A/HRC/44/40 42. Part of the problem is that despite the lofty goal, the targets and indicators set for realizing SDG 10 are weak by design. They set an agenda of “shared prosperity,” focusing on inclusive growth rather than actual reduction of inequalities. 70 The first target, for example, focuses entirely on the rate of income growth within the bottom 40 percent of the population—ignoring the situation of the wealthiest. This conveniently sidesteps necessary questions around wealth redistribution, elite capture of economic gains, growth achieved through carbon emissions, and inequitable fiscal policies. It treats inequality reduction as a problem to be solved through overall income growth, which flies in the face of recent history and is even more deeply problematic in light of the impacts of COVID-19 and climate change. And despite the importance of tackling gender inequality, at the current rate of economic growth, closing the gender gap in economic opportunity is projected to take 257 years.71 43. In relation to climate change, SDG 13 calls for “urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.” The 2020 Secretary General’s SDG progress report notes that “the global community is way off track to meeting either the 1.5°C or 2°C targets called for in the Paris Agreement.” 72 Despite the Secretary-General’s own concerted campaign, the SDGs have had little impact in slowing global warming. Indeed, their focus on economic growth without due consideration for its environmental impact or the extent to which it is currently tied to emissions and extraction is deeply problematic. B. Unrealized transformative potential 44. Talk of transformation is hollow unless accompanied by a theory of change. In the case of the SDGs, the key components of any viable theory—empowerment, funding, partnership, and accountability—have each been marginalized. Empowerment 45. The SDGs are replete with references to transformation, empowerment, collaboration, and inclusion. But these concepts are illusory if people are unable to exercise their human rights. Despite almost 20 mentions of human rights in the text, there is not a single reference to any specific civil and political right, and human rights in general remain marginal and often invisible in the overall SDG context. Moreover, many of the Goals, even if fulfilled, would fall short of meeting existing human rights obligations. At the country level, many governments sideline or even reject the inclusion of rights in their SDG programming. 46. Most SDG reports by the UN and World Bank pay little heed to rights, with the exception of gender.73 They rarely discuss substantively the impact of discrimination, the absence of rights-respecting institutional decision-making structures, or the development consequences of even egregious rights violations. At a time when civil society is under sustained attack in many countries around the world, and space for meaningful democratic engagement is shrinking dramatically, one 2020 UN report limply observes that “[s]ome countries are providing support to non-state actors to build their capacities for engagement on the 2030 Agenda, establishing funding mechanisms to empower their actions and engagement.”74 Unfortunately, SDG reporting too often tends to describe the glass as being one-fifth full rather than four-fifths empty. 70 71 72 73 74 Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, “Keeping Out Extreme Inequality from the SDG Agenda: The Politics of Indicators,” Global Policy, vol. 10, Supp 1 (2019), p. 61; Ignacio Saiz and Kate Donald, “Tackling inequality through the Sustainable Development Goals: human rights in practice,” The International Journal of Human Rights, 21:8 (2017), pp. 1032-1033. UNDP, Tackling Social Norms, p. 1. UN, Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (2020), para. 21. See UN Women, Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2018). DESA, Multi-Stakeholder Engagement in 2030 Agenda Implementation (2020), p. 6. 11