The 75th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) was held from 27 to 31 May 2019 at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC), in Bangkok. The session was comprised a ministerial segment, which was being held from 27 to 28 May, and a senior officials segment, from 29 to 31 May.
“Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality” was the theme of this year which special focus on the three of the six UN Sustainable Development Goals under review, namely Goal 4 on quality of education, Goal 8 on decent work, and Goal 10 on reducing inequality.
Officiating opening of the 75th Commission Session, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand delivered a special address by sharing her views and experiences on addressing various dimensions of human development through numerous Royal Projects, such as food security, health, nutrition, education, job opportunities, statelessness, forest and environment conservation, emphasized the important of a people-centred approach to sustainable development “Development is an integrated work with dimensions and issues to address including healthcare, education and employment. Development work should not last only a few years but go on as long as possible. People who live in underdeveloped areas also deserve to be happier and live better.”, and stressed the need to enhance the exchanges of knowledge and experience with each other to further cooperate on development. She also highlighted that development work must take an integrated approach and that it is a long- term work, which requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders, national and international alike.
H.E. Baron Divavesi Waqa President of the Republic of Nauru and Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum also drew attention to the increasingly severe impacts of climate change and the deepening threats to the world’s oceans and seas.
Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia while highlighting the country’s national policies on social protection, health equality funding and supporting ageing to ensure no one is left behind.
A flagship report closing the gap launched to coincide with the annual meeting assesses whether disadvantaged group such as rural populations, person with disabilities and women have been effectively included in development.
It shows that disadvantaged groups have benefited from economic growth and social progress in several countries. There are positive signs of empowerment in education with secondary completion rates for rural residents now on par with urban dwellers. Encouragingly, women’s completion rates have caught up with those of men.
However, the report also finds that there is a growing divide between those who have not. Income gaps between the top 60 and the bottom 40 percent of the income spectrum, as well as between rural and urban household, continue to remain stubbornly high. Person with disabilities have been the least empowered and remain among the most vulnerable in the region.
Many SDG targets related to the environment and the natural resources are registering negative trends. Hazardous waste generation, the reduction in forest areas and the permanent water body extent are the three SDG indicators which are predicted to regress the most by 2030, compared to 2015.
There has been a decline on gender equality (SDG5), SGD8 and SDG11 in north and Central Asia.
Progress toward this Goal is necessary to ensure the region has the means to finance, target and implement policy solutions. Failing to do so could jeopardize the achievement of all other Goals.
Senior government representatives from across Asia and the Pacific called for greater effort to advance equality and empowerment for over four billion people across the region.
Addressing the closing ceremony, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Alisjahbana said the decisions reached by member States will help guide the work of the regional body. “The resolutions are firmly anchored in the 2030 Agenda and provide solid foundations on which to build upon. Many are aligned with the priorities I set out earlier this week and are essential to achieving a transformed and resilient society in Asia and the Pacific.”
The theme of this year’s week-long meeting highlighted the need for greater empowerment and inclusion of marginalized groups. A report released to coincide with the meeting highlighted that the region was not on track to meet any of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Despite significant increase in the availability of SDG indicators since 2017, data gaps remain for two thirds of the global SDG indicators. Endorsing the Declaration on Navigating Policy with Data to Leave No One Behind, member States recognized reliable and timely statistics as indispensable for evidence based decision making, transparency, accountability and inclusive societies.
Innovation and use of new technologies for sustainable development and building community resilience also featured prominently among the resolutions passed. Delegates endorsed a call to advance science, technology and innovation, as well as implementation of the Asia-Pacific Plan of Action on Space Applications for Sustainable Development (2018 – 2030), among the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway.
Member States also agreed on the urgent need for regional cooperation to tackle air pollution challenges, and diversification of energy source in this respect. Air pollution has increased
considerably in recent years leading to a rise in premature deaths, threatening livelihood and the sustainable development in the region, particularly in many cities with growing populations where air pollution is a major public health hazard.
Strengthening the development of national and local disaster risk reduction strategies was also underlined as a priority, through the Asia Regional Plan and Action Plan 2018 – 2020 for Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The Commission further committed to strengthen the link between national, regional and global follow-up and review to the 2030 Agenda, and to continue providing capacity building assistance to landlocked developing countries towards the smooth implementation of the six priorities of the Vienna Programme of Action.
Over 800 delegates from 48 member states and associated members attended the session with permanent observes, UN agencies, NGOs, and CSOs.
This annual session has provided the opportunity to review, discuss the findings, make recommendations and conclusion for future work with the adoption of nine resolutions aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and partnerships towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.