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Challenges for institutions in the transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies
Contribution by the Committee of Experts on Public Administration to the 2018 thematic review of the high-level political forum on sustainable development
A.Assessment of the situation regarding the principle of “ensuring that no one is left behind” towards sustainable and resilient societies
Currently, many regions, countries and individuals lag behind others with respect to their access to, and consumption of, critical services such as health, education, justice and information, to name a few. There is thus still a long way to go until the principle of leaving no one behind is fully implemented.
Recent research shows that widening wealth and income inequalities among regions, countries and individuals and the lack of trust that permeates many societies jeopardizes the efforts of leaving no one behind. Vulnerable people in the bottom forty percent of populations include the poor, children, youth, elderly, women, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and those in remote areas, displaced populations and alienated groups including ex-combatants in post-conflict contexts. War and strife have led to the still ongoing migrant and refugee crisis, which has culminated in over 22.5 million refugees and an additional 65.3 internally displaced people. These and associated challenges put the SDG 16 at the core of all efforts undertaken towards leaving no one behind and building sustainable and resilient societies.
In terms of values and norms, the concept of leaving no one behind connotes, inter alia, egalitarianism, equality, equity, fairness, social justice, engagement, inclusiveness, collaboration and socio-economic protection. In terms of integrated policy and practice, it calls for a strong focus on the disadvantaged and the marginalized. In terms of its multidimensional applications, the principle entails the identification of the poorest and the most vulnerable, and an understanding of their needs. Integration of vulnerabilities together with the capacity to respond into development policies is key to implementing the leave no one behind principle. Policy measures should not only a posteriori aim at reducing vulnerabilities. They should also strive for increasing the resilience and responsiveness of public administration at all levels, among things by helping institutions become more attuned to the needs of vulnerable groups and aware that even if vulnerabilities are not readily visible, they may still exist...
