UNRC Antje Grawe's Welcoming words at National Consultations: “National commitments to achieve Sustainable Development Goals in the Kyrgyz Republic”.

Dear Almaz Isanov, Head of the Department of political and economic researches of the President Administration,

Distinguished members of Parliament,

Deputy Ministers, members of the Government’s Inter-Ministerial Task Force,

Representatives of civil society and the private sector,

Development partners,

Dear UN colleagues,

On behalf of the United Nations system in the Kyrgyz Republic, I would like to extend my gratitude for the opportunity to address you all today at this meeting.

It is a great privilege to be here with you together with my colleagues from the UN Country Team for a discussion of the national commitments which the Kyrgyz Government intends to make at the upcoming SDG Summit [which will take place in two weeks, from 18 – 19 September in New York upon invitation by the UN Secretary-General.

I wish to start by congratulating the Presidential Administration for its dedication and for advancing the SDGs and for your leadership in the preparations of the SDG Summit. Today’s consultations, which are bringing together Government, Parliament, civil society, private sector and development partners, most notably the UN system and IFIs, were preceded by a series of discussions within an Inter-Ministerial Task Force, led by the Presidential Administration and composed of all relevant line Ministries at deputy Minister’s level, and with civil society throughout the month of August.   

It is very encouraging that from the very beginning, the development of national commitments in preparation for the SDG Summit was carried out under determined  leadership of the Government at the highest levels in a cross-sectorial and consultative manner. Only through a whole-of-government and, importantly, a whole-of-society approach can the SDGs be achieved globally and in Kyrgyzstan.

This is even more important as for the first time in decades, development progress globally is reversing under the combined impacts of climate disasters, armed conflict, economic downturn and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The defining principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – to leave no one behind – is a shared promise by every country to secure the rights and well-being of everyone, on a healthy, thriving planet.

But halfway to the 2030 deadline, that promise is in peril, which is the very reason why the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, is convening the SDG Summit. To put it in his words: The SDGs need to be rescued, and the world needs to unite and develop a “rescue plan for the people and the planet”. He thus has invited all Heads of States to review the progress made in all 193 Member States of the United Nations, including Kyrgyzstan,  identify, ideally in consultation with key stakeholders, priority areas designed to course-correct and bring the SDGs back on track,  and to register renewed commitments to achieve those goals.

Allow me to briefly highlight just a few global trends, which have led the Secretary-General to this initiative:

Halfway to the deadline for the 2030 Agenda, the SDG Progress Report 2023 shows that progress towards more than 50 per cent of the 140 SDG targets is weak and insufficient; in 30 per cent of the targets, progress has stalled or gone into reverse. These include key targets on poverty, hunger and climate and human rights.

The pandemic has created significant reversals in global health outcomes. Childhood vaccinations have experienced the largest decline in three decades, COVID-19 has also had devastating impacts on education, causing learning losses in four out of five of the 104 countries studied including Kyrgyzstan. Its economic after-effects are equally severe. The pandemic interrupted three decades of steady progress of poverty reduction with the number of people living in extreme poverty increasing for the first time in a generation.

The climate crisis is worsening as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. Catastrophic and intensifying heat waves, droughts, flooding and wildfires have become far too frequent that we experienced this year. Human rights are globally under an increasing threat and progress on gender equality has been far too slow. At the current rate, it will take an estimated 300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to close gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws, 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership in the workplace.

The multiple global crises of the last three years have also impacted Kyrgyzstan and a significant portion of the population. While Kyrgyzstan made progress on numerous SDGs prior to the pandemic, including in reducing poverty, maternal mortality, access to education, drinking water, economic growth and job creation, the latest ESCAP 2023 SDG progress report highlights that several SDGs demand increased attention to sustain this progress. These include in particular addressing the impact of climate change and pollution; enhancing the quality of education and healthcare; reducing income inequalities, and reinforcing food security. The country has witnessed a rise in poverty levels, with approximately one-third of its population now falling below the poverty line. Human rights indicators also point towards a steep downwards trend, and the incidence of gender-based violence remains alarmingly high.

At the same time, the Kyrgyz Republic continued to exhibit a commendable dedication to achieving the SDGs:

The SDGs have been localized and integrated into Kyrgyzstan’s national development policies and strategies. This in itself is extremely important as the SDGs are still too often considered some sort of global construct, which it is not: The SDGs are part and parcel of Kyrgyzstan’s own long-term development strategies, as reflected in the National Development Strategy 2040 and the National Development Programme 2026, among other.

In 2020, the Kyrgyz Republic presented its inaugural Voluntary National Review, showcasing its commitment to transparency and accountability.

Kyrgyzstan recently further strengthened its institutional frameworks to support the implementation of the SDGs with the establishment of the National SDG Coordinating Council, chaired by the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, the body, which will also endorse the renewed commitments to the SDGs which we are discussing today. Additionally, Parliament formed a dedicated Working Group to monitor the implementation of the SDGs.

It is against this background that we look forward to hearing from the Government now which areas for focused attention to build on progress and reverse negative trends have been identified.

In closing, on behalf of the UN Country Team in the Kyrgyz Republic, I would like to encourage the Government to continue to engage in dialogue with all interested and concerned stakeholders in a way that they can best serve the development hopes and aspirations of all Kyrgyz people and provide an enabling environment for the achievement of the SDGs. In this context, I would like to commend the Presidential Administration for planning beyond the SDG Summit and considering a clear follow-up action plan for the inclusion of the commitments to be made into the country's development plans.

The UN System in Kyrgyzstan and its 25 UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes supporting Kyrgyzstan in the implementation of its national development plans including the SDGs stand ready to continue this discussion and to provide support.

Thank you for your attention!

Chon Rahmat.