Welcome to the United Nations
Together 2030 Written Inputs to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) 2018
The diverse challenges and interlinked uncertainties of globalization and climate change demand societies to become more and more flexible to withstand crises, reinventing themselves in resilient, integrated, sustainable, multi-dimensional and inclusive ways. The United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development recognizes the importance of transforming societies through sustainable, resilient and inclusive paths, encompassed by the interlinked and universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A broader concept of systemic resilience must be developed that recognizes the interconnectedness, volatility, uncertainty and complexity of challenges. This concept must address the challenges in a sustainable and inclusive way, as both solution and a preventative approach to new crises. This means making the concept of ‘leaving no one behind’ a reality and bringing the poorest and most marginalized to participate fully in society.
Resilient, sustainable and inclusive societies demand a shift beyond transactional approaches to development towards a collective perspective of joint social capital values such as mutual trust, solidarity, helpfulness and friendliness that strengthen the international cooperation. Countries must cooperate to address the systemic and overlapping inequalities in wealth distribution, gender, income, disability, age and indigeneity or ethnicity, among others.
Fostering resilience requires a holistic and integrated approach to the SDGs, catalyzing progress across the three pillars of sustainable development, addressing, for instance, climate change and protecting the environment and services it provides, the livelihood and structural challenges of changing demographics and technologies and realizing human rights and protections to all. National and local governments should adopt a human-rights based approach to implementing the SDGs, in particular, with respect to those under review this year at the HLPF, focusing on: the rights to water and sanitation; the right to an adequate standard of living; including access to modern energy services; and the right to adequate housing, the right to the city, and the right to a healthy environment.
Building a safer, healthier and more resilient future for people, animals and nature demands for us to rethink the way we produce, distribute and consume energy, food, water and how we protect our common goods.
