Eighth Session of the Open Working Group (OWG) of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

On the third day of OWG-8, despite a late start due to another New York City snowstorm and delayed opening of UN Headquarters, a packed Trusteeship Council Chamber heard what OWG Co-Chair Kőrösi called “the two most powerful statements in the history of the OWG.”  Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women, said the realization of rights and well-being of all people, not only economic growth, is the hallmark of successful societies. The sustainable development agenda to eliminate poverty depends on transforming gender relations, she said, noting that “these are problems for which solutions exist.”    

Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, UN Population Fund (UNFPA), described two possible paths for a young girl from his village in Nigeria. With her rights constrained, and health and education denied, she is married at 10, becomes a mother at 11, develops fistula, and is abandoned. Without credit or employment, she cannot look after her children, and the cycle of poverty continues. We cannot make a difference in the world while this goes on, said Osotimehin. But what if, he asked, she goes to good schools and gets a job, and is allowed to decide whom and when to marry, and how many children to have? The world will be a better place when this outcome is multiplied by the other 1.8 billion people in her situation. Osotimehin said governments should “make sure access, rights and opportunities are available on an equal basis to women and girls.”    

During an afternoon panel, José Antonio Ocampo, Columbia University, stressed the importance of a specific goal on reducing inequalities. He explained that inequality exists among and within countries and said 76% of the global population lives in countries where inequality has increased. He said income inequalities are about economic policies as well as social policies. Lenín Moreno, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility, said persons with disabilities – being the "most forgotten among the forgotten" – can be a reference point on fostering inclusion of other groups. He urged the scientific and technical community to devise solutions so persons with disabilities can access health and work. Nicole Ameline, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), stressed the need to “change the paradigm” and ensure that equality is even more central to development as a precondition for achieving the SDGs. The indicators of the MDGs were too narrow, she said, while emphasizing that the post-2015 development agenda should be based on the current human rights framework.