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Sustainable DevelopmentGoals Teach-In
Thursday January 14, 2016
Facilitated by Martin S. Edwards
Associate Professor Director, Center for UNand Global Governance
Studies
• The UN at 70• Recapping the MDG
Experience• From the MDGs to the SDGs• Some Unanswered
Questions• What Can We Do?• Bigger Lessons
Agenda:
• Inspiring external evaluation: • Integrated Commission on Multilateralism• Commission on Global Security, Justice,
and Governance• Inspiring UN internal appraisals:• 1325 Review• HIPPO Panel
• Inspiring policymaking:• Financing for Development (July)• Post 2015 Development Agenda Summit
(September)• Paris Climate Change Summit (Nov-Dec)• World Humanitarian Summit (May)
The UN at 70:
• Unveiled the Sustainable Development Goals• Goals and Targets• Means of Implementation• Follow-Up and Review Process
• The SDGs are the follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which have been completed
• The SDGs are intended to guide global policymaking until 2030
The September summit
• Several places, actually!• OECD DAC, which created
International Development Goals in 1996
• UN, which held a Millennium Assembly in September 2000
• Intensive follow-ups to produce a composite list of goals, targets, and indicators
Where did the MDGs come from?
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
• The UN at 70• Recapping the MDG
Experience• From the MDGs to the SDGs• Some Unanswered
Questions• What Can We Do?• Bigger Lessons
Agenda:
• A good overview is at the link below, but this is not without problems: • http://
mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2015/Progress_E.pdf
Recapping the MDG Experience
• Answering the “Did the MDGs work?” question isn’t easy:• Counterfactual: What would
countries have done had the MDGs not existed?
• Respecting the baseline: These goals were ambitious!
• Implementation: The pathway from goal to outcome is complex
Recapping the MDG Experience
• Whether targets were met varies regionally:• Target 1a (Halve, between 1990 and
2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day) was met globally, but not in SSA
• Child mortality (Target 4a) has been cut considerably, but progress in Oceania has been especially difficult• Again, the target was a 2/3
reduction. We’re at more than 50% globally.
Here’s what we know:
• Domestic conditions matter:• In conflict-affected countries, the
proportion of out-of-school children has increased since 1999
• Urban-rural divides in developing countries make progress on child and maternal mortality difficult
• Progress on many targets hampered by global recession
• Lack of data is also a barrier to policymaking
Here’s what we know:
• More countries produce better data: • The percentage of developing countries
that had two or more data points for at least 16 of the 22 MDG indicators rose from 2% in 2003 to 79% in 2014.
• Domestic reforms do make a difference:• A forthcoming UNDP-commissioned
study of 50 countries found that 2/3 of them developed national strategies for reaching the MDGs.
Here’s what we know:
• Need to change the process and make it more inclusive
• Need to change the focus to the world as a whole
• Need to change the goals themselves to focus on improving states too
• Need to rethink monitoring of the goals to make sure they’re met
• Need to strengthen data architecture so that countries measure what counts
Lessons from the MDG Experience
• The UN at 70• Recapping the MDG
Experience• From the MDGs to the SDGs• Some Unanswered
Questions• What Can We Do?• Bigger Lessons
Agenda:
• Key Document: Rio + 20 Summit Declaration (2012)• SD has three dimensions:
Economic, Social, and Environmental
• Called for the formation of an Open Working Group and extensive civil society involvement in creating the goals
From MDGs to SDGs
• Technology provided another input to the goals• World We Want survey: 7 ½ million
people voted worldwide on priorities for their families
• Top two priorities: education and health
• But note! The next two priorities are not in MDGs:• Better job opportunities• Honest and responsive
government
From MDGs to SDGs
Does the MyWorld survey suggest the US is different?
Top US Priorities1. A good education2. An honest and responsive
government3. Access to clean water and
sanitation4. Affordable and nutritious
food5. Better healthcare6. Freedom from
discrimination and persecution
Global Priorities1. A good education2. Better healthcare3. Better job opportunities4. An honest and responsive
government5. Affordable and nutritious
food6. Protection against crime
and violence
• Open Working Group• Originally had 30 members, then
moved to 70• US shared a seat with Canada and
Israel • 2 co-chairs appointed: Perm Reps
from Hungary and Kenya• Civil Society offered advice
through 9 Major Groups and other stakeholders
From MDGs to SDGs
Sustainable Development Goals
• Consistent Themes: • Poverty, Hunger, Health, Education,
Gender, Environment• Some New Wrinkles:• Access to Energy• Infrastructure• Growth and Employment• Inequality• Cities• Governance• Climate Change*
Comparing the Lists
• The goals are more ambitious for those that ‘carried over’• Poverty: Eliminate extreme poverty
($1.25/day)• Hunger: End malnutrition• Health: End preventable deaths of
newborns and children under 5• Gender: End discrimination, VAW,
and child marriage, forced marriage and FGM.
Comparing the Lists
• MDGs had eight goals (such as “Improve Maternal Health”) and 18 targets (“Reduce under-five mortality rate by 2/3 between 1990 and 2015”)
• By contrast, the SDGs have 17 goals and 169 targets
• Put another way: the SDGs are the MDGs on steroids!
Key Difference: Scale
• The sheer number of goals and targets has invited criticism.
• It is hard to imagine the alternatives.
• We committed to a public process based on an expansive view of SD, and this was the outcome.
• The SG’s attempt to reframe the goals by grouping them under six headings failed to catch on.
Too Big to Work?
• The UN at 70• Recapping the MDG
Experience• From the MDGs to the SDGs• Some Unanswered
Questions• What Can We Do?• Bigger Lessons
Agenda:
• Indicator Overload• Follow up and review• Footing the Bill for Post-2015• Post-2015 in the US
Some Unanswered Questions
• With more goals and targets, there are more indicators, which places a strain on state capacity. Indicators are to be completed next year.
• At present, only 17% of the 300+ proposed indicators are feasible by National Statistical Offices
Indicator Overload
• Needs to be substantive to be consequential
• Example that’s often referenced is Universal Periodic Review
• Three questions• Is the review process going to name
and shame?• How will it avoid burdening
countries?• How will national and regional level
reviews work?
Follow up and review
• Financing for Development (FfD) talks held over the summer in Addis
• States are paying their own way through creating stronger tax systems• Para 51: “We encourage ODA
providers to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to LDCs.”
Footing the Bill for Post-2015
• It’s not surprising that FfD agreement was more ambiguous than SDGs• States negotiate harder over $!
Financing for Development (FfD)
• Ambiguity!• What makes the SDGs work is
their clarity. • FfD outcome document far
from this standard• Agreement language doesn’t
obligate states• Doesn’t outline benchmarks
Key difference between SDGs and FfD
• In the US, even soft forms of governance like Agenda 21 have been portrayed as threats to American sovereignty.
• Some parts of the country are not going to like the SDGs. How can we fix this?
Post-2015 Agenda in the US
• The UN at 70• Recapping the MDG
Experience• From the MDGs to the SDGs• Some Unanswered
Questions• What Can We Do?• Bigger Lessons
Agenda:
• In covering all of this ground this afternoon, it can be daunting to figure out how YOU can contribute to this development agenda
• One way that you can make a difference is by getting engaged.
What Can We Do?
• Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth: • un.org/youthenvoy• @AhmadAlhendawi
• UNA-USA: • genun.unausa.org
What Can We Do?
• Another way that you can make a difference is by writing about it.
• It’s imperative that we create new voices to take part in the global conversation
• Can’t create the world we want without better informed citizens!
• …
What Can We Do?
• Helps you practice writing clearly.
• Helps get your ideas into the public sphere.
• Helps your resume/college application stand out.
• Simple writing sample for employers.
Why do this?
• A = Argument• B = Brevity• C = Current Events
• H = Humility
Some ABCs (and an H)
• The “Op” is for OPINION.• So you need an argument!• And you need to put it
simply in a sentence.
• “I argue that….”• Make sure this is in your
submission. It makes life easy for an editor.
A is for ARGUMENT
• “We should do something about Syria/ISIS/Ebola” is NOT a compelling argument!
• We should create a no-fly zone and deploy troops to guard new refugee settlements east of Damascus IS an argument!
To be clear:
• Aim for an informed, but not expert audience.
• Keep in mind it’s your job to persuade, and you need to educate first!
• Need to explain your argument simply. There is NO SHAME in this.
On “Voice”
• Get to the point. Immediately.
• Review the writer’s guidelines for the publication. You probably have 800-1000 words maximum.
• Make certain your argument is in the FIRST paragraph. Not the last!
B is for BREVITY:
• It had better be about them!• Think about this broadly: • How much was written on
the 100th anniversary of WWI?
• How much is written on every single anniversary of 9/11?
C is for Current Events:
• Remember that you are learning to do this.
• Accept rejection gracefully.
• Editors will make edits. Learn from them.
H is for Humility:
• Writing an op-ed about the SDGs can be a bit of a challenge.
• A simple idea is to structure the op-ed around 5 key points.• Washington Post 5 Myths Column• Edwards US-UN column• Edwards and Kotlow
2015 UN Preview column
• You could use the theme “Five reasons why the SDGs are important”
So How Can I Do This?
• Allows you to organize your thoughts
• Makes sure that you have an argument (“I argue that…”)
• Allows you to address potential objections
• Also keeps the total document short!
Why does 5 points work?
• We also have just the thing for that too!
• Take a look at our SDG Scholarship Challenge!
• Deadline is March 27th!
What if I have an idea about the SDGs?
• The UN at 70• Recapping the MDG
Experience• From the MDGs to the SDGs• Some Unanswered
Questions• What Can We Do?• Bigger Lessons
Agenda:
• Post-2015 agenda is packaged as a done deal, but it still a work in progress.
• International cooperation is always a difficult balancing act of reconciling different interests. This is as true today as when the UN was founded.
Bigger Lessons
• Involving civil society in the development of SDGs has been a game-changer.
• The future of the Post-2015 agenda, though, turns on how much civil society can help turn pledges into action.
Bigger Lessons
• Check out our Library Resource Page!• http://library.shu.edu/sdg
• Check out the writings of my students on the Center blog!• http://blogs.shu.edu/unstudies/tag
/sdgs/
.
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