Accountability key to achieving sustainable development
goals, UN human rights experts stress
GENEVA (26 JANUARY 2015 ) – The post-2015 sustainable
development goals currently being debated by the international community must
be anchored firmly in international human rights standards and backed by strong
means of ensuring accountability for meeting them, leading UN human rights
experts have stressed.
“We welcome the emphasis placed on accountability and call
for this to be strengthened,” the Chairpersons of the 10 Treaty Bodies, the
expert committees that oversee implementation by States of the core
international human rights treaties, said in a statement.
Their call was issued as UN Member States started
discussions to finalise the draft set of 17 sustainable development goals
(SDGs) that will frame agendas and policies over the next 15 years, and which
will be put forward for adoption by Heads of State at a UN Summit in New York
in September 2015.
The Chairpersons urge Member States to reinforce the
alignment of the SDGs with human rights. Their concrete recommendations include
strengthening the reference to protecting fundamental freedoms (Goal 16, target
16.10) by explicitly referring to freedoms of expression, association and
peaceful assembly.
Read the full statement here:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15505&LangID=E
The Chairpersons’ statement stresses that there should be
reliable and validated means of measuring progress in meeting development
goals, based on disaggregated data. In addition, progress should also be
measured in terms of how fundamental rights and freedoms are being protected.
“UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for there to be
a robust and participatory monitoring and review framework for the SDGs at the
national, regional and global level,” said Malcolm Evans, Chairperson of the
Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture
and current head of the Treaty Body Chairpersons’ group. “We strongly
support this and urge Member States to build upon the principles and inclusive
working methods of the Treaty Bodies, as well as other existing human rights
mechanisms such as the Universal Periodic Review.”
The statement also highlights the important role to be
played by the private sector in achieving the SDGs, and the importance of
ensuring private sector accountability.
“The work of the Treaty Bodies regarding corporate sector
accountability is highly relevant here. For example, the Committee on the
Rights of the Child and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
have issued guidance regarding the impact and obligations of business,” said Mr
Evans.
The Treaty Body Chairpersons also said they would encourage
their Committees to consider the impact of development goals on the enjoyment
of the rights in their respective treaties, and draw on development data and
reports in their dialogues with states.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell
41 22 917 9466 / ethrossell@ohchr.org
The 10 human rightsTreaty Bodies that monitor implementation
of the core international human rights treaties are: Human Rights Committee
(CCPR), Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (CESCR), Committee on
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Committee against Torture (CAT),
Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT), Committee on the Rights of the
Child (CRC), Committee on Migrant workers (CMW), Committee on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and the Committee on Enforced Disappearances
(CED).
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