22 July 2015
Governments, Experts Call for Using Existing Mechanisms in SDG Implementation
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UN Member States embarking on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can start the process by taking stock of, and building on existing institutions and policy mechanisms, said Zhang Yan, Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Executive Director, at an event titled ‘How Can Countries Implement and Monitor Sustainable Development Goals.'

asef_side_event20 July 2015: UN Member States embarking on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can start the process by taking stock of, and building on existing institutions and policy mechanisms, said Zhang Yan, Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Executive Director, at an event titled ‘How Can Countries Implement and Monitor Sustainable Development Goals.’

Hosted by the Governments of Hungary and Viet Nam, the event featured UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo as keynote speaker, and took place alongside the seventh session in the post-2015 intergovernmental negotiation process.

In opening remarks on behalf of the hosts, Zsolt Hetesy, Deputy Permanent Representative of Hungary, highlighted the importance of indicators in SDG implementation.

Wu recalled the active involvement of UN Member States in formulating the SDGs, and said in contrast with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), planning for implementation of the SDGs started while they were still being negotiated, thus contributing to stronger ownership and a better starting point for introducing the Goals at the national level. However, he cautioned, old mindsets, institutional silos and habits represent significant stumbling blocks to the new, integrated sustainable development agenda.

The event included presentations on two case studies on Viet Nam and Poland, recently launched by ASEF. The presentations, by Do Hung Viet, Deputy Permanent Representative of Viet Nam, and Andrzej Kassenberg, President of the Institute for Sustainable Development, Poland, encouraged starting implementation by building on existing institutional mechanisms and highlighted the sectors of poverty, agriculture, and climate change and energy.

A panel discussion then highlighted the importance of indicators and creating “sustainable statistics” by building the capacity needed to continuously and reliably deliver data needed by decision-makers and the public. Going beyond indicators and the mandate of statistical agencies, speakers also emphasized the need for clear thinking on how the improved statistics will feed into the machinery of forward-looking strategy development and planning.

The panel included Stefan Schweinfest, Director, UN Statistics Division (UNSD), Laszlo Pinter, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and Central European University (CEU), and Lisa Grace Bersales, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), and Co-chair of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs). [IISD RS Sources] [ASEF Website] [Concept Note and Programme] [Invitation]


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