Blog by Pat Black, SI Special Advisor to Advocacy.
When the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were agreed at the United Nations (UN), there was an almost euphoric atmosphere in the UN General Assembly. Many promises were made to achieve a transformation for the peoples of the world by 2030 and it was starting to happen. More girls were attending school for their primary education and a small change was being recorded at secondary level. There were even agreements on cleaning up the environment, providing clean energy and reducing carbon emissions. As tiny steps forward were being recorded, the hope continued. It looked as though the promise to ‘leave no-one behind’ would be fulfilled.
Until along came COVID-19; a pandemic was declared by WHO early in 2020. Data is now becoming available for many of the targets for SDGs across the board for 2020 and into 2021. A dark shadow has fallen on the hope and enthusiasm as many achievements are now going backwards. Not all can be put down to the COVID-19 pandemic – in some countries political changes have created backward steps for women and girls.
Last week saw the Second Preparatory Committee Meeting for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries held at the UN in New York. The Conference (LDC5) will take place in January 2022 in Doha and in advance of this, a draft document has been prepared which outlines the current position of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and proposals of how to take action to lift them to a better level, meeting the 2030 targets.
The populations of these countries are those with the least in the world – lack of education, health and welfare services, lack of infrastructure including water and transport, food insecurity and extreme poverty. As of February 2021, there were almost 50 countries recognised by the UN as being in this group – several of these countries have Soroptimist clubs such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Nepal.
Ambassador Rabah Fatima from Bangladesh, one of the co-chairs, opened the Committee Meeting indicating the economic impact the pandemic is having as devastating – with the LDCs bearing the brunt globally. She pointed out that across the LDCs, vaccination levels are at less than 2% so there is an urgency that the developed nations provide more support.
She stressed the current high levels of poverty with predictions indicating that a further 32 million people were in danger of being pushed into poverty according to the recent research. Ambassador Rabah said that school closures with no access to online learning will have a major impact on many young people and therefore the future of their countries. How can they move out of poverty, improving economically, when they do not have the fundamental education?
Therefore the Conference was very timely – there was a need to express solidarity and partnership recognising the need for the LDCs to be protected and supported. This will come from the new LDC Plan of Action, building in the SDGs, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and many other UN agreements and resolutions. The stocktaking and analysis has been completed over the past 2 years and now there is a need to enter negotiations to produce a Plan of Action.
A draft zero outcome document has been produced by experts and the Planning Committee with 6 priority areas identified for action. It is a comprehensive, ambitious blueprint but can be strengthened. These are the main themes with a great deal of detail contained within them and strong targets identified for action:
- Investing in people in LDCs: Eradicating poverty and building capacity to leave no one behind.
- Leveraging the power of science, technology, and innovation to fight against multidimensional vulnerabilities and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Structural transformation as a driver of prosperity.
- Enhancing international trade of least developed countries and regional integration.
- Addressing climate change, recovering from COVID-19 pandemic, and building resilience against future shocks.
- Mobilising international solidarity, reinvigorated global partnerships and innovative tools for risk-informed sustainable development – A march towards sustainable graduation.
Within the first theme there are specific key action areas affecting women and girls including:
- Achieving universal access to quality education with proposals to increase scholarships in higher education while enhancing the infrastructure for education facilities such as access to the internet, electricity and gender sensitive sanitation facilities.
- The empowerment of women, girls and youth to address inequality and drive economic growth with aims to increase access to investment in female businesses as well as the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls.
Whilst there is still a long way to go with negotiations continuing till the end of 2021, Soroptimist International can continue to advocate for the inclusion and recognition of women and girls in all the proposed themes.
Soroptimists around the world are already working in many of these areas: projects for schools, education and training, health, the elimination of violence against women and girls, encouraging entrepreneurship and leadership, and so much more. The evidence that these targets can be achieved is there.
How can you help to Leave No One Behind?
- If you are a Soroptimist in one of the LDCs, you may have the opportunity to work with other Non-Governmental Organisations to encourage your government to be ambitious and sign up to the actions and targets proposed.
- If you are a Soroptimist in one of the more developed countries, you can encourage your government to support the proposals and commit to providing support for one or more of the LDCs.
- As a Soroptimist, you can encourage your club to link with one of the clubs in a LDC and ask how you can support them in their community to ensure their country is in a position to Leave No One Behind. Are there club projects your club can support with expertise or funding?
Find the full draft document and more information on LDCs HERE