1. Please list a limited number, preferably between five and ten, of the important priority areas that must be addressed through the SDGs to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development
1. Providing financial assistance/support in the frame of sustainable development projects assigned particularly for the benefit of developing countries
2. Stressing on the importance of peace in all aspect of life to face conflicts and wars, since both of them have negative impacts on the environment, economic and social aspects.
3. Providing efforts to reduce negative impacts of all kinds of sanctions and economic blockades, due to their negative impacts on environment, and achieve sustainable development.
4. All kind of assistance and support should be given to countries who are under occupation or any kind of sanctions or economic blockade, to relief negative impacts and achieve the sustainable development.
5. Improving health sector.
6. improving the environment conditions, through providing water supply and sewage services.
7. Improving, developing and enhancing the education sector for better sustainable development, and encouraging scientific researches and inventions.
8. Women empowerment and stabilization.
9. Easy access to related networks, information, and data.
2. How might the SDGs strive to balance the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development?
a. Reflect social, economic and environmental dimensions within each SDG, possibly through the associated targets
a. Reflect social, economic and environmental dimensions within each SDG, possibly through the associated targets
b. Integrate the MDGs, suitably modified/updated for post-2015, into a larger sustainable development framework
b. Integrate the MDGs, suitably modified/updated for post-2015, into a larger sustainable development framework
c. Expand MDG7 (‘environmental sustainability’) into a number of goals with a natural/environmental resource dimension (water, food, energy, etc.)
d. Other (please describe)
3. Based on your experience with MDGs or other existing goals, what would be the key use of SDGs for your country (select at most two)?
Key use #1
d. Addressing key pressure leading to unsustainability
Key use #2
e. Helping to balance economic, social and environmental pillars in policy making
If g. Other (please describe)
4. How can “universally applicable” SDGs be made practically relevant for countries at different levels of development? (Please refer to your country’s situation as appropriate.)
The SDGs should be relevant for all countries situation through stressing on the following key points:
a. The principle of common but differentiated responsibility.
b. sustainable development needs of all States, bearing in mind the needs of developing countries. It should also emphasis on the responsibility of developed countries in implementing their commitments to support developing countries to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, there is a need to provide additional, predictable and appropriate funding, and support the process of technology transfer and technology localization, along with capacity building for developing countries.
c. The environmental considerations should not be addressed as commercial barriers or conditions to provide development assistance. Nonetheless, a technical and financial assistance should be provided to help developing countries, including Syria, in having access to advanced production technologies, developed technology transfer used in the implementation of vital projects, including projects of clean development mechanisms (CDM), and building national capacities.
5. The SDGs are supposed to be “global in nature”. Should targets associated with those goals be:
c. common but differentiated depending on country characteristics and level of development?
If c., please explain how:
6. Which existing goals and targets (e.g., MDGs, goals/targets in Agenda 21, JPOI) do you think should be incorporated - perhaps in updated form - in a proposal for sustainable development goals?
Three goals and targets should incorporated in a proposal for SDGs, these are:
- Poverty reduction
- Education
- Improving the environment
7. What specific steps can be taken to ensure that the SDGs are coherent with and integrated into the UN development agenda beyond 2015?
- The goals needs to be assessed and accompanied by targets and indicators, while taking into account different national circumstances, capacities and levels of development.
- International consultation processes should be carried out through surveys, conferences, regional workshops, …
8. How should assessments of progress toward the achievement of the SDGs be carried out at the global level?
Progress assessment meeting at the national, regional then international levels, using prepared guidelines for reporting and assessment, and through capacity building, and providing assistance for developing countries, and involving the NGOs and private sector in the process.
9. What measures should be taken to make the process of developing a proposal for SDGs inclusive and participatory? How should civil society and other relevant stakeholders be engaged?
(By conducting national review and then regional one then the global review (similar to the preparation of GEO reports) and ensuring to involve all stakeholders on every level of reviewing.)
10. What principles should underpin the development of the SDGs? (the UN TT report, for example, recommended adding (i) reducing inequalities and (ii) promoting human rights (iii) ensuring sustainability);
Reducing inequalities, ensuring sustainability, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibility.
Other principle could be the right of developing countries to develop, in sustainable manners, its natural resources for its own citizens’ benefits with a fair assistance from developed countries.
11. How should a new Global Partnership for Development be constructed within or around the SDGs?
Global partnership should be created based on capacity building to achieve SDGs and common but differentiated responsibility principle. Free technology and knowhow transfer is crucial to achieve the SDGs, Taking into account the needs of developing countries. It should also emphasis on the responsibility of developed countries in implementing their commitments to support developing countries to achieve sustainable development.
12. Do you have any other observations, ideas or inputs you would like to offer to inform the initial work of the open working group on sustainable development goals?
Submitted by: Ministry of State for Environment Affairs / Syrian Arab Republic