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SDGs for All

SDGs for All is a joint media project of the global news organization International Press Syndicate (INPS) and the lay Buddhist network Soka Gakkai International (SGI). It aims to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and transformative goals and targets. It offers in-depth news and analyses of local, national, regional and global action for people, planet and prosperity. This project website is also a reference point for discussions, decisions and substantive actions related to 17 goals and 169 targets to move the world onto a sustainable and resilient path.

Photo: Wide view of the Security Council chamber as Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland and President of the Security Council for the month of May 2018, chairs the Security Council meeting on the maintenance of international peace and security, with a focus on upholding international law within the context. 17 May 2018. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Manuel Elias.

By Marat Beketayev, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The UN Security Council organized on 17 May 2018 a High-Level Open Debate on "Maintenance of international peace and security: Upholding international law within the context of the maintenance of international peace and security," reflecting the purposes of United Nations as spelt out in Article 1 of the UN Charter. Following are extensive excerpts from the draft statement by the Kazakh Minister of Justice who stressed: "Kazakhstan considers this to be a very timely and valuable debate". Engaging in such reflection is the sign of a healthy institution with strong and far-sighted leadership, and we congratulate Poland on providing such leadership during its time in the chair. – The Editor.

Goal 16

Photo: EXPO2017 World Exhibition grounds, the venue of 'Astana Economic Forum' transformed to 'The Global Challenges Summit' in May 2018 – one of Kazakhstan's eminent international activities

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – When Kazakhstan took over the presidency of the UN Security Council in January 2018, it set out with a seven-point agenda: a world free of nuclear weapons; preventing and ending military confrontations at regional and global levels; making Central Asia a model for a regional zone of peace, security, cooperation, and development; reaching peace and security in Africa; fighting international terrorism and violent extremism; advancing the nexus between security and development; and adapting the UN system to the needs of the 21st century.

Goal 16

Image: Creative Commons, Unsplash, Anders Wideskott

By Robert Johnson

LONDON (IDN) – An estimated $21 to $32 trillion of private financial wealth is located, untaxed or lightly taxed, in secrecy jurisdictions around the world as the Financial Secrecy Index names tax havens, which play a key role in facilitating the illicit flow of money across borders.

From the Lava Jato scandal to the Panama and Paradise Papers, time and again attention has been drawn to the pernicious role of offshore territories. In fact, if counted together, the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies would top the Financial Secrecy Index, given the staggering scale of their undisclosed financial activities.

Goal 16

Photo: Seventeen-year-old Mathias Bragi Ölvisson lives in the agricultural village of Fludir, South Iceland, where his family have a large farm. He has known about the SDGs since these were agreed in 2015. Credit: Elin Hannibalsdottir.

By Lowana Veal

REYKJAVIK (IDN) – Iceland has decided to spearhead publicity for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by setting up a 12-person council of young people aged between 13 and 18, under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Over 140 young people applied for the 12 places and, according to Nilsina Larsen Einarsdottir, coordinator of the project, “all of them had many brilliant ideas, so the choice was extremely difficult.”

Einarsdottir, who works with UNICEF in Iceland as a specialist in child and youth participation, has teamed up with the PMO for the project.

Another set of young people will be recruited next year for the same purpose. (P03) ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | TURKISH

Goal 4

Image source: SIPRI

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | STOCKHOLM (IDN) – Countries around the world are increasing their military expenditure. While the 29 NATO members together account for 52 per cent of world spending and the United States continues to have the highest military expenditure among them, China, India and Saudi Arabia are contributing the lion's share of the continuing growth.

Total military expenditure rose to $1739 billion in 2017. Though this whopping amount marked a marginal increase of 1.1. percent on 2016, it comprised 2.2 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) or $230 per person, according to new figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Goal 16

Photo: Panelists in the April 24 event, including Kazakh Vice-Minister Berik Aryn (extreme left), UNAOC High Representative Al-Nasser (centre), and Ambassador Kairat Umarov, the Kazakh Permanent Representative to the UN (third from right at the back). Credit: Kazakh Permanent Mission to the UN Headquarters in New York.

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – "The holy scriptures of the Koran, Bible, Torah, the Bhagwad Geeta or the Lotus Sutra" underline "the vital importance to unite the efforts of political and religious leaders for the cause of security and stability across our planet," said Kazakhstan's Vice-Minister for Religious Affairs and Civil Society, Berik Aryn, in a keynote address at an event organized by the Kazakh Permanent Mission to the UN in partnership with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).

He was speaking on behalf of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Kazakhstan’s interfaith initiative launched in 2003.

Goal 10

Photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash

By Sean Buchanan

LONDON (IDN) – One of the many challenges facing today's world is corruption and one sector in which this is particularly evident is that of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Controlled by national governments, SOEs rank among the largest companies in the world, often serving as some of the biggest employers in their country. They are central to the daily lives of citizens, providing critical goods and public services in sectors such as transport, utilities, telecommunications and health. If they are corrupt, the impact filters down to all aspects of society.

Goal 16

Photo: President Ramaphosa delivering his first State of the Nation Address on 3 March 2018. Credit. Wikimedia Commons.

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Barely a month into his presidency, Cyril Ramaphosa has taken sides on a hot button issue whose resolution had eluded previous leaders. He vowed to speed up the seizure of land from white owners and turn the properties over to blacks.

"This original sin that was committed when our country was colonized must be resolved in a way that will take South Africa forward," he declared.

The resolution calling for expropriation without compensation was introduced by the self-described radical and militant Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and passed 241 votes in agreement, and 83 votes against.

Goal 10

Photo: Dr. Daisaku Ikeda. Credit: Seikyo Shimbun.

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) – The second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference in April and the UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament in May will draw the focus of the international community in the coming weeks as it moves toward paving the way for a nuclear-weapons free world.

Since the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted in July 2017, "these will be the first venues for debate and deliberation that will include both the nuclear-weapon and nuclear-dependent states," says eminent Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda, founder and President of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) with 12 million members in 192 countries and regions. JAPANESE

Goal 16

Photo: Panel Debate about Veiling/Unveiling at UN Office in Geneva

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – The headscarf that sparks heated debates in Europe is a source of commonality between the three main Abrahamic religions Islam, Christianity and Judaism, according to experts who participated in a debate at the United Nations office in Geneva.

The event on February 23 focused on: Veiling/Unveiling: The Headscarf in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue (Geneva Centre) and the Permanent Mission of Algeria to the UN in Geneva organized the discussion in the run-up to the 37th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council scheduled for February 26 to March 23, 2018. (P47) JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | CHINESE TEXT VERSION PDF

Goal 5

  1. UN Chief Warns of a Repeat of the League of Nations' Fate
  2. Religious Leaders Plan Action Against Inciting Atrocity Crimes
  3. UN, African Union Partnership Key to Success of Peacekeeping
  4. Nuclear-Weapons Ban Will Help Usher In Peace, Human Rights
  5. Bodies as Battlefields – Dangers Women Face During Conflicts

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