Launching the first-ever Sustainable Development Goals report on the new global development agenda adopted last year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 19 July 2016 said that the 15-year undertaking is “off to a good start” but will require all parts of the UN family and its partners to work together.

“We have embarked on a monumental and historic journey,” the Secretary-General told the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which opened on 11 July and ends on 20 July, at the UN Headquarters in New York.

“We must all learn, in national governments, in local authorities, in business and civil society, and also at the United Nations, to think differently,” he said, also underscoring the need to break down silos, not only between the economic, social and environmental aspects of development, but also between government institutions, between different levels of government and between the public and private sectors.

The Forum is the UN’s central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted last September by 193 Member States.

With his speech, Mr. Ban launched the first SDG report, which will serve as a benchmark for the 15-year implementation period of the 2030 Agenda.

“It provides an accurate evaluation of where the world stands on the 17 Goals, using data currently available to highlight the most significant gaps and challenges,” he said.

“We are off to a good start,” he added, calling on the international community to “pledge never to rest until we have achieved a world of peace, dignity and opportunity for all.”

The latest data shows that about one in eight people still lives in extreme poverty and nearly 800 million people suffer from hunger, the top UN official said. The births of nearly a quarter of children under 5 have not been recorded, and 1.1 billion people are living without electricity, and water scarcity affects more than 2 billion.

The data also underscore the imperative of targeted action in support of the furthest behind, he said, stressing the importance of data and indicators on all groups, especially those that are often unaccounted for.

“The SDGs address the critical challenges of our time,” he said, including immediate action on climate change.

The UN chief said he will convene an event on 21 September for countries to deposit their instruments of ratification on the Paris Agreement on climate change, an accord that was adopted in December last year and will enter into force when 55 countries ratify, and 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are accounted for.

In April, 178 countries signed the Paris Agreement at the UN Headquarters, and 19 countries have so far ratified. But these 19 countries accounted for less than 1 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Ban encouraged at least 40 countries who committed that they will ratify this Paris Agreement before the end of this year, including the United States, China, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, and Argentina.

He noted that a key feature of this year’s Forum is the voluntary national reviews, a mechanism that allows Governments to voluntarily present what they and their societies are doing to implement the 2030 Agenda. This year, 22 countries will share their experiences.

“Ensuring progress in achieving the SDGs will be greatly enhanced by making sure that lessons are shared and best practices are replicated,” he explained, calling on Member States to intensify efforts at follow-up and review through a participatory process, with the full engagement of the business sector and civil society.

Thomas Gass, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs and Francesca Perucci, Chief of the Statistical Services Branch in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs will brief reporters on the report on Wednesday morning in New York.

Also on Tuesday, Mr. Ban met with Erna Solberg, the Prime Minister of Norway. They discussed issues related to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, as well as climate change, and movements of refugees and migrants.

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2030 Agenda needs stronger, better-integrated, more strategic United Nations Development System – Ban

Remarks by UN secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the HLPF in New York, 19 July 2016

I am pleased to address this High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. This is your first meeting. I want to thank the President of the ECOSOC [Economic and Social Council], the ECOSOC Bureau, Member States and major groups for your enthusiastic engagement in the work of the Forum.

As the global central platform for follow-up and review of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the High-Level Political Forum depends on your active support and participation. Together, we have embarked on a monumental and historic journey.

In recent months, I have listened to many people, including refugees, youth and children, indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and women entrepreneurs. I heard the common message: the SDGs represent their hope for a better future. They are an action plan for people, planet, peace and prosperity.

We live in an interconnected world. That is why the SDGs are universal and indivisible. Today, I am launching the first SDG report. It is based on official data provided on the indicators developed by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators and agreed by Member States.

The Sustainable Development Goals report 2016 will provide a key benchmark throughout the implementation period of the 2030 Agenda. It provides an accurate evaluation of where the world stands on the 17 Goals, using data currently available to highlight the most significant gaps and challenges.

The latest data show that about one person in eight still lives in extreme poverty. Nearly 800 million people suffer from hunger. The births of nearly a quarter of children under 5 have not been recorded. [Some] 1.1 billion people are living without electricity, and water scarcity affects more than 2 billion.

The data also underscore the imperative of targeted action in support of the furthest behind. For the Agenda to be fully implemented, those who are the furthest behind will have to be reached first. This will not be possible without data and indicators on all groups, especially those that are often unaccounted. Coordinated efforts worldwide will be indispensable to supply reliable and timely data for systematic follow-up and progress reviews.

The SDGs address the critical challenges of our time. One challenge that calls for immediate action is climate change. Every day, the headlines speak of more climate-related disasters: mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef; soaring temperatures in the Arctic; wildfires, multi-year droughts and floods.

In April, a record-number of Member States signed the Paris Agreement on climate change. Now we need to bring that Agreement into force this year. To help advance this process, I will convene an event on 21 September, in the morning, this year, from 8 to 9 o’clock, for countries to deposit their instruments of ratification. We have 178 countries who have signed this Paris Agreement, and 19 countries have deposited their instrument of ratification. As you are well aware, we need the 55 countries to ratify, and 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions accounted. So we need to do much more. These 19 countries all accounted for less than 1 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. We very much encourage those countries, like United States and China, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, Argentina, many countries, at least 40 countries who committed that they will ratify this Paris Agreement before the end of this year. It would be much better and desirable – I may be too ambitious to ask you – if we can ratify, make it enter into force, before we go to Marrakesh in November – that would be even much better. If not, by December this year, so that we can really make an accelerated process in implementing this climate change Agreement. That’s why I am going to convene this meeting, summit meeting, for those ratifiers. All who are committed to ratify. And please make sure that your country makes an accelerated process of ratification of this Agreement.

Tackling climate change is essential for sustainable development, without any doubt. The actions needed to reduce emissions and build climate resilience are the very same that are needed to lay the foundation for prosperity and security for all, and set the world on a sustainable footing for generations to come.

A key feature of this year’s Forum is the voluntary national reviews. I commend the 22 countries who have submitted their reports voluntarily to present what their Governments and societies are doing to implement the 2030 Agenda. Ensuring progress in achieving the SDGs will be greatly enhanced by making sure that lessons are shared and best practices are replicated. I call on Member States to intensify efforts at follow-up and review through a participatory process, with the full engagement of the business sector and civil society. And I pledge the full support of the United Nations family in this undertaking.

The 2030 Agenda requires a stronger, better-integrated and more strategic United Nations development system. The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) has been actively engaged in making this happen. An independent team of advisers recently offered ECOSOC a vision of a stronger system working as one. I trust we will all benefit from this bold diagnostic work and consider their wide range of proposals.

We must all learn – in national Governments, in local authorities, in business and civil society, and also at the United Nations – to think differently. We need to learn how to transform our policies and strategies to address the challenges of sustainability. To reach the poor and vulnerable, we need targeted policies, active outreach, and disaggregated information to inform decision-making. We need to recognize and understand the multiple dimensions of poverty and vulnerability, and how they interconnect. And we need to break down silos, not only between the economic, social and environmental aspects of development, but also between Government institutions, between different levels of government and between the public and private sectors.

Member States have pledged in the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind. Everybody should be on board. We have already taken important steps. We have started to implement the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, and held the first Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals. We have inaugurated the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development. We have published the Global Sustainable Development Report.

UNCTAD [United Nations Conference on Trade and Development] XIV is now under way, focusing on going “from decision to action”. I just participated in the opening session of UNCTAD XIV, in Kenya.

Preparations are advanced for Habitat III, in October in Quito, Ecuador.

I now urge Member States, the United Nations family and major groups to accelerate the momentum. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we need comprehensive financing and broad, inclusive and innovative partnerships. I look forward to the Development Cooperation Forum that will start on Thursday as part of the High-Level Segment of ECOSOC.

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda has given us a holistic framework for mobilizing resources and aligning all financing flows with sustainable development. Every effort should be made to meet official development assistance (ODA) targets. The quality of ODA also needs to improve. South-South cooperation should also continue to complement traditional development assistance and cooperation flows.

Over the past nine-and-a-half years as Secretary-General, I have given top priority to laying the foundations for a sustainable future for people and planet. I am grateful for your strong support and engagement and leadership. We are off to a good start. Let us pledge never to rest until we have achieved a world of peace, dignity and opportunity for all.

I thank you for your leadership. Thank you very much.

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The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016

This inaugural report on the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a first accounting of where the world stands at the start of our collective journey to 2030. The report analyses selected indicators from the global indicator framework for which data are available as examples to highlight some critical gaps and challenges. The list of SDG indicators agreed upon by the UN Statistical Commission in March 2016 will be subject to refinements and improvements as methods and data availability improve.

Every journey has a beginning and an end. Plotting that journey and establishing key milestones along the way requires accessible, timely and reliable disaggregated data. The data requirements for the global indicators are almost as unprecedented as the SDGs themselves and constitute a tremendous challenge to all countries. Nevertheless, fulfilling these requirements through building national statistical capacity is an essential step in establishing where we are now, charting a way forward and bringing our collective vision closer to reality.

Ensuring that no one is left behind

In launching the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Member States recognized that the dignity of the individual is fundamental and that the Agenda’s Goals and targets should be met for all nations and people and for all segments of society. Furthermore, they will endeavour to reach first those who are furthest behind. Going beyond rhetoric in this regard will be no simple matter because disaggregated data tell us that the benefits of development are far from equally shared.

• In 2015, the youth unemployment rate (among people aged 15 to 24) globally was 15 per cent – more than three times the rate for adults (4.6 per cent).

• Globally in 2015, births in the richest 20 per cent of households were more than twice as likely to be attended by skilled health personnel as those in the poorest 20 per cent of households (89 per cent versus 43 per cent).

• Children from the poorest households are more than twice as likely to be stunted as their richest peers.

• Almost 80 per cent of urban inhabitants have access to piped water versus one-third of the rural population.

• The LDCs, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States all reported a prevalence of undernourishment that was substantially higher than that of developing regions as a whole (13.6, 9.8 and 5.1 percentage points higher, respectively) in 2014-2016.

Leaving no one behind is the overarching principle of the 2030 Agenda. However, without data and indicators that address specific groups within a population, including the most vulnerable, full implementation of the commitments made in the SDGs will not be possible. A global effort to improve data availability and use, including through improvements in the integration of data sources, has already begun. But much work lies ahead. The global statistical community stands ready to transform and modernize the way this work is undertaken in order to fully meet current needs and to fulfil our promise to present and future generations.

» Download: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016 (PDF, 5.07 MB)