Ulaanbaatar Declaration on Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies
 
in Asia and Beyond (SDG 16+)
 
We, the Civil Society participants of the Ulaanbaatar Democracy Forum (UBDF) 2019, having met in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on 26-28 February 2019 under the theme “Promoting Peace, Human Rights and Democracy through the SDG 16+: Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in Asia and beyond”; 
 
1.      Expressing our deep appreciation to the organizers of the UBDF, including Asia Development Alliance (ADA), Asia Democracy Network (ADN), the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies (PSCD), the United  Nations  Development  Programme  (UNDP),  in  cooperation  with  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs (MoFA) of Mongolia and Republic of Korea, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia (NHRCM) and Open Society Forum (OSF) in Mongolia;
 
2.      Expressing our gratitude to the Center for Human Rights and Development (CHRD), the local host of the UBDF 2019;
 
3.      Acknowledging Mongolia’s Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 9 on “Strengthening Human Rights and Fostering  Democratic  Governance”,  which  was  the  predecessor  of  Goal  16  of  the  UN  2030  Sustainable Development Agenda, and expressing our appreciation to the Government of Mongolia for its leadership role in the promotion of democracy, human rights and anti-corruption in line with the Goal 16;
 
4.    Reaffirming the Call to Action contained in the Busan Declaration on “Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies
in Asia and Beyond (SDG 16+)” adopted at the Busan Democracy Forum (BuDF) on January 24, 2018;
 
5.      Welcoming the important global initiatives on the SDGs by various inter-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, multi-stakeholder partnerships such as the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Open Government Partnership (OGP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),  the  Global  Alliance  for  Reporting  Progress  on  Peaceful,  Just  and  Inclusive  Societies  including assessing  the  state  of the  implementation  of SDG16+  in  Asia,  Pathfinders  on  Peaceful,  Just  and  Inclusive Societies;  KOICA’s  Global  SDG  16  Monitoring  Project,  the  CIVICUS  Monitor;  World  Values  Survey, International  Center  for  Not-for-Profit  Law  (ICNL);  Varieties  of  Democracy  (V-Dem);  Transparency International; Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) Network; and Forus International;
 
6.    Welcoming the progress made regarding the implementation of the SDGs, especially Goal 16 as illustrated
by the governments of Indonesia, Mongolia and Nepal;
 
7.      Recognizing  the  role  of  sub-national  and  local  governments  in  achieving  the  SDGs  through  Goal  16  by ensuring the availability of, and access to, high-quality disaggregated data and meaningful participation of diverse stakeholders such as women, children, youth and other disadvantaged communities, in accordance with the fundamental principle of leaving no one behind; 
 
8.      Recognizing the link between human rights and the SDGs, and welcoming the initiative of the UN Human Rights Council and the submission of the report by the UN Office of High-Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)  “Draft  guidelines  for  States  on  the  effective  implementation  of  the  right  to  participate  in  public affairs” (2018) as important and useful tools for the promotion of civic participation and engagement in SDGs;
 
9.      Recognizing the intrinsic linkages between the goals related to inequality such as Goal 5 (Gender inequality), Goal 10 (Economic inequality) and Goal 16 (Political inequality); and emphasizing the importance of tackling
 
the increasing inequalities within and among the countries as a cross-cutting issue in the implementation of
the SDGs;
 
10.  Recognizing  the  importance  of  gender  equality  (Goal  5)  as  an  essential  enabler  of  all  other  SDGs,  and stressing the  importance  of  women’s  meaningful participation  in the  realization  of the  2030  Agenda for Sustainable  Development, and  other  international frameworks and  mechanisms  such  as  the  UN Security Council’s Resolution (1325) on Women, Peace and Security;
 
11.  Concerned with the shrinking civic space in Asia and globally, in particular the increasing legal and financial restrictions imposed on civil society, and the criminalization and suppression of human rights defenders and democracy advocates, despite the internationally agreed commitments in the UN 2030 Agenda such as the Target 16.7 (on responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making) and Target 16.10 (on protecting fundamental freedoms) and, among others;
 
12.  Recognizing the importance of a holistic whole-of-government approach to the SDGs, including sub-national
and local governments, parliament, judiciary and other public institutions;
 
13.  Recognizing the important role and responsibilities that public institutions such as: election bodies, national human rights institutions (NHRI), anti-corruption agencies, fair trade commission, political parties, the press and media, have in the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
 
14.  Recognizing  the  importance  of  an  inclusive  whole-of-society  approach  to  the  SDGs,  involving  all stakeholders, especially civil society, as outlined in SDG 17.17 “encourage and promote effective public, public- private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships”;
 
15.  Welcoming the UN Secretary General’s Agenda for Disarmament “Securing our Common Future” which put
an emphasis on the linkage among disarmament, arms control and the SDGs on May 2018;
 
16.  Welcoming  the  outcome  of  the  PyeongChang  Global  Peace  Forum  (PGPF)  which  was  a  civil  society-led initiative to integrate peace and disarmament agenda into the SDGs, including the PyeongChang Declaration for Peace 2019: Sustainable Future for All – Ending War, Guaranteeing Peace, the Resolution for Sustaining Peace Process in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, and the Framework of the PyeongChang Agenda for Peace (PCAP) 2030 adopted in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea, on February 11, 2019;
 
17.  Welcoming  the  voluntary  initiatives  by  some  governments  to  create  national  SDG  18  to  address  issues related  to  security  and  disarmament  such  as  unexploded  ordinance  (UXO)  in  Laos  and  landmines  in Cambodia;
 
18.  Welcoming the initiative of the Tokyo Democracy Forum (TDF) to be held on the 21 April, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan, as part of the Civil 20 (C20) meeting in preparation for the G20 Summit (Osaka, 28-29 June 2019);
 
19.  Deeply concerned about the tensions and current conflicts throughout the world, especially the escalating armed conflict between India and Pakistan, the two neighboring states with nuclear weapons in South Asia, impacting more than 1.5 billion population in the region, and demanding for immediate end to any military actions and calling for engagement of parliamentarians, civil society and all the key stakeholders for conflict
transformation and peace-building in the troubled region; 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We, the Civil Society Participants, Call Upon:  The UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) 
1)    To regard SDG 16 as a permanent global cross-cutting priority to be reviewed on an annual basis together
with the SDG 17 from 2020 onwards;
 
2)    To ensure that the SDG 16 is implemented not in isolation but in strong links other related goals and targets
in line with the integrated and indivisible nature of the SDGs;
 
3)  To develop ways to introduce the existing UN human rights monitoring mechanisms such as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and UN human rights treaty monitoring bodies into the Follow-up and Review (FuR) of the 2030 Agenda;
 
4)    To  institutionalize  the  participation  of  sub-national  and  local  governments  by  creating  a  mechanism
‘Voluntary Local Review (VLR)’ along with the current Voluntary National Review (VNR) designed mainly
for national governments;
 
5)  To  provide  more  official  space  for  robust  participation  of  civil  society  and  other  non-government stakeholders in VNRs, including official submission of reports beforehand and more time for interventions during VNRs; 
 
The Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) 
 
6)  To regard Goal 16 as a permanent goal together with the Goal 17, to integrate the recommendations from the UPR and human rights treaty bodies and to institutionalize the participation of sub-national governments for peer review at the regional level;
 
The UN Economic Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and its member states 
 
7)    To make SDG 16 and other cross-cutting goals related to inequalities such as Goal 5 (Gender Inequality) and
10 (Economic Inequality) an integral component of the Regional Roadmap for Implementing the UN 2030 Agenda and others policies on the SDGs;
 
8)  To strengthen mechanisms for civil society participation by creating a formal CSO advisory group, to provide recommendations and advice on the effective and efficient implementation of the Regional Roadmap 2030 as well as the right to participate in public affairs in the region; 
 
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 
 
9)  To continue to prioritize Goal 16 in their work, in terms of providing technical support, capacity-building, monitoring, and advocacy in the spirit of partnership as outlined in the targets of SDG 17, with a focus on policy and institutional coherence, multi-stakeholder partnerships, disaggregated data for monitoring; 
 
National and Sub-national Governments 
 
10)  To establish robust governance mechanisms for SDGs relying on meaningful participation of all stakeholders, including civil society, in planning, budgeting, implementing, monitoring and reporting processes at national and sub-national levels, as well as on strong systems for effective development cooperation with democratic ownership and mutual accountability essential for policy and institutional coherence (Target 17.13) and inclusive multi-stakeholder partnerships (Target 17.17);
 
11)  To meaningfully localize the SDGs through a human rights-based, conflict and gender-sensitive approach in
their development planning, implementation and evaluation;
 
12)  To safeguard civic space and to create enabling environment for CSOs to play a proactive role as independent development actors and human rights defender to contribute to the realization of the SDGs in accordance with the principles of development effectiveness and UN declaration on human rights defenders (1998);
 
National and Sub-national Parliaments / Council and Parliamentarians
 
13)  To deepen their understanding of the intrinsic linkages between peace, human rights, democracy and the SDGs, and invite parliamentarians and their organizations such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Asia- Pacific  Parliamentary  Forum  (APPF),  and  ASEAN  Parliamentarians  for  Human  Rights  (APHR)  to  play  a greater role for advancing participatory democracy and human rights through Goal 16 in partnership with the civil society organizations;
 
Election Management Bodies
 
14)  To deepen their understanding of the intrinsic linkages between peace, human rights, democracy and the SDGs to ensure ‘responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels’ (Target
16.7) by conducting free, fair and inclusive elections, and guaranteeing election monitoring and verification
by the independent civil society organizations;
 
Judiciary and Law Enforcement Bodies 
 
15)  To deepen their understanding of the intrinsic linkages between peace, human rights, democracy and the SDGs, and invite them to play a greater role to 'promote the rule of law and to ensure equal access to justice for all’ (Target 16.3) in accordance with international human rights law and principles;
 
National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs)
 
16)  To contribute to the full realization of the SDGs by providing a source of accurate data about human rights issues  and  situation  and  developing  human  rights-based  indicators  for  effective  monitoring  of  the implementation  of  the  SDGs  at  the  national and  sub-national level,  and  invite  the  Asian  governments  to create  NHRIs  or  strengthen  the  NHRI’s  independence  and  effectiveness  in  accordance  with  the  Paris Principles;
 
The Open Government Partnership (OGP)
 
17)  To  continue  supporting  civil  society  stakeholders  to  ensure  genuine  co-creation  with  governments,  of commitments  for  transparent  governance,  ensuring  the  integration  of  Goal  16  and  other  cross-cutting targets related to the right to public information; and invite other Asian governments to join the OGP to demonstrate their commitment to transparent, accountable and participatory governance;
 
Anti-Corruption Agencies
 
18)  To strengthen the independence and their institutional capacities for efficient investigation and prosecution of political corruption cases, and support active participation of citizens and CSOs in mitigating, preventing and  fighting  corruption at all levels,  including in the  ratification and  effective  implementation  of  the  UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC);
 
The Private Sector   
 
19)  Especially from the extractive industries, to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as outlined in the para. 67 of the UN 2030 Agenda and the Child Rights and Business Principles (CRBP), to ensure the inclusive decision-making of citizens, local and indigenous communities towards peace and sustainable development;
 
20) 

Mongolia 
 
21)  The State Great Hural (Parliament), the Government of Mongolia, as well as the capital city municipality of Ulaanbaatar, to support the organization of the UBDF in 2020 aimed at promoting democracy, human rights and  anti-corruption  and  other  cross-cutting  SDGs  through  Goal  16,  among  the  countries  that  are  facing similar challenges in the political transition process;
 
The Republic of Korea
 
22)  To  continue  to  promote  democracy  worldwide,  leading  by  example,  including  by  supporting  multi- stakeholder forums on democracy in Asia as initiated by ADA, ADN and the PSCD, with the Busan Democracy Forum (BuDF) 2018 and Ulaanbaatar Democracy Forum (UBDF) 2019;
 
Finally, we commit ourselves to the transformative vision of ‘peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from  fear  and  violence’  through  effective  implementation  of  the  SDG  16+  in  constructive  partnership  with governments, international organizations, multi-stakeholders and other CSOs. 
 
 
 
 
 
Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide
access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
 
o  16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
o  16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
o  16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to
justice for all
o  16.4 By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return
of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
o  16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
o  16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
o  16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
o  16.8 Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global
governance
o  16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
o  16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with
national legislation and international agreements
o  16.a Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
o  16.b Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development