Commitment to UN sustainable development goals needs reassessment

More than two years have passed since the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development came into force.
Member states have been responsible for working towards those goals since January 1, 2016, yet we still do not see the kind of commitment from the political leadership that was envisaged when world leaders signed the pledge. 
Successful implementation of the 17 SDGs will require all policy actors and stakeholders at a community level to chip in. However, the greatest responsibility will perhaps fall on the leaders of participating countries. 
While public servants in UN member states remain important for its successful implementation, the overseeing role of government representatives will be of even greater significance. These representatives need to own the 2030 Agenda and create pressure on the executive branches of the governments, such as civil service, for a timely implementation. 
Legislators can do this by asking the civil service for information, obtaining data from sources outside the government, or raising concerns to the government and the public. They can also form committees to discuss how to prioritize certain SDGs for their country; and if a committee already exists and wishes to closely study the subject, it can co-opt technical experts and practitioners.
As we are still within the first 1,000 days since the SDGs were implemented, it is important for governments to ensure reforms are underway in three public policy spheres. 
First is the need to align national surveys with SDG indicators, in order to track progress towards the goals. In most countries, there are several SDG indicators that have missing baseline data. National statistical bodies need to be reminded of their role to obtain and provide relevant data.
Secondly, there has to be a prioritization exercise for SDGs, as no country has the resources to simultaneously focus on all the goals. At a sub-national level, provinces and districts may need to define their own priorities depending on the demographic profile, state of the local socio-economy and desires of the community. The SDGs prioritization exercise should be of interest to government representatives as they would ultimately be answerable to their constituencies with respect to progress towards basic needs during election periods.

Political leaders of member states need to own the UN 2030 Agenda in order to successfully implement the sustainable goals they signed up to.

Dr. Vaqar Ahmed

Third is the localization of SDGs — or the process of empowering local stakeholders to make the sustainable development agenda a success. Public will to move towards SDGs can only be formed and strengthened by a leadership which has a mandated voice and the ability to make decisions. This process is not easy given the vested interests in all three pillars of the sustainable development process: economic growth, social justice, and environmental protection. 
Going forward, what are some small and quick steps that governments can take in order to create an urgency towards achieving SDGs at a national and global level? 
The first would be to introduce laws which allow public access to information regarding government development plans, budgets and progress on programs that focus on SDGs. For the poorest economies, for example, stakeholders would like to see money go towards ending poverty, as well as timely disbursements of budgets. 
Next, member states need to focus on reforming accountability institutions. These institutions can be divided into two groups: independent bodies with constitutional powers to check corruption and ensure transparency in government spending; and civil society organizations working on a local level to ensure timely interventions by the state. 
Lastly, it is important to note that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development attaches immense importance to the role of private sector-led funding models which can sustain the transition towards SDGs. A key lesson learned from the UN millennium development goals — predecessors of the SDGs —was that national governments and even their donors do not have the complete financing and technical expertise to achieve progress at a local level.
It is therefore important that local-level businesses get involved in progress towards growth, justice and environmental sustainability. Such social investments will pay greater dividends to businesses in the long run. 
• Dr. Vaqar Ahmed is Joint Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan (SDPI). He is author of the book ‘Pakistan Agenda for Economic Reforms’.  Twitter: @vaqarahmed