A/HRC/29/35
on the Post-2015 Development Agenda,40 envisioning a universal agenda driven by “five
big transformative shifts”, describing the fifth as “the most important transformative shift
towards a new spirit of solidarity, cooperation and mutual accountability that must underpin
the post-2015 agenda”, namely, leave no one behind; put sustainable development at the
core; transform economies for jobs and inclusive growth; build peace and effective, open
and accountable institutions for all: and forge a new global partnership. 41
III. Conclusion
39.
In 2015, two important international agreements to be decided upon by States
will affect the future of human development. One is a new set of sustainable
development goals to take over from and continue the Millennium Development
Goals, which expire at the end of 2015. The other is the outcome of the Conference of
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the
primary international intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to
climate change. The Conference is crucial because it must produce an international
climate agreement for adoption in December 2015. The new agreement will limit
global warming to the 2-degrees Celsius target, requiring a commitment from each
government to indicate targets for reducing the levels of carbon emissions. Funding
for those efforts will also be pledged at the Conference. The binding agreement will
apply to all countries and will be implemented in 2020.
40.
The lead-up to the Conferenceand the United Nations summit for the adoption
of the post-2015 development agenda has been closely monitored by stakeholders and
advocates who have been continuously calling for human rights to be at the forefront
of the negotiations and to be integrated into the final agreements. The United Nations
conferences at which States have pledged their commitments to goals and objectives
that entail action at the national, regional or international level, are much too
numerous to mention in the present report. Furthermore, information on the actual
implementation of such pledges and their outcomes is very difficult to obtain, perhaps
because of the paucity of action taken. The Independent Expert reiterates that
international solidarity cannot be inferred merely from collective decisions or
commitments agreed upon between State and non-State entities, until such time as
those agreements are acted upon. But the integration of human rights into such
agreements will indicate the path leading to the desired outcome of international
solidarity.
41.
The claim is not that genuine international solidarity as described above, nor
international solidarity in general, is a magic formula for achieving desired outcomes.
Rather, the Independent Expert suggests that international solidarity is a powerful
tool for addressing key global challenges to human rights. In the context of the
sustainable development goals and the climate agreement to be forged in 2015,
international solidarity as described in the present report would ensure a fair and just
relationship between State and non-State actors engaged in the pursuit of common
goals or in overcoming a common challenge, in full cognizance of the human rights of
the peoples, individuals and groups concerned. This resonates with the view of the
High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda: “This is
40
41
16
Ibid.
United Nations, A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through
Sustainable Development: Report of the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015
Development Agenda (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.13.I.10).
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents