60 DEVELOPMENT
TO DO BETTER, WE MUST
DO DIFFERENTLY
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Remarks at Summit for the Adoption of the
Post-2015 Development Agenda, General Assembly, 25 September 2015
The Addis Ababa Action Agenda has given
us a solid financing framework. Let us build
on these foundations.
To do better, we must do differently. The
2030 Agenda compels us to look beyond
national boundaries and short-term interests
and act in solidarity for the long-term. We
can no longer afford to think and work in
silos. Institutions will have to become fit for
purpose, a grand new purpose.
We have reached a defining
moment in human history.
The people of the world have
asked us to shine a light on a
future of promise and opportunity.
Member States have responded with the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The new agenda is a promise by leaders
to all people everywhere. It is a universal,
integrated and transformative vision for a
better world. It is an agenda for people,
to end poverty in all its forms. An agenda
for the planet, our common home. An
agenda for shared prosperity, peace and
partnership.
The United Nations system is strongly
committed to supporting Member States
in this great new endeavour. We need to
start the new era on the right foot. I call on
all governments to adopt a robust universal
climate agreement in Paris in December.
I am encouraged that several countries are
already working to incorporate the 2030
Agenda into their national development
strategies. But no-one can succeed
working alone. We must engage all actors,
as we did in shaping the Agenda. We must
include parliaments and local governments,
and work with cities and rural areas. We
must rally businesses and entrepreneurs.
We must involve civil society in defining and
implementing policies – and give it the space
to hold us to account. We must listen to
scientists and academia. We will need to
embrace a data revolution.
Most important, we must set to work – now.
It conveys the urgency of climate action. It
is rooted in gender equality and respect
for the rights of all. Above all, it pledges to
leave no one behind. Seventy years ago, the United Nations rose
from the ashes of war. Governments agreed
on a visionary Charter dedicated to ‘We the
Peoples’.
The true test of commitment to Agenda
2030 will be implementation. We need
action from everyone, everywhere. The Agenda you are adopting today
advances the goals of the Charter. It
embodies the aspirations of people
everywhere for lives of peace, security and
dignity on a healthy planet. Let us today
pledge to light the path to this transformative
vision.
Seventeen Sustainable Development
Goals are our guide. They are a to-do
list for people and planet, and a blueprint
for success. To achieve these new global
goals, we will need your high-level political
commitment. We will need a renewed
global partnership.
I count on your strong leadership and
commitment.
Thank you.
The Millennium Development Goals showed
what is possible when we work together.