Remarks by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Secretary-General of The 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development

1. Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang at The First Preparator... http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/usg/statements/institu...
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High-Level Dialogue on Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development
Remarks by Mr. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Secretary-General of The 2012 UN Conference on
Sustainable Development
Solo, Indonesia, 19 July 2011
His Excellency Mr. Hatta, Minister for Environment,
Honourable Ms. Rina Iriani, Head of District Karanganyar,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honour and pleasure to be back in Indonesia to attend this High-level Dialogue.
On behalf of the United Nations and in my capacity as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development, I want to extend our deep appreciation to the host, the Indonesian government, for your support to the Rio+20
process, for convening this timely Dialogue and for your warm welcome.
I also congratulate you for the leadership you have always provided towards advancing the sustainable development agenda. That
leadership was demonstrated historically during the Johannesburg process, when Indonesia chaired the Bureau of the WSSD
Preparatory Committee and hosted its Ministerial Meeting in Bali. Now you are again playing an important role as facilitator,
convening not just this meeting but a number of informal consultations, and most recently hosting a retreat on the eve of this
Dialogue. These events have provided invaluable opportunity for the airing and exchange of views, which will contribute positively to
the work we have ahead. I thank you for this.
Today, we discuss one of the two themes of the Rio+20 Conference: the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development.
It is very encouraging for me to see this important topic receive such considerable attention. If there is one common lesson that has
emerged since Rio, it is that institutions play a critical and fundamental role in implementing sustainable development policies.
As you all know, a strong governance structure is critical for advancing sustainable development. A coherent, coordinated institutional
framework for sustainable development at local, national, regional and global levels can greatly contribute to reaching development
goals and addressing emerging challenges.
As we prepare for Rio+20, the international community must begin to reach a common understanding on how best to strengthen the
institutional framework for sustainable development at all levels.
During PrepCom I and PrepCom II, and the inter-sessional meeting, as well as through informal meetings held in New York and
elsewhere, there have been substantial discussions on how best to address the gaps and weaknesses in institutional frameworks for
sustainable development. Various options have been presented. I think there is already one common element – at Rio, we must aim
at strengthening institutions for all three pillars – environmental, as well as economic and social; and we must ensure that the voices
of major groups will become stronger in these institutions.
So, what are the next steps? How do we proceed? How do we reach an agreement that produces the best result for strengthening
institutions governing all three pillars of sustainable development?
Solo presents us with an opportunity.
This historical moment is also one of rethinking conventional wisdom on many fronts – on how we manage our financial institutions,
our economies, our food and energy systems, our social protection systems, our global environment.
This is also a moment when major shifts are occurring in international relations. New voices are making themselves heard, both
those of governments in dynamic developing countries and those of civil society and business. Both public and private sector actors
have increasing global reach.
In a globalizing and inter-dependent world, institutions, whether national, regional or global, can no longer operate in isolation from
each other.
We are faced with multiple inter-linked challenges – food, energy, climate, finance, jobs, development – and the institutions we build
for the future must be prepared to address these in a coherent and integrated way.
Today’s Dialogue provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the challenges and emerging issues that will require this strong
institutional framework.
I hope we will hear from developing countries – in particular – on how we might support them. How do we help you enhance local
and national capacity to implement sustainable development strategies in a more coherent fashion?
At Rio+20, our ideas should be in place. Now is the time to start zeroing in on them.
This is intended to be a working meeting. We have three days to apply ourselves to reviewing current arrangements… and
assessing frankly and openly what no longer works and why.
In doing so, let’s broaden our vision and horizon.
We should be looking towards strengthening governance structures at the international, regional, national and local levels. But at the
same time, we should be looking towards greater integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development – social, economic
and environmental.
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2. Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang at The First Preparator... http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/usg/statements/institu...
Furthermore, our solutions should fulfil three goals:
first, to build the necessary synergies for coordinated implementation of sustainable development at the national and local
levels. Let us not underestimate this need. When national institutions operate in silo, this will have implications at the global
level. In many instances, fragmentation at the national level leads to fragmentation at the international level. In a similar vein,
progress in strengthening coordination at the national level will be conducive to achieving coherence at the global level.
Our second goal is to eliminate fragmentation and duplication of functions among sub-regional, regional and international
institutions, backed by coordination and coherence at the national level, as I just mentioned; and
Our third goal is to build new arrangements capable of providing strong leadership and direction in tackling major global
sustainable development challenges.
We, in the United Nations system, are increasingly concerned about better collaboration within the UN system, across funds and
programmes and specialized agencies, at the country level, as well as at the regional and global levels. This is also being translated
into efforts by the UN system to seek more responsive and coordinated relationships with Member States. In essence, the UN
system is seeking to Deliver as One.
We are not starting on a clean slate. Institutional reform has been initiated with all the major UN Conferences. We can draw from
these experiences,… we can learn from them.
Most recently, we converted the Human Rights Commission to a Human Rights Council with enhanced mandates and resources. We
added new functions to ECOSOC – the Annual Ministerial Review and the Development Cooperation Forum. We set up the
Peacebuilding Commission. Can some of these experiences help us in our search to improve what exists? The President of
Switzerland, ten days ago, called for the establishment of a Sustainable Development Council. I hear many variants of this idea
when I talk to people around the world. Can we examine this more closely? This is a thought I wish to leave with you.
Distinguished Representatives,
Last but not least, let us not lose sight of the importance of political will. We can design the best institutions at national, regional
and global levels; yet if we do not have the political will that allows these institutions to work, we will not get anywhere. Without
political will, we will come to a standstill. This happened, for instance, in disarmament; and recently, during CSD-19.
It is therefore our hope that the work coming out of this meeting will make a valuable contribution to decision-making on the
institutional framework for sustainable development, which must culminate in Rio, backed by a unified political will to make future
institutions work.
This meeting is an important milestone in the Rio+20 preparatory process. In many ways your work here will lay the groundwork for
what is to come. And I encourage you to make the most of it.
I look forward to participating in your discussions over the coming days.
May we all have a productive and frank dialogue.
Thank you.
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