6, September 2018 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
We, participants from civil society organizations in China, Japan, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea and Russia, welcome the 2nd North-East Asian Multi-stakeholder Forum on Sustainable Development Goals (“NEA SDGs MSH Forum”) organized by UN ESCAP on 5-6 September 2018 in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia.
We appreciate the hospitality of the Mongolian government and the active consideration of UN ESCAP on the CSOs position paper from the 1st NEA SDGs MSH Forum.
We recognize this forum is an important space for peer learning and equal partnership in our journey towards the achievement of Agenda 2030 and its SDGs.
Noting that there are common challenges and achievements in Northeast Asia, we urge UN ESCAP, all governments in North East Asia including Mongolian government, and other stakeholders in this forum:
- Host a Civil Society Forum a day before NEA SDGs MSH Forum, in collaboration with civil society stakeholders, in order to create a space for civil society, including women, children and youth, and persons with disability to better share experiences and to learn from each other;
- Establish the reference groups within this sub-region which should be composed of diverse types of stakeholders, taking examples of MGoS (Major Groups and other Stakeholders) and AP-RCEM (Asia Pacific Regional CSOs Engagement Mechanism);
- Mandate the NEA SDGs MSH Forum to produce a concrete outcome which identifies the common priorities for NEA, such as severe gender gap and demographic change, based on the evidence-informed data and multi-stakeholder consultation, to create the mid-long term continuity of this forum. The outcome should be shared widely at local, national, sub-regional, regional and global level and guide the effective implementation by governments, UN, and other stakeholders;
- Strengthen governmental participation in NEA SDGs MSH Forum both with wider delegate presence and with more concrete, data-informed, and forward-looking national reports and commitments;
- Elaborate the linkages between sub-regional, regional, and global follow up and review processes and concretize the feedback this sub-regional forum provides into other forums;
- Conduct sub-regional VNRs (Voluntary National Review) in this Forum by standardizing the reporting of each country for more effective peer sharing and learnings. In this regard, we can use either/both the regional roadmap and/or SG guideline for VNRs.
- Ensure the inclusive participation of geographically, politically, culturally, and ethnically diverse stakeholders as this forum is to constructively develop the partnerships.
We believe that this forum showcases a good example of collaborative multi-stakeholder implementation of SDGs, and therefore, stress that full committed participation of all Northeast Asian countries is crucial.
In this regard, in deciding the next venue of NEA SDGs MSH Forum, it is essential to ensure that any kind of stakeholders from any member state can participate. We look for the future in which all countries can host the forum and positively support each other for effective implementation of Agenda 2030 and its SDGs.
Endorsement:
Japan Civil Society Network on SDGs, Japan
Korea SDGs Network, the Republic of Korea
Mongolia Civil Society Network for SDGs, Mongolia
Forum Participants:
ChildFund Korea, the Republic of Korea
Japan Youth Platform for Sustainability, Japan
Centre for Human Rights and Development, Mongolia
Climate Change-Development Academy, Mongolia
Labor Inspection and Legal Policy Department of the Mongolian Trade Unions Federation, Mongolia
Dornod aimag’s Community Saving Groups Federation, Mongolia
Khentii aimag Community Saving Groups Federation, Mongolia
Good Neighbors, Mongolia
Mongolian Gender Equality Centre, Mongolia
Waterforum NGO, Mongolia
Mongolian Environmental Civil Council, Mongolia
Mongolian Women’s Fund, Mongolia
Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES)
Japan Youth Platform for Sustainability
Cai Yiping, China
Qiong Wu, China
Masaki Inaba, Japan
Hideki Wakabayashi, Japan
Vladislav Burdinsky, Russian Federation
Viktor Fersht, Russian Federation