Opening Remarks of HRC President on event entitled “Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals”

Friday 16 October 2015 – 12:30 to 14:30 pm

Maison de la Paix, Auditorium A1-A (Jean Pictet)

First of all, let me thank the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the Geneva Academy, The Graduate Institute, OHCHR and the International Development Law Organization for hosting yet another very interesting and timely event on the topic of the SDGs.

The key prerequisite for successful development is and will remain peace. But millions of people – more than at any time since the Second World War – are being forced to flee war, terror and violence. We must tackle the root causes of their suffering, including their lack of prospects for the future, the destruction of their environment and the violations of their human rights (political, civil, economic, cultural and social).

One way of doing just that is through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

It has become a reality and an aspiration, which we are now all called to reach. And within this Agenda, the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals now stand as the center of the new global political agenda to end poverty, reduce inequalities and protect the environment.

As the SG correctly noted, “The true test of commitment to Agenda 2030 will be implementation”.

Needless to say, the implementation of the new development agenda must be firmly anchored in human rights if we are to achieve its goals; and the Human Rights Council has an important role to play in this regard, not least by consistently illuminating the links between human rights and development agendas throughout its discussions, resolutions and reports.

On stakeholders/civil society:

Let me note at this point that the SDGs are a unique chance for all of us. They are political goals. While they are not legally binding, they represent a strong political commitment. That being said, I believe that they will only be achieved if civil society groups leverage the SDGs to effectively pressure their own governments as well as the private sector to pursue these goals. The burden thus falls heavily on civil society and citizens to use the SDGs as course correction domestically, including after elections when new governments are formed.

Also, as with human rights, it is essential that the SDGs are anchored in national policies – for instance, Germany is further developing its National Sustainability Strategy in the light of the 2030 Agenda. The commitment and the implementation of the SDGs should therefore be enshrined in government programs and policies on a national level.

But also on the regional and the international level, the SDGs have to be appropriately reflected in development strategies. The SDGs are not merely a North-South project, but rather a genuinely global project, involving multiple actors beyond the State.

They are in effect a universal recognition that poverty, inequality and environmental sustainability are as much a challenge in Germany as they are in Sierra Leone.

All countries and all stakeholders will need to act in collaborative partnership in order to tackle these challenges together and implement this transformative agenda. Efficient and effective structures are needed in this regard.

And for the Human Rights Council, the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement lies at the core of its working methods. The participation of civil society in the work of the Council is enshrined in our founding documents and their engagement keeps us in touch with the reality on the ground. Their voices keep us accountable in regard to our commitments and remind us what is at stake.

NHRIs and regional organizations are also important contributors to our work and are essential for ensuring effective implementation on the ground and follow-up to commitments by States. Furthermore, other stakeholders, more and more the private sector, play an important role in our discussions. For instance, when we discuss the access to medicine in the Social Forum, businesses ought to be present. The same goes, for example, when we hold discussions on privacy and data security in the Forum of Business and Human Rights.

On accountability mechanisms:

Already much thought has been given to what framework or mechanism of mutual accountability could be put into place for reviewing progress on the SDGs on a global level. When I look at our Human Rights Council and its many mechanisms, I realize that we have a lot to contribute to this thinking exercise.

Especially the Universal Periodic Review mechanism, which I like to call the crown jewel of our Council, can provide valuable input to follow-up and review efforts. As a model for peer-to-peer evaluation -meaning that every State is both reviewing and reviewed- the UPR showcases the importance and value of ownership and participation of mutual accountability and commitment.

Also, through our success in retaining 100% State participation in the UPR, we have learned the importance of ensuring universality and equality in any review process. Every Member State of the United Nations passes under review and they all do so under equal terms.

Moreover, by having an open discourse on the human rights record of all States, by identifying common human rights challenges and by sharing information States help each other pave the way ahead. Similarly, implementing the 2030 Agenda is a very challenging task, but one that is common for all of us States. We should thus focus on solution-sharing and on exchanging information, knowledge and best practices.

In this regard, I am proud that Chancellor Merkel announced at the SDG Summit that Germany committed itself to be one of the first states to report on implementation in the High-level Political Forum, as early as 2016. I hope that also other countries, from all regions, will commit themselves as well.

Furthermore, critically reflecting on other systems, offering feedback and exhibiting self-correction and improvement from one cycle to the next is essential to remain effective and achieve our goals. In the case of the HRC, the persistence of human rights violations and abuses in many States around the world has showed us the imperative of focusing on implementation of existing UPR recommendations. In this light, as we move towards the end of the second cycle, the discussion is shifting from amassing more and more recommendations to enabling an inclusive follow-up and implementation process. We are slowly starting to consider how the mechanism can be further improved to facilitate the latter. This can be a useful lesson for any envisaged follow-up mechanism to the 2030 Agenda.

On implementation and contextualization:

Offering a model review mechanism is not the only thing our Human Rights Council can contribute. It notably also produces a vast amount of information, which can be relevant for implementing and reviewing progress towards achieving the SDGs. This information could also be useful for contextualizing the goals and targets to the specific circumstances of all countries, based on the expert reports of our Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups, as well as on studies carried out by the Advisory Committee and other bodies.

In addition, many of our resolutions on civil and political rights and on economic and social rights (such as on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation or on human rights and extreme poverty) contain components relevant to the SDGs. These, combined with our expert reports can provide further insights into the specific areas that need to be targeted in particular countries in order to achieve the SDGs.

Our resolutions also reflect the need to include vulnerable, marginalized groups, such as indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, minorities and migrants, when implementing the 2030 Agenda.

But we can also take some lessons from the human rights system as a whole when implementing the SDGs. For instance, the need for adequate available resources for the implementation of this global partnership. What’s more, viable structures will enable us to make efficient use of these resources.

Finding a way to harness all of our lessons learned for the effective contextualization, implementation and monitoring of the post-2015 development framework is crucial if we want to deliver on our promise to devise a more integrated, holistic and systemic approach to development. This has been from the beginning one of the greatest strengths of the SDG process.

With this in mind and to conclude, it is our obligation, as the Human Rights Council, to continue highlighting the human rights aspects of development, peace and prosperity. And it is our duty to ensure that human rights concerns are and remain at the heart of future steps towards implementation of the 2030 transformative Agenda.

We need to see that we are all in this together. And only with this mindset can we achieve the successful implementation of the SDGs at all levels and make global sustainable development a reality for all.

And to this end, in Paris at the end of the year, we want to adopt an ambitious climate agreement that obliges all states to do more for climate protection. COP21 provides us with the opportunity to step up the global response to the historic challenge of climate change and fix the framework for a sustainable development path. For this we need a shared vision - but we also need to be mindful that human rights not fall victim to climate change or development concerns. And this is our duty as the HRC.

Thank you