SDG Summit: Strengthen human rights protection to tackle sustainable development crisis, UN experts say

GENEVA (12 September 2023) – UN human rights experts* today called for an urgent change of course to accelerate progress to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals as world leaders gather in New York for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit. They issued the following statement:

“The United Nations will convene the SDG Summit on 18-19 September 2023 during the high-level week of the General Assembly, at the UN Headquarters in New York. The task at hand for world leaders is to confront the stark reality of a world that is woefully off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals agreed in 2015 and to strengthen the political will for accelerated action for years to come.

Halfway to the 2030 benchmark, it has become apparent that the world has missed the majority of SDG targets, as highlighted in the 2023 report of the UN Secretary-General. Despite repeated pledges for action, inequalities have not been reduced and the lives of those furthest behind have not improved. The root causes of enduring inequalities, connected to the legacy of colonialism and enduring exploitative practices, remain unresolved. Human rights defenders continue to be targeted and adequate climate finance is not forthcoming. The lack of enjoyment of the right to self-determination for millions of human beings remains a tragic reality. Persistence of settler-colonial practices, atrocity crimes and impunity gives the measure of how far the world is from the realisation of the SDGs.

Numerous factors have hampered progress: armed conflicts, economic crises, the increasingly visible effects of the triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic. However, fundamentally, the lack of progress is often a result of racism, populism, discrimination, inequalities and violations of human rights. Those who have been denied the benefits of past development efforts remain marginalised, disempowered and excluded. Children, youth, women, older persons, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTIQ+ people, racial, linguistic, religious and ethnic minorities, people of African descent, internally displaced persons, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, people with disabilities and/or the poor frequently bear the brunt of this marginalisation. Unless we address the root causes of inequalities, exclusion, racism and entrenched discrimination faced by these people, inclusive and sustainable development for all will remain elusive.

Yet, there is a real danger that the Summit will fail to address these problems and once again miss the opportunity to deliver on the promise of leaving no one behind.

The time for tweaks is over. A fundamental shift is needed in how the world tackles existing crises – from climate change to conflicts, from poverty to polarisation, from food security to financialisation of human rights, from shrinking civic space to social security gaps, from debt to the digital divide, from gender backlash to growth obsession.

Political commitments, adopted by States at the Summit, should reinforce the importance of all human rights underpinning the accelerated realisation of the SDGs, as highlighted in the Joint Declaration on the SDG Summit adopted by the 29^th Annual Meeting of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special attention should be given to the most vulnerable or marginalised individuals and communities and their livelihoods as a matter of urgency. 

We call for a redesign of the existing socio-economic system at local, national, regional and international levels to tackle inequalities, stay within planetary boundaries and ensure the realisation of all human rights for all without any distinction. This redesign must be driven by a truly people-centered human rights approach.

Effective implementation of the right to development – which entitles every human being and all peoples to participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development – should be central to building a human rights economy. National development policies should be nationally owned and must place people and the planet at the centre to pursue inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. States and other development, peace and disaster risk reduction actors including international organisations, national human rights institutions, civil society, public development banks and businesses must ensure the active, free and meaningful participation of all individuals and communities in decision-making processes. These efforts must draw on gender disaggregated data and provide for adequate financing.”

ENDS