BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – The United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a declaration to accelerate SDGs.
Heads of State and Government who attended the Summit were expected to adopt a political declaration. Leading up to the event, nations had already laid out the challenges and the way forward in a draft declaration.
This was during the 2023 SDG Summit that took place on September 18-19 2023 in New York, which His Majesty left the country to be part of. He was accompanied by Inkhosikati Lamahlangu.
His Majesty was part of the said heads of states that adopted the political declaration.
His Majesty King Mswati III and Foreign Affairs Minister Thuli Dladla in attendance.
“The achievement of the SDGs is in peril; at the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda, we are alarmed that only 12 per cent of the SDGs are on track and 30 per cent remain unchanged or below the 2015 baseline. We remain hopeful, given that our world, its people, and the United Nations have a history of resilience and overcoming challenges.” the draft states.
Leaders will commit to ramping up efforts from quashing plastic pollution to bridging the digital divide and harnessing the benefits of artificial intelligence.
“Our actions must match the magnitude and scope of the crises affecting our world. This situation calls for the world to redouble our efforts and deliver a breakthrough to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,” the leaders said in the draft declaration.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said, there is no planet B.
Guterres said that was why world leaders gathered at the SDG Summit. Aiming to galvanize a global drive towards progress, they further agreed that it was the time for nations and partners to turn words into action to turbocharge results on the ground.
That includes calling on all countries and key stakeholders, local authorities, the private sector, foundations, philanthropic organizations, and civil society.
The SDG Summit aimed to adopt a forward-looking political declaration reaffirming commitment to the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind. Over two days, they agreed on how best to move forward.
