What are the SDGs?
On 25 September 2015, following a four-year negotiation process which involved governments and citizens from all over the world, the largest gathering of world leaders in history came together at the United Nations General Assembly to agree the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 17 goals, with 169 associated targets, to be achieved by 2030.
These ambitious goals include a global commitment to end extreme poverty, reduce inequality and address climate change by 2030. Unlike their predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the SDGs are a universal agenda, applying to all countries, no matter their stage of development, to be implemented in their domestic and international policies and actions.
We believe the SDGs are the catalyst for a more sustainable future. For a future that is fairer, safer, and free from extreme poverty, and where environmental degradation and climate change are successfully tackled.
The UK government played an important role on the global stage in developing the SDGs. Our purpose as an APPG is to ensure the UK government’s continued commitment to, and delivery of, the Goals.
Leave No One Behind
The pledge that no one should be left behind is a core principle of the SDGs. It points to the consensus that the SDGs will not be achieved by 2030 unless those most socially and economically excluded and marginalised are reached first.
The UK government championed the principle in Leaving No One Behind: Our Promise, in which it stated its intention to ensure:
Every person has a fair opportunity in life no matter who or where they are
People who are furthest behind, who have the least opportunity and who are the most excluded will be prioritised
Every person counts and will be counted
Despite this pledge, inequalities between and within countries have continued to soar. To meet the SDGs by 2030, it is vital the UK advances inclusion, equality and human rights through all its activities; supports the removal of structural barriers; fights stigma and discrimination; and champions a world where no one is left behind.
The Voluntary National Review
In 2019, the UK completed its first Voluntary National Review (VNR). Each year, a number of countries are invited to present their VNR at the United Nations High Level Political Forum, to explain the steps they have taken and will take in its progress to deliver the goals. The UK VNR was delivered by the then-DFID Secretary of State, Rory Stewart, at the UN High-Level Political Forum in July 2019. All states are expected to deliver these at regular intervals as part of an inclusive national process in collaboration with other stakeholders. Parliamentarians, including Members of the APPG, civil society, the private sector and others were active in supporting, monitoring and engaging with the VNR process.
