コモン・アジェンダに関するテーマ協議第二回会合における石兼大使ステートメント
令和4年2月14日
(As delivered)
Thank you for convening this meeting on accelerating the SDGs, this time from the perspectives of finance and building trustworthy institutions.
First, I wish to share Japan's thoughts on financing for development (FfD) in general.
On FfD, we have a solid base to work on: a complete set of policies and actions in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. Its implementation has been discussed in various settings, including the process led by the Deputy Secretary-General in 2020 against the backdrop of COVID-19. We should build on these past discussions and focus on practical steps.
As is clear from the Addis Agenda, the mobilization of domestic public resources as well as domestic and international private finance are the key to overcoming the financial gap. Therefore, I appreciate the OCA report’s focus on specifics, such as tax, illicit financial flows and sustainable business models, which are critical for the mobilization and effective use of these resources and which require proper institution and empowerment.
Keeping in line with the discussions on these technical issues in the international financial institutions (IFIs), OECD and G20, the United Nations might contribute by providing a venue for knowledge sharing and discussion among the wider constituency. Concrete modality of such a meeting, including the proposed biennial summit between the G20, ECOSOC and IFIs, should be carefully considered to make it functional and result-oriented.
Second, I would like to mention one proposal of great importance to Japan. It relates to the last target of the SDGs, target 17.19.: By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries.
The recent UNDP report on human security reveals that six out of every seven people around the world felt insecure even before COVID-19 hit. Recognizing the limits of GDP in measuring people’s well-being, Japan has been providing assistance to some developing countries based on the actual needs, even if they have exceeded the threshold of per capita GDP.
Japan welcomes the initiative by the President of General Assembly to establish the high-level panel on multidimensional vulnerabilities index (MVI). We also welcome other efforts to develop means to measure individual’s well-being, including those by UNDP with its decades-long work on human development index. Japan is ready to engage actively in the process.
Thank you very much.