Sustainable Development & Human Rights - Archive

Global Spotlight Report says SDG2 is only achievable if present food systems change towards agroecological diversification and food sovereignty.

New York, 12 July 2017: SDG2 ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, articulates one of the highest aspirations of the 2030 Agenda. Failure to advance it will significantly affect the entire agenda, claims the Spotlight report, a comprehensive independent assessment released in New York on the opening day of the High Level Political Forum 2017.

New independent Spotlight report points out that women´s lower wages and poorer labor conditions have resulted in unfair advantages for corporations

New York, 12 July 2017: Corporate power threatens women´s human rights by promoting a race to the bottom in labour standards and avoiding taxes in the countries where profits are obtained, concludes the report Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017, in its analysis of the fifth Sustainable Development Goal which promises to achieve gender equality by 2030 and empower all women and girls.

Global Spotlight Report says that the Agenda 2030 proposal to eradicate poverty by 2030 is achievable but tax policies need to change.

New York, 11 July 2017: “The promise made by governments to eradicate poverty by 2030 is doable if countries cooperate to fight tax evasion and capital flights” argues an independent report submitted to the High Level Political Forum of the United Nations as an input to its debate today around the first of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Global Spotlight Report says that the proposed “cascade” of private financing for infrastructure will result on more corruption, high fees for essential services, and massive resource transfers to the rich from the poor

New York, 11 July 2017: The “leave no one behind” slogan and the proposition to increase funding “from billions to trillions” made by the development banks and the International Monetary Fund are the two policy messages most commonly heard at the debate around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that started yesterday at the United Nations. “You cannot have both at the same time” commented Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch, summarizing the analysis of the first SDG by the global [...]

Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017

New York, 10 July 2017: A global coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions presents today the report Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017. It is published on the opening day of the High Level Political Forum at the United Nations in New York. The report provides the most comprehensive independent assessment of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Workshop during the HLPF 2017

A global coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions present the Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017 report. The report provides a comprehensive independent assessment of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 2017 edition focuses on privatization, partnerships, corporate capture and the impact they have on sustainability and inequality. The articles and textboxes cover all sectors of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. According to the report, it is time to counter privatization [...]

Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017

Privatization, partnerships, corporate capture and their impact on sustainability and inequality - assessments and alternatives In the 2030 Agenda governments committed to a revitalized Global Partnership between States and declared that public finance has to play a vital role in achieving the SDGs. But in recent decades, the combination of neoliberal ideology, corporate lobbying, business-friendly fiscal policies, tax avoidance and tax evasion has led to a massive weakening of the public sector and its ability to provide essential goods and [...]

UN report paints a highly partial picture of SDG implementation

By Kate Donald, Director of CESR's Rights in Sustainable Development program

Last week, the UN published the 2017 ‘SDG Progress Report’, intended to provide a global overview of the current situation of the 2030 Agenda in advance of the High-Level Political Forum (where States will gather in New York to report on their SDG implementation). The report presents stark evidence – not of SDG progress, sadly, but of the glaring gaps and flaws in the way such progress is [...]

As in 2016, the Reflection Group on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will launch its "Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2017" during this years High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July in New York. As an advance exceprt, the Group publishes the chapter on SDG 14 by Maureen Penjueli (Pacific Network on Globalization) on occasion of the Ocean Conference (June 5-9, 2017 at UNHQ, New York).

As the United Nations assesses the implementation of its 2030 Agenda for Development, including its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the estimated funding needs keep skyrocketing—from the initial millions and billions to trillions of dollars annually. The President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji, said on April 18 that SDG financing, including the eradication of extreme poverty by 2030, is going to cost about $6 trillion annually —and then to a hefty $30 trillion through 2030. At [...]

The second FfD Forum will be convened by the President of ECOSOC from 22 to 25 May 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Building on the inaugural FfD Forum, which devoted particular attention to setting up the monitoring framework for the follow-up to the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (Addis Agenda), the 2017 Forum is expected to provide impetus for the implementation of FfD outcomes and the delivery of means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable [...]

Our Oceans, Our Future: Partnering for the Implementation of SDG 14

The high-level United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development will be convened at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 5 to 9 June 2017, coinciding with World Oceans Day, to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14. The Governments of Fiji and Sweden have the co-hosting responsibilities of the Conference.

Human Development Report 2016 published

The report finds that although average human development improved significantly across all regions from 1990 to 2015, one in three people worldwide continue to live in low levels of human development, as measured by the Human Development Index.

This is a concern in developed countries too, where poverty and exclusion are also a challenge, with over 300 million people – including more than one-third of all children – living in relative poverty.

The report shows that in almost every country [...]

The world already looks very different to the place it was when UN member states adopted the SDGs in September 2015. How can we ensure that the international community remains committed to the pledges it made?

By Gabriele Köhler Honorary Associate, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Philip Mader Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Richard Jolly Honorary Professor and Research Associate, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Robin Luckham [...]

In cooperation with Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung—New York Office, Public Services International (PSI), Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), and Rutgers’ Center for Women’s Global Leadership.

 

International leaders and civil society activists will soon convene again at the UN Headquarters in New York for the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61), which will take place from March 13 to 24, 2017. This year, the Commission will address the issue of women’s economic empowerment in the changing [...]

International leaders and civil society activists will soon convene again at the UN Headquarters in New York for the 61st Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61), which will take place from March 13 to 24, 2017. This year, the Commission will address the issue of women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work, a subject of uttermost importance to tackle persistent gender inequalities. Today, most of the world’s poor are working, and the majority of those are women. This [...]

Advancing Equality through International Institutions

By Barbara Adams and Karen Judd

Almost 22 years have passed since the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, marking a turning point for women’s rights activists around the world. For many, the approved Declaration and Platform for Action represented a moment of vindication for the rights, living experiences, and human dignity of women everywhere. But the promises made in Beijing regarding the indivisibility of human rights, gender equality, and the empowerment of women and girls were [...]

We live in a time when hard fought gains in fundamental human rights – gains that until recently seemed irreversible – are facing new and powerful threats. In the face of resurgent xenophobic nationalism and anti-egalitarianism in various parts of the world, this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8 holds a significance greater than any in recent memory.

Having helped spearhead efforts to bring human rights to bear in tax policy, CESR is bringing a fiscal focus to [...]

Sustainable Development Goal 10 on reducing inequality will require profound changes to “business-as-usual” and close attention to human rights. A contribution to the openGlobalRights debate on economic inequality and human rights by Kate Donald, Director of CESR's Human Rights in Development program.

 
Growing economic inequality is a crucial factor in the rise of nationalist and populist politics in the US and elsewhere—with alarming implications for inclusive democracy and the broader human rights project. However, despite growing concern, expressed even [...]

UN expert body takes new steps to prevent corporate tax abuses, but more is needed to ensure companies pay their fair share and stop depleting the resources needed to realize human rights.

Blog by Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
 
Last week in Geneva the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – a UN human rights body – held a discussion of its draft General Comment on State obligations in the context of business activities. This General [...]

The 48th session of the UN Statistical Commission takes place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 7-10 March 2017. Thus far, there are 36 reports for the Commission to consider, 85 side events, an exhibition planned to celebrate the 70 years of work of the Commission, with presentations from the UN World Data Forum.

News about the 48th Statistical Commission was presented at a recent briefing for CSOs by the UN DESA Statistics Division, including elements of [...]

By Sarah Dayringer

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are using United Nation’s processes to hold governments accountable for their commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including processes such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, and the Climate Change agenda. The annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is the main forum by which CSOs can hold governments and others accountable at the global level. It brings together global, regional [...]

By Sarah Dayringer

President of the General Assembly (PGA) Peter Thomson, announced the 2017 High-Level United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of SDG 14 at the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP22) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), saying “we must ensure we have a global plan for the successful implementation of SDG 14”.

The “Oceans Conference”, as the meeting is colloquially referred to, will be co-hosted by Fiji and Sweden 5-9 June 2017 in New [...]

This paper explores some of the links between tax- and gender justice at the global level by highlighting two central ways in which illicit financial flows and gender injustice are connected. First, through the effects of tax evasion and avoidance and secondly, through the role of financial secrecy jurisdictions and global networks of facilitators which enable illicit financial flows which result from trafficking in women. The paper argues that confronting and dismantling the global enablers and secrecy jurisdictions will be [...]

By Sarah Dayringer

 

The Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) was established by the UN Statistical Commission in 2015 to develop an indicator framework for the monitoring of the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level, and to support implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 27 Group members met for their 4th meeting in November 2016 to:

  • finalise the initial tier system for the SDG global [...]