G20 Development Ministers Endorse Recommendations On 2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development And COVID-19 Recovery

The Development Ministers of the G20 have endorsed recommendations for ‘a global response to support COVID-19 recovery in developing countries and foster progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’.

It was the first time that the ministers had met to focus the two priorities of financing sustainable development and localizing the SDGs.

The final Communiqué recognises the role of extensive COVID-19 immunisation as a global public good and restates the need to ‘scale up collaborative efforts to enhance timely, global and equitable access to safe, effective and affordable COVID-19 tools.’

The Communiqué reiterates the ‘efforts’ of the G20 to aim at a strong recovery that is inclusive, resilient and socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. This includes financing measures that need to be aligned with the SDGs.

The commitment ‘to promote enhanced mobilization, alignment and impact on the SDGs, of all sources of finance, including domestic resources and ODA’ is welcome in this respect.

Priorities

Despite the very little engagement scope left during the overall process, trade unions have managed to win prioritising gender equality, young people and the role of social protection in the context of national financial frameworks supporting the implementation of the SDGs: ‘gender equality, youth empowerment via quality education and decent jobs, and social protection systems as key crosscutting and catalytic areas to eradicate poverty, reduce vulnerabilities and inequalities.’

Trade Unions also welcome the explicit reference to the need to fostering the complementarity of external support and domestic resources in the financing of sustainable social protection systems, mentioning the role of ‘national, regional and global levels to strengthening and broadening the financing mechanisms for comprehensive, resilient and sustainable social protection systems, and related capacity building.’

“Our call for backing global financial instruments to implementing social protection systems in countries most in need has been finally heard by G20 Development Ministers. Now they will need to deliver concreate action,” said Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary.

Regrettably, in spite of repeated demands from the L20, the Communiqué remains silent on the role of social partners in setting up SDG-aligned financial frameworks.

“Policies, strategies, and financing frameworks must be developed with the full participation and contribution of social partners to be sustainable. Both development partners and developing countries should support social dialogue” said Pierre Habbard, General Secretary of TUAC.

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