ADA Newsletter- September, 2019 
 

Dear ADA Members and Friends,
 

We spent a good September organising ourselves for the  UNGA’s 74th session with high level meetings on Climate summit, Finance for Development Summit,  health, and Small Island Developing States with over 90 Heads of State or Government in attendance for this political moment.

 CSO Forum at the UN (during the SDG summit) and many national civil society events during global week of action were another highlight.  The civil society has shown great solidarity during all these events by creating historic moments and also with peaceful demonstration of some burning  issues like climate justice, inequality, peace and justice and many more.

The civil society groups  along with the other stakeholders also provided inputs around the SDG summit and one of the important issues identified was the ‘accelerated implementation as the only solution to achieve Sustainable Development Goals globally apart from deep cooperation and inclusion of civil society, with the maximum representation of the various interest groups, in particular, a meaningful engagement of those left behind being the key to an equitable progress of the whole society as a key factor of the success of SDGs implementation.

Please glace through the events organised during September and feel free share any news/ updates should you wish them published in our monthly newsletter apart from giving your suggestions on how to improve our communication with you at   ada2030.secretariat@gmail.com 

In solidarity, 

Jyotsna Mohan
Regional Coordinator-Asia
ADA Secretariat

Table of Contents

 National Activities

Cambodia

Cambodia conducted the Youth Conference on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to enhancing youth’s voices and solidarity on September 22, 2019, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Youth is not just the beneficiary of SDGs process, but the driving force to achieving the SDGs. The conference empowered 170+ youths from various sectors to be agents of positive changes to influence policy makers and decision-maker to include youth voices in all processes of SDGs in Cambodia. Those youths are representatives from farmers, indigenous people, human rights defenders, environmentalist, civil society, workers’ union, volunteers, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender), people with disabilities, etc. This Conference is initiated by the Volunteer Youth Ambassador Program for SDGs. It is a platform of a dynamic team of 25 volunteer ambassadors working together to enhance youth’s voice and solidarity through volunteerism contributing for achieving the SDGs. As the result of this event, we produced a Statement expressing strong commitment of youth to be the driving force for sustainable development in Cambodia. Youth will implement key strategic plan as the following: 1) Raising awareness via public sensitization programs, especially among youth of different socioeconomic backgrounds; 2). Building capacity development for integrating SDGs and CSDGs among work prorgrammes of youth groups; 3). Promoting inclusive partnership with stakeholders (government, private sector and civil society) on financing for development and SDGs related policies prioritization and coherence; and 4). Reflecting the progress and achievements as well as challenges of SDGs and CSDGs implementation through public feedback and voluntary national review. Investing in youth is investing for our better future. 

Japan

Towards the revision of Japan's SDGs Implementation Guiding Principle, expected to happen in December this year, a stakeholder conference was held on 6 September with more than 200 participants from across Japan, and recommendations were submitted to the Government of Japan on 9 September.
The recommendations began with an overview of the transition of SDGs implementation in Japan after the current Guiding Principles were formulated in 2016. They suggested a vision for the SDGs Implementation Guiding Principles and the roles of various stakeholders such as (a) civil society, (b) private companies, (c) the financial sector, (d) local initiatives, and (e) academic and education communities. The recommendations also covered cross-cutting issues such as (a) goal-setting, follow-up and review, (b) governance for effective implementation, (c) securing budgets & human resources, and (d) policies and measures for implementation.
A public comment on revising the SDGs Implementation Guiding Principle will be held in October.

 Nepal

National SDGs Summit 2019 & 4th SDGs Anniversary celebration kicked off in Kathmandu on 25th September in the presence of 300+ participants from a diverse background. National Planning Commission (NPC), UNDP, KOICA Nepal, Nepal SDGs Forum, development partners and all the civil society organizations came together to celebrate the 4th SDGs anniversary.
Focus on a collaboration among the stakeholders and accelerating localization was identified as the key to success of 2030 agenda . the CSOs urged all the stakeholders to join the hands in this global movement to make this world a better place to live for all with improved  partnership

Philippines

Four years into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), CODE-NGO joined the "Fun Run for Social and Climate Justice: Run for Equality, Run for our Lives" held at the Quezon Memorial Circle on September 25, 2019. The activity was organized by GCAP Philippines and KOICA in coordination with CODE-NGO and other organizations. #StandTogetherNow #Act4SDGs #EqualityRun2019

Global Activities

People’s Assembly - 24 and 25 September 2019, Parallel to the SDG Summit , Church Center , New York

Global Call to action against poverty (GCAP) along with other CSO platforms like A4SD, NGO Major  group, CIVICUS, Forus, TAP Network  and others organized the two days People’s assembly on the sidelines of SDG summit in New York on 24-25 September, 2019. 
 
The civil society gathered at the church center braving various security points to critically discuss the various critical issues of inequality, climate justice, accountability and governance and the future of sustainable development and HLPF reforms to name a few. The event was opened (virtually) by Ms. Amina J. Mohammad, Deputy Secretary General of the UN, who confessed that we are off track on the SDGs implementation with rise in inequality, hunger, (in the third successive year) and so is equality, gender, disability, migrants and other marginalized groups being pushed to the edge. She hoped that the coming decade will be decisive to come together to come together and take up the mandate again to deliver the SDG. She asserted that the young voices in the climate justice are more powerful. Renowned scholar and Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty (and extra judicial killing) and human rights, Philip Alston talked about climate apartheid, an idea that’s designed the notion that the wealthy white population (in S Africa) are ensured and protected from the climate change, but the rest 70 percent who are going to suffer and face the brunt, having no savings, protection, insurance and absolutely nothing to fall back on, we are moving into system, where the wealthy are getting ng richer and the rest of us going to be left with real worse off. Mr. Kumi Naidoo, the current secretary general of Amnesty International too asserted that we need to refresh our tools, best from the activist history, like civil disobedience and more to influence the current system.
 
People’s Assembly Debates UN Reform and HLPF Review
 
Wider UN system reform concerns and core principles such as participation and multilateralism were at the forefront of the discussion. Kate Donald of CESR raised the challenge of holding actors outside the UN, like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to account, while Barbara Adams of GPF identified the trend of “multi-stakeholderism” and its potential for crowding out the public sector as also requiring accountability. These concerns hold implications not only for the SDGs and 2030 Agenda, but more broadly for the future of global governance and multilateralism.
 
The panelists and participants raised questions and suggestions on means to reconstitute the HLPF, focusing on a medium-term approach with questions on the role the HLPF and SDGs play in the broader UN. The same bigger-picture concerns raised around outside actors and multi-stakeholderism also apply here—reform to the HLPF can have wider reverberations across the UN System.
A key challenge to the HLPF’s effectiveness is its heritage and purpose. As participants highlighted, the HLPF was established to be a forum rather than an intergovernmental body.
Full Report on HLPF Reforms here
 
The People’s Assembly brought together people’s representatives and civil society from around the world to give  grassroots and marginalised people a voice to jointly analyse the structural reasons for the injustices, act and plan for common future actions to create systemic change to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. The role of the civil society as one of the key stakeholders in advocating and implementing much needed change and to work on the structural causes of poverty and inequalities has been well established. However, we are being threatened and civic space to work is dwindling. Civil Society must fight back together and reclaim our space.
People's Assembly Declaration

SDG Summit and other events- (Jyotsna’s notes)

In September last week, the  UN General Assembly 74th Session’s first full week in New York City met amid High-level meetings on climate, health, the SDGs, financing for development, and Small Island Developing States. Over 90 Heads of State or Government convened at UN Headquarters for this political moment, described by the outgoing President of the General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés as “inextricably linked strands of DNA that make up our ‘blueprint’ for the world”. Integral to this year’s session has been the heightened participation of corporate, philanthropic and financial actors in both the official, High-level meetings themselves and a variety of concurrent meetings including the SDG Business Forum, the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit, UN Global Compact events, the Bloomberg Global Business Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Goalkeepers event.
During the SDG summit, the global leaders shared the progress in the SDG implementation their respective countries, where the issue of climate change (bringing structural changes to the climate solutions, fulfilling the agenda of Paris agreement, agree on the climate friendly economy, with the help of private sector to the green solutions -Iceland),partnership to achieve just, inclusive and peaceful society.

Highlight (25 Sep 10 AM to 1 PM, UN Trusteeship Council):
Costa Rica- role of peace in SDGs , commitment to LNB, to tackling the inequality within and across the countries. 
Egypt: Building on the political commitment, mobilizing efforts for necessary financing , without any political conditioning increasing ability of national institution. 
Men and youth to be capacitated. (there was no mention of women. Or just a slip of tounge?)
Kenya- Fight illicit financial flow, multi-literalism 
Enhance equal opportunities, free sanitary towels for all school - 
Domestication of the goals. The five years  medium plans. 
food and nutritional security,
Health coverage- essential primary health care burden, reducing the cost of medicines. 
Housing units- sustainable cities and, clean water, 
Improved and sanitation, construction of dams. 
Partnership and collaboration and community level ownership

Kingdom of the Netherlands- Public and private partnership have come together.
Apart from national, the international condition, making the workers inclusive. 5.1 million people (across the globe) are vulnerable are due to access to justice.
Women’s rights.
On sexual health and reproductive rights, so that they can help accelerate 
 
localization of SDGs 
Important role to change people’s reality.
Generating national and regional inclusive growth to regional economic environment to reduce inequality. 
Iceland- 2/3rd of the people know the SDG. Willingness of people is need to change the reality.
Tajikistan- To improve the collection and coordination of national data and indicator- and medium term development plan to 2020. 
 
On behalf of all the regional commission
Massive resource mobilization requires substantial amount of resources that the entire population to access all the recourses, health, education, and other facilities.
The global south needs help from the global north, to keep the resource, on girl’s education, decreased mortality, reproductive health, financing the SDGs.
Bangladesh -the problem of illicit financial flow was recognized
Youth- struggling, bit with the digital technology, to achieve SDG target. Youth dividends, to get decent jobs.
Gender- 15 percent less women in Europe-Africa, land ownership
S.Asia-Gender inequality- SDG 5, 
Digital technology identified as an amazing tool to close the gap. particular to youth and the women.
Role of the private sector in bringing technology and expertise, and Sustainable growth through social impact
Leaders dialog 4 on localizing the SDGs
Croatia- committed to functional and fiscal decentralization in the country.
Preparing 2030 nodal development strategy.
Bangladesh- Localization in Bangladesh, learning from MDG, the SDGs are integrated in 7 and 8 five years plan (21-25).
Adaptation of whole of society approach - Respective responsibilities and task are identified. 
National data coordination committee, mobilize resources, by having Pvt sector, CSO, with multi and bi-lateral partnership.
Bhutan- Bhutan is on the path of Gross national happiness (GNH), attached to the values and close to the mothers nature,. The country is also carbon negative.
Free health and education
Teachers in are highly paid in the country, to encourage the present teacher and drawing more brains.
Daily monitoring of SDGs reported and monthly reported to PM.
17 national key areas. 
Prepare to graduate from LDC by 2023
India - NITI Ayog, planning to integrate all the data and then implement at the local level
Indonesia- clean water supply in the city at 98 percent, drop out students are joining back schools more than 1600 schools

CSO Forum- UN Conference Room #4- 24 September (17:00 to 20:00 hrs)

SECOND #SDGSummit and #FirstCSOForum at the United Nations Headquarter !! The role of CSO in #Capacitybuilding on #SDGs recognised by the #UNDESA. The role of #CSOs have been constantly recognised at the global level in the last few years as rightly mentioned in paragraph 73 of #Agenda2030 but this has been constantly ignored at the national level !! Also financing for the #SDG is another burning issue and at the rate the climate is changing and exploitation of resources happening , the financing would be tripled in next few years making it all the more difficult to finance the SDGs. Creating synergies at the local level, political will, well recorded action and transparent and accountable government could be the key to success to #SDGs implementation in next 11 years!!

Useful Documents

UNGA & SDG Summit Update

Official Documentation

Collection of Inputs

UN Web TV

• SDG Summit – Opening Plenary, Leaders Dialogue 1
• SDG Summit – Leaders Dialogue 2, 3 and 4
• SDG Summit – Leaders Dialogue 5 and 6, Plenary, Closing segment

Photographs

Press

• PaperSmart – SDG Summit
• IISD – SDG Summit Highlights Need for Accelerated Action to Reach the Goals by 2030
• ENB, IISD – SDG Summit
• UN News – SDG Summit

Worth a Read

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019 

Asia and the Pacific Progress Report 2019 

Mongolia Civil Society Joint Report on Implementation of SDGs 

Empowering Civil Society for National reporting and Action on SDG16 

Forus and ADA National Case Studies on Goal 16 

Cambodia Civil Society Report 

Pakistan Citizen's Voice-2019 

Growing Inequality in South Asia   :  SAAPE report:

VNRs Report- 2019

• Cambodia - 2019 VNR Report [English]
•  Indonesia - 2019 VNR Report [English]
• Kazakhstan - 2019 VNR Report [Russian]
• Mongolia - 2019 VNR Report [English]
• Pakistan - 2019 VNR Report [English]
• Philippines - 2019 VNR Report [English]
• Timor-Leste - 2019 VNR Report [English]
• Turkmenistan - 2019 VNR Report [Russian]

 For your Action

 Invitation: 2019 16+ Forum Timor-Leste Annual Showcase, 11-14 November 2019

16 Plus Forum <16plusForum@wfuna.org>	Sat, Sep 21, 4:12 AM (12 days ago)
to

Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

We are thrilled to invite you to the 2019 16+ Forum Timor-Leste Annual Showcase, to be held in Díli from the 11th to the 14th of November. Building off successes of the inaugural Annual Showcase Georgia in 2017 and the second in Sierra Leone in 2018, this third Timor-Leste Annual Showcase comes on the heels of the SDG Summit and is the first to be held in Asia.  

Bringing together a wide range of stakeholders and sectors engaged on SDG 16+, this global gathering offers an opportunity for Timor-Leste and the larger international community to highlight successes, challenges and solutions in meaningfully advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies. 

Please find an Official Invitation from the hosts and sponsors attached, along with the Concept Note. To register for the 2019 16+ Forum Timor-Leste Annual Showcase, please click here.  The Agenda, Logistics Note and Participant List are forthcoming. 

Please note that visas may be required for entry into Timor-Leste, as well as for transit through Australia and Indonesia. As such, we ask that you please double check visa requirements when booking travel.  

For more information on the 16+ Forum, please visit our webpage. If you have any questions, please contact Margaret Williams at williams@wfuna.org or Nicholas Astier-Ibrahim at astier@wfuna.org.  

We look forward to seeing you in Díli! 
 
 
16+ Forum Secretariat
 
16plusForum@wfuna.org
World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA)
1 UN Plaza, Room 240
New York, NY 10017

Call for participation – Help move your subregion forward on the SDGs, August-December 2019

ESCAP is organizing a series of meetings to advance implementation of the SDGs and prepare for the 6th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development to be held during March 2020.
These meetings are scheduled during August to December 2019 to facilitate dialogue among government officials, civil society, experts and other stakeholders.  Organized by ESCAP’s subregional offices in East and North East Asia (ENEA), South and South West Asia (SSWA), North and Central Asia (SONCA) and the Pacific (EPO) in collaboration with UN Resident Coordinators and with the wider UN system, the meetings will focus attention on ways to accelerate progress on the SDGs. They will also take stock of discussions of the conclusions of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. 
Targeted participants, by invitation are:

• Experts from government agencies responsible for national coordination of SDGs
• Representatives of non-government and private sector organizations
• Regional and sub-regional organizations
• Other stakeholders involved in SDG implementation at national, regional and global levels

 The deadlines for non-government stakeholder applications for participating in the meetings are as follows:

Work Calendar 2019

• ADA's official website has been renewed. All the information related to the implementation of SDGs in Asia and actions conducted by Asian CSOs will be accumulated on this website. Please visit www.ada2030.org
• ADA's Facebook page: Feel free to tag @Asia Development Alliance in future collaboration. The page is accessible with this web address: https://www.facebook.com/ada2030/ 
• ADA Twitter Page : @alliance_asia