132nd IPU Assembly

Hanoi (Viet Nam), 28 March-1 April 2015

General Debate

The Sustainable Development Goals: Turning Words into Action

CONTRIBUTION

of the Romanian IPU Group

Madam President,

Distinguished colleagues,

It is an honour for me to speak before you on behalf of the Romanian IPU Group on this very topical subject – the Sustainable Development Goals.

I congratulate the IPU for having followed closely, from their early stages, the processes related to the post-2015 Development Agenda, and for its outstanding contribution in building up the necessary parliamentary perspective and support.

My country has participated directly to the elaboration of proposals for the SDGs, as member of the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals.

Romania’s approach of the future SDGs focuses on: the efficient management of water resources and forests, sustainable patterns of production and consumption, economic growth, human rights, equal opportunities, democracy, and the rule of law.

In our view, the post-2015 Development Agenda should promote a new paradigm of development based on universality, ownership by Member States, accountability for all stakeholders and a new global partnership.

As parliamentarians, we have the responsibility to see to it that the Agenda leaves no one behind. In particular, it must address the needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable, including children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, as well as of marginalized groups and indigenous peoples. It must advance women empowerment and human rights of women and girls, and not fall below international human rights law. It should prominently address peaceful and inclusive societies, democratic governance and the rule of law.

Moreover, we have to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals and targets are framed by clear, well-defined indicators, allowing for an adequate monitoring of the implementation of the future Agenda. The indicators will need to be broadly disaggregated across all goals and targets and progress must be measured in ways that go beyond GDP and account for human well-being, sustainability and equity.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I will conclude by reminding the results of the UN's My World Survey, which showed that having an honest and accountable government was among the top four priorities of citizens across the world. This is yet another confirmation of our role and responsibility as parliamentarians, of the need to integrate democratic governance in the SDGs, and more important, on the fact that stronger, more effective parliaments are central actors in implementing the post-2015 Development Agenda.     

In this spirit, and strongly encouraged by the successful outcome of last year’s Regional Seminar in Bucharest on Parliaments and the Universal Periodic Review, the Romanian IPU Group put forward the proposal to host a regional conference on the SDGs.

We believe that, with a substantial input from IPU and UN key actors, this initiative will help us identify the best modalities to adapt the future global goals to regional and national ones, and to build up a robust parliamentary support for their implementation at national level, while harnessing regional specificities and the added value of a regional perspective.     

Thank you very much for your attention.