Launching the decade of action at a time of crisis: Keeping the focus on the SDGs while combatting COVID-19
Tuesday, 7 July 2020
9:15 AM - 12:00 PM
Virtually (held New York time)
Official meeting
Statements
Statements
The COVID-19 crisis is likely to have a profound effect on progress towards the sustainable development goals. COVID-19 is not only a threat to our health, but a human crisis of multiple dimensions. It might push tens of millions of people back into extreme poverty and hunger and is impacting the livelihoods of half of the global workforce due to unemployment or underemployment. This is happening at a time when we were still not on track to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and we were launching a decade of action to accelerate progress.
The poorest and the most vulnerable people are most affected by the pandemic, including women and girls, children, older persons, persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees, persons in situation of conflict, informal sector workers and other groups. Countries in special situations, including African countries, the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing states, may be significantly affected in the long term due to their fragile health systems, limited financial and other resources, vulnerability to external shock, and dependence on international trade. Many middle-income countries are also vulnerable and require financial and other support and cooperation to cope with the pandemic and its impacts.
It is vital that, while responding to the crisis and addressing its impacts, countries keep the SDGs and climate commitments in focus so as to hold on to the gains made thus far, and in the recovery, to make investments that propel us toward a more inclusive, sustainable, just and resilient future. A gender sensitive recovery is of utmost importance.
Particular efforts are needed to accelerate progress towards the target scheduled to be achieved by 2020. The HLPF may also give directions on the kind of action to be taken with regard to those targets. Many of the transformations needed to realize the 2030 are possible, yet require strong institutions and integrated, evidence- and data-based policies. Also critical are international and national cooperation, dialogue among countries, multiple stakeholders and regions. At the geopolitical level, the crisis calls for leadership, global solidarity, transparency, trust and multilateral cooperation.
Proposed guiding questions:
- Where do we stand in terms of achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs at the time of COVID-19 and how can we protect advances made thus far on the SDGs?
- How can the responses to the impacts of COVID-19 accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs?
- What are the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis that can help increase country resilience and embark on risk-informed sustainable, resilient development pathways?
- What are ways to ensure that actions do not leave anyone behind?
- How can we help countries to strengthen statistical capacities, improve the quantity and quality of disaggregated data and support evidence-based swift decision-making?
Chair:
- H.E. Ms. Mona Juul, President of Economic and Social Council
Presentations:
- H.E. Mr. Mher Margaryan, Vice President of Economic and Social Council, on messages from the Integration Segment of ECOSOC
- Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, presentation of the report of the Secretary-General on the progress towards SDGs
Keynote speakers:
- H.E. Ms. Jutta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation
- H.E. Mr. Victor Harison, Commissioner for Economic Affairs of the African Union Commission
Part 1: 9:35 AM – 10:50 AM: Keeping the focus on the SDGs while combatting COVID-19: progress on SDGs, regional dimensions and countries at different levels of development including middle-income countries
Moderator
- Mr. Manish Bapna, Vice President and Managing Executive Director, World Resources Institute
Resource persons:
- Mr. Jaouad Mahjour,WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergency Preparedness
- Ms. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, and Coordinator of Regional Commissions
- Ms. Mariana Mazzucato,Founder and Director, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London, and Member of the Committee on Development Policy (CDP)
Lead discussant:
- Mr. Mohamed Boudra, Mayor of City of Al Hoceima, Morocco (Local Authorities Major Group)
Followed by interactive discussion
Respondents:
- H.E. Ms. Pilar Garrido, Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy, Costa Rica
- H.E. Ms. Stientje van Veldhoven, Minister for the Environment, Netherlands
- Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women
Part 2: 10:50 AM – 12:00 PM Keeping the focus on the SDGs while combatting COVID-19: 2020 targets, data, institutions for integrated policy making
Moderator:
- Ms. Claire Melamed, Executive Director of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data
Resource persons:
- Ms. Ariunzaya Ayush, Co-chair of the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (HLG-PCCB), Chairperson of National Statistical Office of Mongolia
- Ms. Geraldine Joslyn Fraser-Moleketi, Chair of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), former Minister for the Public Service and Administration of South Africa , and former member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress
- Ms. Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF
Lead discussants:
- Mr. Jack Dangermond, President and founder, ESRI (Geographic Information Systems and location intelligence)
- Ms. Maria Isabel Leon Klenke, President, PERU Employers Federation, Peru (Business & Industry Major Group)
Followed by interactive discussion
Respondents:
- H.E. Ms. Hala Al Said, Minister of Planning, Egypt
- H.E. Mr. Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation, Germany
- Ms. Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP
Mr. Liu Zhenmin
UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Mr. Liu Zhenmin of China as the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs effective 26 July 2017. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Liu was Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of China since 2013. Among his various diplomatic assignments, he served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland (2011-2013).
Mr. Liu brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in the diplomatic service, with a strong focus on the promotion of bilateral, regional and global issues. He was deeply involved for 10 years in climate change negotiations including the conclusion of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. He also widely participated in the international activities on the protection of our planet including Antarctica and the oceans. Over the last several years, in various capacities, he has been consistently highlighting and advocating for sustainable development issues.
Mr. Liu started his career at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1982. Since then, he has served the Ministry in various capacities, including as Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs (2009-2011); Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations (2006-2009); Director-General, Department of Treaty and Law (2003-2006); and Deputy Director-General, Department of Treaty and Law (1998-2003). He also served in the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland (1992-1995) and in the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations (1984-1988).
As Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Liu guides UN Secretariat support for the follow-up processes of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. He also oversees the substantive services to many intergovernmental processes, including the annual meetings of the Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly, the meetings of the Economic and Social Council, including its Development Cooperation Forum, and the work of the subsidiary bodies of ECOSOC.
In addition to intergovernmental processes, Mr. Liu oversees DESA’s policy analysis and capacity development work. He also serves as the Convenor of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs, and advises the United Nations Secretary-General on all development-related issues, including climate change, internet governance, and financing for development.
Mr. Liu holds a Master of Laws from the Law School of Peking University. He was born in August 1955 in Shanxi Province, China. Mr. Liu is married.
Ms. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi
former Minister of Public Service and Administration of South Africa, Chair of Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA)
Geraldine Joslyn Fraser-Moleketi is the Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University. She was the former Special Envoy on Gender at the African Development Bank. In this role, she led a strategy to mainstream gender in the Bank’s policies and operations, making the Bank a reference institution on gender equality in Africa. She was previously Director of the Democratic Governance Group of the United Nations Development Programme, with activities in more than 170 countries, supported from six regional service centres. She served in the South African Government as Minister of Public Service and Administration for two consecutive terms. As Minister, she led the development of a senior management service within the South African public service; oversaw a comprehensive review of the public service remuneration system; revitalized the “Batho Pele” strategy within the public service; and established the Government Employees Medical Scheme and Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy. She also served as Chair of the Pan African Ministers of Public Service for three consecutive terms and has worked on intergovernmental bodies globally and in Africa. While Minister for Public Service and Administration, she served as a member of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration. As Minister for Welfare and Population Development in the first democratic Government of South Africa, she introduced the Government’s white papers on social welfare (1997) and on population policy (1998) in the Parliament, worked on the development and implementation of the Child Support Grant and chaired the Ministerial Team on Children and Youth at Risk. She served as Deputy Minister of Welfare and coordinated the country’s preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995. Ms. Fraser-Moleketi also served as Deputy Leader of the South African delegation to the Conference and represented South Africa at the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995. In addition, she served as member of the South African Parliament for three consecutive terms, from 1994 until her resignation in September 2008, and was a member of the Constituent Assembly and various subcommittees responsible for drawing up the South African Constitution adopted on 8 May 1996. She served on the Management Committee of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa and was Deputy National Coordinator of the National Elections Commission of the African National Congress in preparation for the country’s first democratic elections. Mrs. Fraser-Moleketi serves on various boards across academia, government and development organizations on issues related to youth, the empowerment of women, capacity development and education, governance and poverty eradication. She also serves as non-executive director on the boards of listed companies. She is a fellow of the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, and holds a Master’s Degree in Administration. Mrs. Fraser-Moleketi was named 2016 New African Woman of the Year and was conferred a Doctorate of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Ms. Henrietta H. Fore
Executive Director of UNICEF
Henrietta H. Fore became UNICEF’s seventh Executive Director on 1 January 2018. She has worked to champion economic development, education, health, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in a public service, private sector and non-profit leadership career that spans more than four decades.
From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Fore served as the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Director of United States Foreign Assistance. The first woman to serve in these roles, she was responsible for managing $39.5 billion of U.S. foreign assistance annually, including support to peoples and countries recovering from disaster and building their futures economically, politically and socially.
Earlier in her career at USAID, Ms. Fore was appointed Assistant Administrator for Asia and Assistant Administrator for Private Enterprise (1989-1993). She served on the Boards of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. In 2009, she received the Distinguished Service Award, the highest award the Secretary of State can bestow.
From 2005 to 2007, Ms. Fore served as Under Secretary of State for Management, the Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Department of State. She was responsible for the staff, resources, facilities, technology and security of the Department and was the Secretary of State’s principal adviser on management issues. She oversaw a management budget of $3.6 billion, 7,200 employees, 30,000 contractors and 267 embassies and posts in 172 countries.
From 2001 to 2005, Ms. Fore was the 37th Director of the United States Mint in the U.S. Department of Treasury, managing the world's largest manufacturer of coins, medals and coin products. In 2005, she received the Alexander Hamilton Award, the Department of Treasury’s highest honor.
Immediately prior to her appointment with UNICEF, Ms. Fore was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Holsman International, a manufacturing and investment company. She also served on the boards of a number of domestic and international public corporations, including as Global Co-chair of the Asia Society, Chair of the Middle East Investment Initiative, and Co-Chair of WomenCorporateDirectors. She also served on the boards of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Aspen Institute, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) and the Center for Global Development (CGD).
Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka, Phumzile
Executive Director of UN Women
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. She was sworn into office on 19 August 2013 and brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this position, having devoted her career to issues of human rights, equality and social justice. Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka has worked in government and civil society, and with the private sector, and was actively involved in the struggle to end apartheid in her home country of South Africa.
From 2005 to 2008, she served as Deputy President of South Africa, overseeing programmes to combat poverty and bring the advantages of a growing economy to the poor, with a particular focus on women. Prior to this, she served as Minister of Minerals and Energy from 1999 to 2005 and Deputy Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry from 1996 to 1999. She was a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 1996 as part of South Africa’s first democratic government.
Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka began her career as a teacher and gained international experience as a coordinator at the World YWCA in Geneva, where she established a global programme for young women. She is the founder of the Umlambo Foundation, which supports leadership and education. A longtime champion of women’s rights, she is affiliated with several organizations devoted to education, women’s empowerment and gender equality.
She has completed her PhD on education and technology at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.
