24 May 2017: Participants at a global conference called to ensure that countries affected by conflict and fragility will be “at the forefront” of international efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Global Conference on Sustainable Development in Fragile and Conflict-affected States was convened by the Government of Timor-Leste and the g7+, an association of 20 countries that are or have been affected by conflict and are in transition to the next stage of development.

The conference took place from 22-23 May 2017, in Dili, bringing together senior officials from g7+ member states, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Pacific countries, Portuguese-speaking countries, and conflict-affected countries in the Middle East. Representatives of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Sweden. Ministers from Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Somalia and South Sudan were among the high-level participants.

Several Timor-Leste ministers addressed the opening plenary on their country’s approach to strategic investment, economic reform and Special Economic Zones. Knut Ostby, UNDP, addressed the role of development partners in supporting social inclusion, and Vinay Mathur, Heineken Asia Pacific, spoke on investment.

A session titled ‘A Roadmap for Sustainable Development in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States’ took place during the conference, focused on what makes a successful national-level roadmap for SDG implementation. The discussion emphasized the need to enhance the capacity of fragile states and direct resource mobilization to post-conflict recovery efforts. During the session, A.K.P. Mochtan, ASEAN, highlighted complementarities between the ASEAN Vision 2025 and the 2030 Agenda, and said a joint report on the complementarities is being developed by the ASEAN Secretariat, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Thailand in its role as ASEAN’s coordinator on the SDGs.

The Government of Timor-Leste launched a road map for SDG implementation, which aligns its Strategic Development Plan with the SDGs.

The Government of Timor-Leste launched its own roadmap for SDG implementation, which was developed by a national ‘SDGs Working Group’ that aligned Timor-Leste’s Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 with the SDGs. Timor-Leste President Francisco Guterres “Lu Olo” said his country is one of the few in the world to have ratified the 2030 Agenda at the parliamentary level.

The g7+ briefed conference participants on efforts to conduct joint monitoring of priority SDG indicators. Other sessions focused on the themes of ‘peace as the precursor to sustainable development,’ and ‘effective partnerships for 2030 Agenda: leaving no one behind.’

In a video message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that sustainable development and ‘sustaining peace’ go hand in hand, and called for a focus on conflict prevention and peace building, and for addressing the drivers of violence conflict, including inequality, unemployment, climate change and the misuse of natural resources. Haoliang Xu, UNDP, welcomed the Global Conference as a forum for sharing lessons in sustaining peace.

The outcome statement, the Dili Communiqué, summarizes the conference themes, such as ways to implement the 2030 Agenda in fragile and conflict-affected countries, and how “fragile-to-fragile” cooperation can be strengthened. The Communiqué will be presented to the July 2017 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

Prior to the Dili conference, the g7+ with the World Bank, UN and Denmark convened a high-level meeting on 22 April 2017, in Washington DC, US, during the annual World Bank Spring Meetings. The event focused on the role of national stakeholders in strengthening the role of the state to meet humanitarian development challenges. On 21 April, the g7+ group also took part in an International Finance Cooperation (IFC) event that discussed ways to strengthen the private sector in conflict-affected states. [UNDP Press Release] [UN Secretary-General’s Remarks] [Government of Timor-Leste Conference Announcement] [Government of Timor-Leste Press Release on National Roadmap] [Government of Timor-Leste Closing Press Release] [Conference Website] [ASEAN Press Release] [IISD Sources]