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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: The 2018 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development concluded on 16 July, following a full day of Voluntary National Reviews, and the continuation of the High-Level General Debate in the afternoon. A Ministerial Declaration was adopted during the closing session on the theme 'Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies.' Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth

By Ramesh Jaura

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Three years since the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the UN, at first glimpse progress seems to have been made in "transforming our world" by implementing "a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity."

But senior UN officials admit that a closer look at what little has been achieved and the gargantuan tasks ahead to fulfil the "pledge that no one will be left behind" leave no room for complacency.

The Group of 77 (G-77), the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the UN – meanwhile encompassing 134 countries –also shares such reservations. (P09) CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN

Goal 1

Photo: UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. UN Photo/Mark Garten

By Amina Mohammed

Following are extensive excerpts from UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's remarks to the 31st ordinary session of the African Union in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on July 1, 2018. – The Editor.

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (IDN-INPS) – The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, places great importance on our long-standing but new-found strategic partnership with the African Union. Sustainable development is at the centre of that work. Africa's Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development share a common vision and, together, they provide the basis for the African Union-United Nations Partnership framework for development informing the action plan to be launched in Addis Ababa in the coming days.

Goal 16

Image: 70 years of peacekeeping operations spanning across four continents. Credit: UN.

By Timo Smit

The author is a Researcher with the SIPRI Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme. He is currently in charge of maintaining SIPRI’s database on multilateral peace operations (including data-collection), and conducts research on trends in peacekeeping. This article first appeared on June 20,2018. – The Editor

STOCKHOLM (IDN-INPS) – This year it is 70 years since the United Nations Security Council established the first UN peacekeeping operation. On May 29, 1948 it authorized the deployment of military observers to supervise a cessation of hostilities in the First Arab-Israeli War and to support Count Folke Bernadotte in his role as UN mediator.

Goal 16

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

  1. New South Africa President Endorses Land Transfers to Blacks
  2. Striving to Build a Broader Support for the Nuclear Ban Treaty
  3. Experts Stress Acceptance of Headscarf in Abrahamic Faiths
  4. UN Chief Warns of a Repeat of the League of Nations' Fate
  5. Religious Leaders Plan Action Against Inciting Atrocity Crimes

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