19 July 2017: The UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), development agencies, NGOs and other groups highlighted ways to promote implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in publications launched on the sidelines of the 2017 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The publications highlight financing as a major issue for least developed countries (LDCs); emphasize the right to information; review inclusiveness in SDG implementation; and reflect on SDG implementation.
Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, launched the report, ‘State of the Least Developed Countries 2017’ on 19 July in New York, US. This report is the fourth in the series.
The report follows up on implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) for LDCs, with a focus on financing implementation of both the IPoA and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report finds that LDCs actually moved away from the IPoA target of 7% growth in gross domestic product (GDP) growth, with an average of 3.8% growth in 2015, the lowest rate in 20 years. LDCs’ share of total trade also declined from 1.09% in 2014 to 0.97% in 2015, away from the 2% target. Access to electricity improved from 32.3% globally in 2010 to 38.3% in 2014.
The report identifies lack of financing as one of the biggest challenges for LDCs. The authors call for prioritizing sectors where additional finance is most needed. They note that, while some infrastructure investment could benefit from private finance and debt, public finance may be more suitable for other investments, and the social returns on investment should be assessed. They recommend building LDCs’ capacity to develop projects and negotiate with financiers.
On access to information, Article 19 and the Campaign for Freedom of Information launched the report ‘Open Development: Access to Information and the Sustainable Development Goals.’ The report examines progress made toward the 2030 Agenda’s commitment to ensure public access to information. SDG target 16.10 pledges to ‘ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.’
The authors report that 118 countries have adopted legal protections to ensure public access to information. However, they note that not all countries have fully implemented their own provisions. The report explains the importance of freedom of information for achieving other development gains, highlighting instances where people have used access to information provisions to achieve better healthcare in Tunisia and Senegal, promote indigenous women’s participation in Mexico, and protect the environment in Bangladesh, among other examples. They note that the importance of information and transparency is increasingly recognized in other international fora, including the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and the UN Human Rights Council, the Open Government Partnership, and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
ODI’s ‘Leave No One Behind’ index finds that just 25 of the 44 countries that presented VNRs at the 2017 HLPF are ‘ready’ to leave no one behind.
On inequality, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) released its ‘Leave No One Behind’ index, which monitors the extent to which governments have demonstrated readiness to ensure inclusiveness in the implementation of the SDGs. The index monitors three areas: data availability; relevant policies such as free health care and non-discriminatory legislation; and the extent of financing for health, education and social protection. The index suggests that just 25 of the 44 countries that presented Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the 2017 HLPF are ‘ready’ to leave no one behind.
The UN Association – UK (UNA-UK) published a report on the first 1,000 days of the SDGs, titled ‘SDGs: From Promise to Practice.’ The report, with analysis and recommendations from 50 expert contributors, describes efforts to implement the SDGs and argues that the UN should move away from direct delivery on the ground, and focus instead on encouraging, advising and monitoring states and other implementers. The report discusses challenges created by the interactions between: inequality; instability; climate change; political, social and cultural pressures; and the global economy. It identifies priorities for action, such as: developing new ways to engage with and influence public opinion, including more effective social media use; focusing on the root causes of poverty, unemployment, inequality and violence, and the strengthening government action and services; and raising revenue fairly and progressively, not by cutting government spending and services. The report is the fourth in a series of reports on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development published by the UNA-UK. [UN Press Release on UN-OHRLLS Launch] [Publication: State of the Least Developed Countries 2017] [Article 19 Press Release] [Publication: Open Development: Access to Information and the Sustainable Development Goals] [ODI Report Web Page] [ODI ‘Leave No One Behind’ Index] [UNA-UK Publication Landing Page] [Publication: From Promise to Practice]