High-Level Session: Accelerating Progress on SDG 16
Building on the legacy of IDPS as one of the key advocates for the inclusion of SDG 16 on Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in the 2030 Agenda, IDPS convened high-level representatives to discuss how multilateral and multi-stakeholder engagement can more effectively support the achievement of SDG 16 in fragile and conflict affected contexts.
The event was moderate by Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator, Regional Director of the UN Regional Bureau for Africa, and Director of the Crisis Bureau of UNDP, and the following representatives provided remarks:
- H.E. Minister Kenyeh Barlay, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Sierra Leone and Co-Chair of IDPS
- Ambassador Richard Arbeiter, Deputy Permanent Representative at Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations,
- Peter Van Sluijs, Senior Strategist at Cordaid and Coordinator of the Civil Society Platform for Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (CSPPS)
- Awa Dabo, Director and Deputy Head of the Peacebuilding Support Office, UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs
- H.E. Ivan Šimonović, Permanent Representative of Croatia to the UN
- Habib Ur Rehman Mayar, General Secretary, g7+
- Henk-Jan Brinkman, Permanent Observer for International Development Law Organizations to the UN
- Elizabeth Hume, Executive Director, Alliance for Peacebuilding
Their remarks reflected on the current challenges that have inhibited progress on SDG 16 and peacebuilding more generally. Representatives highlighted fresh thinking on how to enhance our current peacebuilding and development cooperation models to reflect the need to scale up conflict prevention, including with an eye to realize the potential for preventive diplomacy as a key but underserved priority within networked multilateralism. Speakers also discussed how IDPS as a political dialogue platform can support linking SDG Summit commitments to the Summit of the Future in 2024, building on Member States’ commitments and promoting joint action through open political dialogue.
View the IDPS Joint Statement here: