A/HRC/41/50
32.
The evaluation of the enjoyment of human rights as a result of development policies
depends on the level of participation in the implementation of the Sustainable Development
Goals, which is closely linked to ensuring the availability of adequate statistical data for
effective and participatory monitoring and review mechanisms. In many countries, the
process to align national statistical systems with the required standards has still not been
launched or has not been sufficiently participatory, even though it can be crucial to many
aspects relevant to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and their
capacity for adaptation and localization to engage with and involve marginalized groups.
To that end, the availability of adequately disaggregated sets of data is of primary
importance, and participatory processes in their selection and monitoring should be ensured.
Another major challenge to supporting the national implementation of the Sustainable
Development Goals is determined by the indivisible and global nature of the 2030 Agenda.
Interdependence and links between the Goals require innovative and integrated approaches
and engagement from all ministries and government sectors to enable cross-cutting schemes
for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. That interdependence requires Governments to
build an overarching strategy in their national adaption and implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals, which should result in processes capable of integrating
sectoral policies and promoting the review of those policies in order to improve their
alignment with the 2030 Agenda. In that regard, within their national strategy,
Governments should not only list, but also assess and revise the existing policy frameworks
and conduct an in-depth gap analysis to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda. This
process, already launched by many Governments, often needs more ambitious and
participatory approaches and mechanisms to ensure policy coherence for sustainable
development. Another widely observed challenge for the national implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals is the inadequacy and inconsistency in the mobilization of
financial resources at all levels, which could seriously undermine the fulfilment of the 2030
Agenda, despite the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third
International Conference on Financing for Development.
33.
In different contexts, some of the challenges faced in promoting the enjoyment of
human rights become real obstacles when supporting the implementation of national
sustainable development agendas. The most relevant challenges are:
(a)
The insufficient level of involvement of people and civil society
organizations in planning and implementation processes, and in the design and adoption of
national strategies. However, international stakeholders have been encouraged by national
efforts to ensure local involvement, including the involvement of women, children and
persons with disabilities;
(b)
Poor efforts to ensure a policy coherence framework and to revise specific
sectoral policy strategies, if they are not aligned to the 2030 Agenda, during the adoption
process of national strategies for sustainable development;
(c)
The lack of clearly defined and participatory monitoring and review
mechanisms;
(d)
The insufficient localization and tailoring of national sustainable
development agendas to address more marginalized groups and regions. Some government
departments are reluctant to implement recommendations from national coordinators as
required by the law. This reluctance diminishes the effectiveness of Governments in the
protection and promotion of human rights and principles of good governance. Some
Governments, even in stable countries, ignore glaring inequalities in regional development,
stagnant wages or various inadequacies in the social field;18
(e)
The inadequate mobilization of financial resources. Despite advocating for
the improvement of budgets and seeking support from development partners where possible,
government agencies have been facing financial constraints that stand as an obstacle to the
effective performance of their functions and planned activities, and their independence.
18
10
See Steve Coll, “The distrust that Trump relies upon”, New Yorker, 22 December 2017.
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