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Mr. Chairman,
I congratulate you on assuming the chairmanship of this important Committee. I also congratulate other members of the Bureau over their election.
Pakistan associates itself with the statement delivered by the distinguished Ambassador of Bolivia on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
Mr. Chairman,
The Second Committee, this year, will deal with a number of issues critical for global economic governance and sustainable development.
This provides us an opportunity to promote socio-economic progress and strengthen partnerships for development cooperation.
The current session is going to be the most momentous in many years to come, because it would hold deliberations and negotiations to craft the post-2015 Development Agenda.
The processes initiated at Rio+ 20 Conference, aimed to shape the new development agenda, will move to fulfillment this year.
Successful conclusion of our efforts will deliver a transformative universal agenda.
Mr. Chairman,
While taking the next steps, we need notto reinvent the wheel. We should work on a continuum rather than radical departures from our previous cumulative experiences and collective wisdom.
The intergovernmental negotiations for the post-2015 agenda should build on past achievements and be guided by lessons learnt so far.
Mr. Chairman,
The Millennium Development Goals have changed the global development discourse and agenda by considerably bringing down levels of poverty and spurring socio-economic development in the developing countries.
The MDGs have pushed down child and maternal mortality; improved access to clean water, education, and health; and enhanced gender parity and women empowerment. But we know that our work is far from done.
While efforts continue for the completion of the MDGs’ unfinished business, we have identified the factors that have inhibited their full attainment.
Inadequacy of resources was one of the causes for the sub-optimal performance on the MDGs.
This time around, we need to ensure that the United Nations and other agencies generate resources commensurate with the inter-governmental mandates related to development. We know that to attain this objective, in addition to the official development assistance, we would need broad partnerships that would enable us toachieve our goals.
Eradication of poverty, inclusive and sustained economic growth and sustainable developmenthave moved to the centre of this new agenda.
The post-2015 Development Agenda will address the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. But we would not be able toachieve these goals, without putting equal emphasis on peace and stability, democratic governance, the rule of law, access to justice, human rights, gender parity and, above all, institution building.
These are all critical enablers for sustainable development.
Mr. Chairman,
The sustainable development goals, negotiated and endorsed by member states, reflect our collective will to end poverty and create conditions for equitable distribution of wealth. The Open Working Group engaged and consulted all relevant stakeholders to hammer out these goals.
We now look forward to the Secretary General’s synthesis report that would include, among others, the Open Working Group’s work, as well as thereport of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing. The latter’s recommendations will have to be harmonized with the rules that would emerge from the third International Conference on Financing for Development next year.
This is necessary to unlock resources. But the resources will not be available if we do not work hard to build partnerships between the United Nations, governments, businesses, civil society and multilateral financial institutions.
Monterrey Consensus outlined comprehensive national and international policy actions required to achieve the internationally agreed development goals.
We must make a fair assessment on progress made so far on the Monterrey consensus, the shortfalls that hamper progress and the actions needed to advance the implementation of these goals. This will be critical to achieve a comprehensive outcome of the third Financing for Development Conference.
We must ensure that the Conference contributes in a meaningful manner to the negotiations on the post-2015 Development Agenda and its implementation mechanisms.
Mr. Chairman,
Climate Change poses serious challenges and demands urgent global action.
We pay tribute to the Secretary General for organizing a successful Climate Summit last month. There is compelling scientific evidencethat emissions are rising with the risk of pushing the increase in the global mean temperature beyond 2 degrees Celsius. What is more, human activity is the dominant cause of the observed global warming, fraught with hazardousconsequences for our planet and mankind.
It is therefore absolutely necessary that political commitments made by world leaders at the Climate Summit,are transformed into a global climate agreement in 2015.
The UN Climate negotiations towards a new instrument are at a critical stage. This new instrument should be built on the principles of the Climate Convention.
Climate action, however, shouldnot undermine growth and development objectives of the developing countries.
Mr. Chairman,
The post-2015 Agenda should be conceived to:
Mr. Chairman,
Despite some recent positive trends, global economy is still struggling. The main weaknesses continue to be sovereign debt distress, fragile banking sector, weak aggregate demand and high unemployment.
The establishment of a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring would be an important milestone for ensuring debt sustainability.
We need to promote greater mobilization of resources and generate investments for building productive capacities and resilience in the developing countries.
Mr. Chairman,
In conclusion, I assure you of my delegation’s full support to you duringour discussions in the Second Committee.
I thank you.