A/HRC/31/28 15. Despite good governance being essential to achieving successful development outcomes, it was unclear how it could, or should, be reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals. The Secretary-General's High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Agenda had argued that governance would be best positioned as a stand-alone goal.6 However, an alternative approach would be to integrate governance into issuespecific goals. Another option would be to link governance considerations to questions of “means of implementation” and development financing in the Sustainable Development Goals, possibly in the form of a set of principles or guidelines attached to the articulation of these “means.” Good governance had a close connection with Sustainable Development Goal 16, which referred to, inter alia, the building of effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. 16. Good governance became a controversial term because of its usage in the realm of international development assistance. Developing countries were concerned about the use of good governance targets and indicators as a form of aid conditionality. The Sustainable Development Goals could be seen as an opportunity to creatively construct new targets and indicators that took such concerns into account. The establishment of common principles by the international community would enable customization in the selection of targets and indicators based on national and local contexts. The logic of good governance should be adapted to suit developing countries with differing rates and patterns of development. 17. Ms. Pavey spoke about the main challenges to implementation of the good governance agenda at the national level. She pointed to the gap between ratification of human rights treaties and their national implementation, citing several examples. Dominant deep-rooted cultures can prevent the effective integration of international norms into national and local landscapes. While reforms were sometimes adopted to please international public opinion, political authorities in certain countries allowed bad practices and policies to continue. When tradition clashed with human rights, it was suggested that one had to go beyond tradition in order to protect rights and freedoms. 18. Ms. González Guyer elaborated on the challenges and weaknesses of good governance from a gender perspective. She noted that a focus on gender was inherent in a human rights perspective. It was important to mainstream a gender perspective across different dimensions of governance in a cross-cutting manner, while overcoming the view of women as a vulnerable group. Modifying gender perceptions on the basis of good governance and public service, ensuring equal treatment of men and women, and making progress in terms of access to and enjoyment of rights, all constituted a challenge but also presented opportunities. Access to public services was essential but not sufficient to ensuring women’s full enjoyment of all human rights. 19. Institutions were a part and a product of a wider gender gap, and this permeated their laws and norms, features, administrative practices, informal mechanisms and the positions occupied by women and men within them. It was therefore necessary to review discriminatory practices in government institutions. The relationship between gender and governance had not been sufficiently addressed by theoreticians or by empirical studies. Women had transformed processes of governance with their participation in different State institutions, at executive, legislative and judicial levels, as well as in civil society organizations. Since the beginning of the century, there had been a particular focus on the participation of women in forums for the design of new governance systems, a factor 6 “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development. The Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda”. Available from www.post2015hlp.org/the-report (accessed 21 December 2015). 5