11 September 2012
UN Secretary-General Speaks on Sustainability at NAM Summit
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, noting that “there can be no talk of international or national security without focusing on sustainable development." He called for intensified work to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and increase resilience to environmental, economic and social shocks, and highlighted the process to define a post-2015 development agenda.

30 August 2012: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, addressing the High-level Segment of the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran, Iran, said “there can be no talk of international or national security without focusing on sustainable development,” highlighting that inequality is rising, and called for intensified work to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and increase resilience to environmental, economic and social shocks. Iran will serve as Chair of NAM for the next three years, succeeding Egypt.

Ban said long-held assumptions within NAM countries and organizations may need to change, highlighting for example that climate change is a threat, and women are too often denied opportunity.

He said the UN and NAM currently face the “supreme challenge of answering people’s aspirations,” and that sustainability for addressing developmental challenges is a key path to meet this challenge.

Finally, Ban noted that the UN is working to define a post-2015 global development agenda that is bold, practical and includes follow-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). Highlighting the Conference’s agreement to establish universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Ban called for NAM members’ political leadership and the full engagement of the NAM and the Group of 77 and China (G-77/China) in the process. [Statement of UNSG] [UN Press Release, 30 August] [UN Press Release, 31 August]

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