Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Mr. Chair,
The 80th Session comes at a pivotal moment, amid significant multilateral and global upheaval. With the year 2030 fast approaching, the urgency to accelerate progress on the SDGs has never been greater.
The world is under pressure – deepening inequality, rising debt, budgetary constraints, conflict and unprecedented challenges to the UN are straining our collective sustainable development efforts.
At this critical juncture, CANZ reiterates our support for the Secretary-General’s UN80 initiative to achieve an accountable, effective, efficient UN system equipped to respond to current and future global challenges.
We welcome the Secretary-General’s ambition and efforts as Chief Administrative Officer to initiate and deliver reforms to strengthen and reshape this organization.
CANZ will support this reform process toward a resilient and sustainable UN system able to deliver effectively on all three foundational pillars of its work.
On UN80 and 2C revitalization
In the current environment, UN80 provides us with the impetus to be bold and ambitious; this means we need to be impact-driven rather than process heavy.
Mr. Chair, the times dictate that we move beyond business as usual. In line with UN80, let’s use this 80th Session to strengthen the Second Committee’s contribution to sustainable development.
This means effective working methods that lead to consensual outcomes. It means collaborative partnerships and the timely completion of sessions.
It means remaining laser-focused on the key issues and coming together through inclusive, good faith negotiations to achieve consensus outcomes.
Being impact-oriented means i) avoiding duplication across resolutions and ii) carefully considering resolution mandates and future SG reporting requirements to judiciously use precious Secretariat resources.
In this session, CANZ proposes the committee consider how to better align the agenda and the resolutions of future sessions to each SDG, inserting sunset clauses into certain texts, and re-visiting periodicity of others.
We must ensure that the work of the 80th Session of the Second Committee remains relevant, targeted and impactful, reflecting the urgency of the moment. Doing so will increase the credibility of the multilateral order to our respective constituencies.
On Development finance and the Macroeconomic cluster
Mr. Chair,
The adoption of the Seville Commitment at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development brought us together with a renewed focus. It reaffirmed our shared commitment to multilateralism and sustainable development finance.
The Seville Commitment emphasised two key imperatives:
One, the need to incentivise bold domestic reforms to catalyse investments at scale and accelerate progress towards sustainable development.
Two, the importance of optimizing the development finance ecosystem to drive efforts towards maximising the impact of scarce concessional resources and target support to those that need it most.
We would caution against attempts to renegotiate the Commitment through the resolutions under the Macroeconomic cluster. Negotiations should focus on implementation of agreed positions.
On Gender and inclusion
Mr. Chair,
CANZ re-emphasises that gender equality is a catalyst for sustainable development and the bedrock of a peaceful, secure and prosperous world.
Gender equality is essential for the freedom and wellbeing of all women and girls. Our families, our communities and our economies are also stronger when all women and girls are safe, empowered to achieve their full potential, and their rights – including sexual and reproductive health and rights – are protected and promoted.
Gender-responsive sustainable development efforts, including financing, are critical in regaining lost ground, and in advancing us further. We simply cannot achieve sustainable development without gender equality.
Mr. Chair, you can be assured that CANZ will continue to underscore the importance of gender equality in 2C resolutions, using this year’s High Level Political Forum Ministerial Declaration and other agreed language as the floor, not the ceiling, from which gender references should be negotiated.
On sustainable development & climate
The impacts of climate change – including through extreme weather events, disasters and environmental degradation – continue to undermine hard-won development gains and progress towards the 2030 Agenda.
Vulnerable countries, such as Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries and Landlocked Developing Countries, are at the frontlines of climate crises which threaten their livelihoods, security and wellbeing.
CANZ reiterates the need for ambition in Second Committee resolutions. We cannot walk back our commitment to addressing this pressing global challenge. We must honour our commitments to the Paris Agreement and accelerate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
In this light, CANZ supports recognition of the external vulnerabilities faced by some countries, particularly SIDS, across the multilateral system and international organisations, and the need for tailored solutions. This can only happen through full implementation of the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS).
On the UN Development System
Chair, the Operational Activities for Development resolution will be a priority focus for us this year. In the context of UN80 and the significant impacts on the UN Development System, it is imperative that we better implement previously agreed reforms, such as a more empowered – and thereby more effective – Resident Coordinator system. Dividends from these reforms are not yet fully realised.
On agreed language
The work of the Committee should reflect the outcomes of recent landmark agreements, including the Sevilla Commitment; Our Ocean, Our Future; Pact for the Future; Mid-Term Review of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction; Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS; among others.
These recent sources of agreed language preclude the need to relitigate arguments about language and terminology peripheral to the substance of resolutions.
On pursuing consensus
Mr. Chair, there are some lines we are simply not in a position to cross. As is well known, we understand the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances, to be applicable in the climate context, not here.
We expect any reference to technology transfer to be on voluntary and mutually agreed terms. References to sanctions and unilateral coercive measures are red lines for us outside of the agreed 2030 Agenda formulation and won't bring us towards consensus if included in drafts. I mentioned our continued commitment to gender equality already.
We support and empower the Bureau and facilitators of individual resolutions to create and sustain inclusive, good faith negotiations. As CANZ we reiterate the importance of seeking consensus outcomes, and expect the final texts to adequately, and in a balanced way, reflect the different voices around the table.
In closing
Mr. Chair,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand are steadfast in our commitment to accelerating implementation of the 2030 Agenda and necessary UN system reforms that secures a resilient future for all, leaving no one behind. Count on CANZ to continue to be a constructive voice in this committee, working collaboratively with all delegations to achieve this.
I thank you.