Jamaica Making Strides in UN Development Agenda

Jamaica is making strides in its preparations to meet the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. A.J. Nicholson.

The UN is in the process of defining a post-2015 development Agenda, to be launched at a Summit in September 2015, which is the target date for realizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The MDGs range from halting extreme poverty and the spread of HIV/AIDS, and providing universal primary education by the target date. They were agreed on in September 2000 by all UN member states, and the world’s leading development institutions.

To achieve the goals, the UN is working with Governments, civil society and other groups.

Minister Nicholson told the Senate on June 26, that in the proposed 17 SDGs, Jamaica has noted the “emphasis on addressing the situation of low-income countries.”

“We agree that their needs are deserving of special attention,” he said, stressing that their special circumstances must inform the process going forward, as “we are of the view that solutions for development should fully incorporate all states.”

He reported to the Upper House that under the Chairmanship of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), and his Ministry, an Inter-Ministerial Work Group on the Post 2015 Development Agenda, has been in operation since 2014.

Its aim is to facilitate consultations on the SDGs with various stakeholders from all sectors of the society, “to inform Jamaica’s national priorities as they relate to the Sustainable Development Goals,” the Minister said.

Senator  Nicholson informed that earlier this month, his Ministry, the PIOJ, the Ministries of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change; Education and Industry, Investment and Commerce; the Attorney General’s Chambers, and other stakeholders met and reviewed the status of sustainable development and implementation issues.

He said the grouping represents the approach which must be taken to ensure that all elements of Jamaica’s development are adequately considered, and all “stakeholders are afforded the opportunity to contribute to national development, in an integrated and collaborative manner.”