Post-2015 agenda must focus on implementation

Sustainable Development Goals:

The full text of the address made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

I congratulate Your Excellency Sam Kutesa on being elected as the President of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

We wish you success and assure you of our fullest cooperation.

The theme for this Session, Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda, is timely. The world has undergone many changes since the UN was created, and since the year 2000, much progress has been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

However, there are multiple challenges that still remain to be addressed. The moral and practical importance of creating an equitable world and a sustainable planet for this purpose cannot be ignored.

The Commonwealth, of which Sri Lanka is the current Chair in Office, accounts for over one quarter of the UN membership. In November 2013, the Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed in Colombo, to contribute to the process of evolving the new post-2015 global development agenda. They have endorsed the central focus on the eradication of extreme poverty and re-affirmed commitment to sustainable development.

The perspective on the post-2015 development agenda is based on shared values and principles contained in the Commonwealth Charter and individual experiences. The Commonwealth leaders encourage others to approach the forthcoming inter-governmental negotiations, in a collaborative spirit to achieve a balanced post-2015 development agenda.

Reducing inequality within and among countries is one of the most transformative goals that have been proposed by the Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals. We hope that this goal will serve to enhance the voice and representation of developing countries in decision-making.

The post-2015 agenda must focus on implementation. Achieving the SDGs would be impossible without the political will and dedication of all countries. It must be ensured that the failure of the developed countries to fulfill Millennium Goal 8 that called for a global partnership for development, is not repeated.

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Post-2015 agenda must focus on implementation