counsel is foremost in my mind as leaders gather in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a pivotal global financing conference to put the world on course to end poverty and protect the planet.

This must be a year for global action. In September, the international community will adopt a new set of sustainable development goals for the next 15 years. In December, governments have committed to reach a first-of-its-kind universal and meaningful climate change agreement in Paris. But without resources, commitments will amount to little more than promises on paper. 

Building a sustainable world requires more than fine words, it needs finance. 

That is why it is encouraging that this year of action begins with the third international conference on financing for development in Addis Ababa. In a world in which both the global population and resource constraints are growing, development finance needs a reboot. The Addis Ababa conference can be the starting point for a new era of cooperation and global partnership. 

Many obstacles stand in the way of a better life for people and the planet – but even in trying economic times, a lack of resources need not be one of them. The knowledge, technology and money exist. Billions of dollars are exchanged through trade and financial markets every day. Globally, public and private savings stand at around $22tn a year. The stock of global financial assets is estimated to be about $218tn. Just a small portion invested towards sustainable development would make a big difference. Everyone must play a part. 

Of course, the most important source of funding for development starts with a country itself – and this is true even for the poorest country. Those resources could come from increased government revenues in the form of more effective taxation and additional investment by responsible business. 

At the same time, illicit financial flows rob developing countries of enormous sums of money – an estimated $50bn a year in Africa alone. Ills such as corruption, smuggling, and inadequate management of valuable natural resources deprive countries of much needed legitimate revenues. Stronger and more inclusive international tax cooperation is fundamental to combat tax avoidance, tax havens and enhance a country’s ability to manage its own economy. 

For least developed countries and small island developing states, foreign aid and climate finance represent an indispensable resource. Yet only a handful of donor countries have met their longstanding promise to invest 0.7% of gross national income in international aid. Donors must do more to meet their financial commitments in a timely fashion. 

It is also essential for the world to get on the pathway to securing $100bn a year by 2020 for climate finance. 

As the engine for decent jobs and income, the private sector is the driving force of the global economy. Responsible private investment is central to the financial equation. The voices of people and communities are essential to these partnerships that ensure inclusive ownership for lasting results. 

I often hear people say that business and sustainable development are not compatible. The facts prove otherwise. At the climate summit in New York last September, hundreds of business leaders committed nearly $200bn in sustainable development investments. Around the world, companies that are building sustainability-centred business models are reaping rewards in better performance and higher profit. 

It is time to ensure the right incentives and mutual accountability to unlock greater progress towards sustainable development. Innovation and the transfer of appropriate technologies are also essential. 

With the right investments and policies, we can be the first generation that ends poverty and the last that avoids the worst effects of climate change. 

The Addis Ababa conference on financing for development can mobilise the means for funding what people want most – better health, quality education, decent jobs, good roads and a cleaner, greener world. It can secure concrete commitments on issues such as finance, trade, debt, technology and innovation for the next generation.

Global leaders must now back up fine words with food – and set the table for sustainable development and a life of dignity for all. 

‎www.theguardian.com/global-deve 

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07/09/2015

New development goals need to be ambitious, actionable and accountable

Jonathan Glennie from the Guardian ~ 

 New development goals need to be ambitious, actionable and accountable | Global development | The Guardian

The post-2015 sustainable development goals are comprehensive and visionary – now they must be translated into a workable action plan at national level

The great strength of the millennium development goals was their ability to focus the minds of the development industry and, to some extent, governments on a handful of key priorities, such as child survival, basic education and women’s rights.

But that was also their weakness. It inevitably meant that equally important themes were excluded, and, by extension, it meant the exclusion of those countries and constituencies for which these other themes were the main concerns.

 

So the oft-expressed critique that the sustainable development goals are too broad, and that we need a kind of MDG-plus agenda, is misplaced. We need this SDG agenda precisely because it brings in other issues, most obviously links to global environmental problems but also the economic and structural causes of the social issues emphasised by the MDGs.

Most important, perhaps, as I have argued, is that the SDGs overturn an embedded but old-fashioned paradigm: the idea that there are developing and developed countries. The SDGs will apply to all countries, not just a sub-group.

This inclusivity is one of the reasons that the SDGs could be a success. While the MDGs were resented by some countries as “someone else’s agenda”, the SDGs are explicitly fully negotiated and agreed across the board.

If you wanted a list of priorities, then the SDGs are not for you. It is hard to think of a statement of intent by the world’s nations that is as comprehensive and visionary as the SDG agenda set to be acclaimed in New York in September. In a sense, it is more from the family of grand UN visions than a specific action plan.

Certainly, there are 17 goals. But the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(1948) has 30 articles, none of which carry an action plan or indicators to monitor progress. Smart targets did not yet exist. But it sets out a vision, justifying and supporting progressive attitudes everywhere. It has since been translated into more than 300 languages, a world record. Insofar as documents signed many miles away can be useful to ordinary people struggling to fulfil their rights and potential, it does its job.

So I am broadly an SDG fan, because I hope it will do something similar. Having said that, there is no doubt that it is actions that matter, not just words. We need to set the SDG negotiators, and the governments they work for, a “triple A challenge”: the SDG agenda needs to be ambitious, actionable and accountable.

Ambition will not be a problem. It is the other two As we need to work on.

In a new paper bringing together lessons from conversations held between a number of governments about how to implement the SDGs, David Steven, senior fellow at NYU’s Center on International Cooperation, emphasises two things: the need to integrate the most important aspects of the agenda into national plans, and the need to improve data.

Translating the SDG agenda as agreed on the international stage into a workable action plan at the national level will be the big challenge. Steven says we must lose no time in getting started, arguing that any delay will be costly. I would add that momentum is critical – these are political targets and politics is all about the moment.

 

Steven makes clear that countries are not yet ready to deliver, and that prioritisation, even within this explicitly holistic and universal agenda, is not a dirty word – as long as the toughest challenges are not shunned.

Of data, there is already a great deal written – here is my tuppence worth. But there is no doubt that the international community must help countries improve evidence and information as they seek to meet the SDGs.

So much for actioning the SDGs. What about accountability? Of course, this is intimately related with action. If civil society, along with more formal accountability bodies, does not hold government to account with both political pressure and solid evidence, then we can’t expect much action.

The vision of a world in which human rights are respected is still an inspiration to read, almost 70 years since it was first put on paper.

The SDG agenda is also visionary and inspiring. As the long process of drawing up the next set of global goals reaches its final straight, its ambition is assured. It is time to turn our attention to action and accountability in the hope of giving the whole process a triple A rating. 

 

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Organized Civil Society

World Goodwill was represented at one of the last side events of the High Level Political Forum (HLPF): “Involving civil society in the implementation of the post-2015 agenda” which was organized, in part, by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), a group of European NGOs. 

Around 90 representatives gathered at the seminar on Tuesday, 7 July, to discuss the role of organized civil society in the future Sustainable Development Goals as well as the financing for development that will allow for the implementation of the goals.

With 3 global conferences at the highest level being organized (those on development financing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in mid-July, (Lucis - Cycle of Conferences), SDGs in New York in September, and climate change in Paris in December), civil society NGOs have to deliver a strong and unified message.

The EESC will send a delegation to the financing for development conference in Addis Ababa. 

“Financing development – the position of civil society”, an opinion paper distributed to all attendees, stated that all available financial resources must be exploited, including domestic resources (through reformed fiscal schemes), private-public partnerships (based on transparency and shared responsibilities), and more innovative tools such as micro financing and crowd funding.

The meeting elucidated the possible potential and future promise of an “organized civil society.”

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07/08/2015

World Goodwill at the High Level Political Forum

The High Level Political Forum of Sustainable Development (HLFP) is the main UN platform on sustainable development, providing political leadership, guidance and recommendations.  It addresses new and emerging challenges, and enhances the integration of economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. 

The HLPF is meeting this year, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council from 28 June to 8 July in New York.  The major questions being addressed include:

“Where do we stand in formulating an ambitious and transformative post-2015 development agenda? How can we resolve outstanding issues?”

“How do we integrate the SDGs into planning and policy making at all levels, balancing economic, social and environmental dimensions? How can we best learn from one another in this regard?”

“How can the post-2015 development agenda be best communicated so as to inspire and engage all actors and harness creativity and innovation?”

“What must we do differently to mobilize and allocate resources so as to realize the SDGs? What does the shared vision to “leave no one behind” imply in terms of financing for the new development agenda?”

 

On Tuesday, 30 June, World Goodwill was in attendance at a side event to the HLPF that called for an informal exchange among civil society, member states, and UN staff to focus on the question, “How do we strengthen the engagement of civil society?”

It is becoming increasingly apparent that civil society organizations will have an essential role to play in achieving the sustainable development goals and, at this point, opportunities for more meaningful and inclusive engagement are being developed.

The UN’s Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) which, for the last 40 years, has served to fulfill its mandate in promoting and developing constructive relations between the UN and civil society by widely circulating information to civil society, is now staking out the opportunity to more formally facilitate civil society’s participation in UN processes and deliberations. A civil society mechanism or a CSM is being discussed as a way to institutionalize the bringing forth of certain voices to the table.

NGLS representatives spoke on behalf of “serving member states” by having more of an open platform that will insure a measure of inclusivity for all of civil society around the world, citing the most recent example of Mr. Xiuhtezeatl Roske Martinez, a 15 year old indigenous climate activist and Youth Director of Earth Guardians, who NGLS had invited to speak at the opening segment of the High-level event of the United Nations General Assembly on Climate Change (29 June 2015).

UN Live United Nations Web TV - Meetings & Events - Xiuhtezcatl, Indigenous Climate Activist at the High-level event on Climate Change

Civil society representatives noted that NGO’s tend to be “self-organized apart from the UN” and, in any future mechanism of engagement, it is important that they are “not dominated” by the UN process. The example was given of the NGO Working Group on Peace would like to have a group voice in any discussion, but thw Working Group is not recognized by the UN.

It became clear that civil society intended to self-regulate themselves toward freedom of expression‎ while, at the same time, being willing to cooperate with NGLS.

“If we are to succeed, the new agenda must become part of the contract between people, including civil society (…).  Empowered civil society actors, through action and advocacy, must rally to the cause, and contribute to a sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future.”  The Road to Dignity by 2013, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

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05/14/2015

Jeffrey Sachs Interview: UN adviser stresses 2015 critical to setting world on safer, more prosperous path

4 May 2015 – To say that 2015 is a big year for sustainable development may be an understatement given that, over the course of six months beginning in July, countries have the opportunity to take decisions that will determine the global course of action to end poverty, promote prosperity, protect the environment and address climate change.

“This year is a unique opportunity for our generation to set clear goals and clear pathways to a safer, better, more prosperous world,” says economist Jeffrey Sachs, who is Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of global anti-poverty targets that were supposed to be achieved by 2015.

In an interview with the UN News Centre, the internationally renowned development expert explains why it is urgent for the world to change direction and embark on a more sustainable path, what he hopes countries will achieve during this critical year, and what it will take to truly end poverty – which he stresses is not just an economic challenge but a moral one. The interview has been edited for content and clarity.

UN News Centre: The UN has dubbed 2015 the time for global action for people and the planet. Why is this year so crucial?

Jeffrey Sachs: This is the big year for sustainable development. It’s happened for various diplomatic reasons that everything’s converging in 2015. We have of course the adoption of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in September 2015. That was a decision taken back in 2012 at the 20th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit – that we would have SDGs. With the Millennium Development Goals ending, the new sustainable development goals will be adopted in September.

Then, because of the setbacks in Copenhagen way back in 2009 on the climate negotiations, a new timetable was set to reach a good, solid agreement, and it was decided that that would be December 2015 – same year, almost back-to-back with the sustainable development goals. So the world heads to COP21 – the 21st Conference of the Parties – in Paris in late November, early December.

Then countries said, well if we’re going to implement all of this, how are we going to paying for it? We need financing for sustainable development. And a third high-level meeting was put on the agenda in Addis Ababa in July – the Conference on Financing for Development.

Well that’s an amazing line-up – July, September, December – that gives us a chance to change direction in the world to adopt sustainable development as a true operating principle for the planet. It’s urgent that we change direction and this year is a unique opportunity for our generation to set clear goals and clear pathways to a safer, better, more prosperous world.

UN News Centre: With so many important issues on the global agenda this year, what is the one thing, in your view, that governments must achieve in 2015?

Jeffrey Sachs: Governments have to achieve a new vision – that is the vision of sustainable development, which means combining economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. That’s the concept that can keep us safe, that can be a path to fairness in the world, and a path to prosperity. So by taking that holistic vision and putting it front and centre, whether it’s for finance, whether it’s for new goals or whether it’s for climate, we can have success.

UN News Centre: How would you assess the Millennium Development Goals, which have been the blueprint for the global community for the past 15 years?

Jeffrey Sachs: I think the Millennium Development Goals have shown that goals matter. When they were announced in September 2000, there was a lot of skepticism. In fact, I’m sure that some leaders didn’t even realize they had adopted goals when they adopted the Millennium Declaration… But now we see no cause for cynicism. The MDGs found a foothold. They helped countries all over the world to focus… that our highest priority is the life and death struggle of poor people, to help them, not only to survive but to get out of extreme poverty.

And while they didn’t achieve all that we could have achieved, and all that we said we would achieve, they did spur a lot of progress. So much so that in 2012, when governments were reviewing sustainable development, they said ‘Hmm, our treaties aren’t working as well as they need to but look at those Millennium Development Goals, they’re not even treaties but they’re having a big public effect.’ So that was one of the motivations for having sustainable development goals… the progress that was being achieved under the Millennium Development Goals.

Now one could also point out [that] we could have done more… should have done more. The promises for example of reaching 0.7 [per cent of gross national income for official development assistance] or making better efforts to 0.7 by the rich countries… mostly did not materialize… But even with the financial crisis, even with the failure of follow through in some areas, when you think about the progress on fighting AIDS, the progress on fighting malaria, TB, the children in school, the reductions of maternal mortality rates, the more people that have access to safe water, and of course, the overall triumph that if you look at the developing countries as a whole, poverty has been more than halved in its rate, comparing 1990 till today, one can take a lot of satisfaction and have the sense that goals matter. Let’s get on to good, strong sustainable development goals, of which SDG 1 will be finish the job of the MDGs. Let’s end extreme poverty by the year 2030.

UN News Centre: Do you think it’s possible to eradicate poverty in our lifetime and if so, what will it take?

Jeffrey Sachs: Of course it’s possible to eradicate poverty when you realize how rich this world is. For well under 1 per cent of the income of the rich countries, we could finish the job of ending extreme poverty. The challenge of course is partly economic, partly technological, but fundamentally moral. It’s a matter of mobilizing the will and the commitment to follow through on expanding access to health care and expanding access to education; on helping smallholder farmers to be more productive; on giving skills and training to young people in the rapidly growing urban areas of low-income countries; of making sure that there is wireless broadband that can really be a great platform for new jobs, new applications, new industries, new outreach, new governance.

Yes, of course we can do it. And it wouldn’t take much. It would basically take our attention. That I find to be the real limiting factor. We’re distracted. We’re easily thrown off course. We’re fighting emergencies sometimes that aren’t real emergencies, but not looking at what we really could do over the medium term. If we set our eyes firmly on 2030 and say by then we end extreme poverty, this can be done.

UN News Centre: You’ve said that sustainable development is “the greatest, most complicated challenge humanity has ever faced.” Can you explain?

Jeffrey Sachs: We have, at the core, a kind of collision course that we didn’t expect. And that is that the world economy is growing, and I’d say growing rather robustly though perhaps not as strong and not as universally as we would like. But the planet itself is not growing. You have an expanding world population, an expanding world economy on a finite planet. What we have seen therefore, what the scientists are telling us every day, is we’re hitting planetary boundaries.

Whether it’s human-induced climate change or ocean acidification or change in the nitrogen cycle or freshwater scarcity or massive industrial pollutants or destroying habitat and losing biodiversity, this juggernaut of a world economy is pressing against the finite limits of the planet so strongly that we’re endangering millions of species, including the human one.

And this is something that is new for us because humanity and our world economy was never so big, so demanding in using resources that we would actually threaten a global-scale environmental crisis. But the momentum of the world economy is so strong, the interests are so strong, the way companies behave so powerful that changing course and doing it in a cooperative way that still allows developing countries to continue to grow rapidly and find their space, but at a global scale, while living respectfully within the planetary boundaries, this is something new for humanity.

It’s feasible; it requires a course change; it requires the adoption of new sustainable technologies; it requires the best intellects around the world to help solve problems and design new, more sustainable systems. It’s within reach. It’s a hard problem. It’s our generation’s problem. It’s the core purpose of adopting sustainable development goals.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50758#.VVS8zJPwCgS

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10/14/2014

The Millennium Development Goals Report for 2014

The Millennium Development Goals Report for 2014 is out.  ‎www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/MDG/english/UNDP_MDGReport_EN_2014Final1.pdf

The Report is in response to the wishes of the General Assembly for periodic assessment of progress toward the MDG's.

Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, brings to our attention that at this time, "Member States are now fully engaged in discussions to define Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will serve as the core of a universal post-2015 development agenda. Our efforts to achieve the MDGs are a critical building block towards establishing a stable foundation for our development efforts beyond 2015."

The United Nations Development Progam reviewed the Report, summarizing:

"This report examines the latest progress towards achieving the MDGs. It reaffirms that the MDGs have made a profound difference in people’s lives. Global poverty has been halved five years ahead of the 2015 timeframe. Ninety per cent of children in developing regions now enjoy primary education, and disparities between boys and girls in enrollment have narrowed. Remarkable gains have also been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis, along with improvements in all health indicators. The likelihood of a child dying before age five has been nearly cut in half over the last two decades. That means that about 17,000 children are saved every day. The target of halving the proportion of people who lack access to improved sources of water was also met."

"The concerted efforts of national governments, the international community, civil society and the private sector have helped expand hope and opportunity for people around the world. But more needs to be done to accelerate progress. We need bolder and focused action where significant gaps and disparities exist."

 It is reported that 700 million people still live in extreme poverty.  11% of the population still do not have access to an improved source of drinking water.  14% of the people living in developing regions are undernourished.  162 million children are still suffering from chronic undernutrition.  58 million children are out of school (50% of them live in conflict-affected areas).  A billion people still need to resort to open defecation.  Every day, in 2013, 32,000 people had to abandon their home to seek protection from conflict.

Regional and country progress reports can be found at:  MDG Reports | UNDP

Although analysis of the report point to the importance of intensifying efforts to meet all MDG targets (in times of conflict and slow world economic growth), much hope is gained from the MDGs showing that progress is possible, providing the platform for further action.  

Let us hold a good thought close to heart, strengthening all that is being done to help prepare the way for a world of unity, justice and peace; a world in which the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (equality & resources for all of humanity) will be achieved with a Love to all and for all. 

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09/26/2014

Building a Sustainable Future Requires Leadership from State and Citizen

Check out this article on the SDG's, just published by the International Peace Institute. It is a combined project by Jimena Leiva-Roesch of the Guatemala Mission to the UN who worked on the negotiation of the General Assembly's recent Open Working Group set of 17 Goals; inspired Tunisian thinker Youssef Mahmoud, who is a former Special Representative to the UN Secretary General and Head of the Peace Keeping Mission in CHAD and the Central African Republic, and Steve Nation, the Director of World Goodwill's New York office.


http://theglobalobservatory.org/opinion/826-sustainable-future-leadership-state-citizen.html

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08/25/2014

How Will Our Sustainable Development Goals Be Financially Supported?

One of the first questions asked about the new Sustainable Development Goals being developed on behalf of and by all of us at the United Nations is: How will the Goals be funded? Where will the money come from to achieve any of the specific targets by 2030?  Another way of looking at the same question is for governments, people of goodwill and civil society organizations to think – if we plan to achieve these targets by 2030 what sums of money will we need to invest this year, next year and so on.  

It is not as if money is in short supply. The current global savings (public and private) of US$22 trillion a year are sufficient to fund the goals.  But the current allocation of investments, how we are directing our money, needs to change. This was the basic message delivered by the Co-Chairs of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing during a recent briefing at the United Nations. (http://www.un-ngls.org/IMG/doc/UN NGLS_Summary_of_18_July_briefing_by_ICESDF_Co-Chairs.doc).  

At the Rio + 20 Earth Summit Heads of State  recognized that if sustainable development commitments are to become sustainable development outcomes, financing is critical. With this in mind the Intergovernmental Committee was formed, under the auspices of the UN General Assembly, to assess financial needs and eval‎uate additional initiatives needed to meet these needs. It consists of 30 experts on the mobilization of resources from a variety of sources and the effective use of financing. The experts were nominated by regional groups of governments, with equitable geographical representation.

A World Goodwill representative recently attended the 3rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee’s Fifth Session at the UN earlier this month.  The meeting was an open interactive multi-stakeholders dialogue where the Committee Members listened to a wide range of views.  Issues raised included the need for a debt work out mechanism, calling for an international bankruptcy process that is fair, neutral, transparent, accountable and serves all of us. Concern was also raised about the need to strengthen international governance on tax matters, with the idea being to elevate the UN's Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters to an intergovernmental body.  There was a focus on having a Human Rights based approach to financing sustainable development.  The idea of "the commons" was raised several times; one idea was to tax the things that we want to diminish (tax resources being used) rather than tax labor.  There was a suggestion that people be empowered with on-line support services in sustainable development, sharing "how to" information and enabling local service providers, in effect, helping everyone in their efforts to learn how to fish. 

Attending the meeting, it was clear that we're witnessing a slow and steady maturing of international groups dealing with world economics, preserving the integrity and sovereignty of nations while enhancing a shared commitment to the work of securing sustainable development for all.  There were echoes of the principle of sharing in so many of the comments – signs of the future. 

 Lucis Trust

http://www.lucistrust.org/en  

[티끌]

신세계질서는 온 세계를 아우러 하나님을 대적하는 적그리스도이며 사탄정부입니다.
빛의 하나님과 흑암하나님(사탄), 이 둘중에 누가 과연 창조주인가를 판가름내는 마지막 결전입니다
이러한 마지막 결전을 일컬어 성경은 창세이래 없었던 무시무시한 "아마겟돈 전쟁" 이라고 합니다
아마겟돈은 반드시 발발할 것이며 이 전쟁에서 최후 승리자는 물론 빛의 하나님입니다

[다니엘]

사단도 사람을 들어 역사한다더니....결국 그날이 다가오고 있군요,

[티끌]

네, 말로만이 아니고 우리눈 앞에 실제로 긴박하게 다가오고 있네요.
이렇게 불이 발등에 떨어져 있음에도 불구하고 예수께서 마지막 때는 롯 때와 같고 노아 때와 같다고
예언해 주셨듯이, 사람들은 먹고 마시고 시집가고 장가가고 있으면서 암것도 모르고 있네요.

[가브리엘]

동영상 보았습니다. 9월25일이면 얼마남지 않은 날짜인데...
신세계정부가 탄생한다는 말인가요? 후~~~~
먹고마시고 있으면서 정말 아무것도 모르고있었네요...
그동안의 말씀이 구체적으로 이루어지고 있는데 큰일이네요. 생각처럼 준비는 안되고있으니 말입니다.

[다니엘]

한국 은행들도 통합되어져 가네요....