Let’s make this a multiple choice question.
1. The country has English as its official language.
2. The country has won at least one gold medal in the Summer Olympics.
3. The country has put a man on the moon.
4. The country has at least one university in the top 10 global rankings for the U.S. News & World report.
5. The country has not published a Voluntary National Review.
If you chose (5) you got it right! Even if you have no idea what a Voluntary National Review (VNR) is. So let me explain. In 2015 the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity “. These goals are interrelated and “recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.” In addition, “the creativity, knowledge, technology and financial resources of all of society are needed to achieve the SDGs in all contexts.” The United States supported the adoption of the SDGs and “played a central role in setting these benchmarks, joining every country in the world to adopt them in 2015.”
Panama City/Panama, October 18, 2018: The Global Goals are displayed in Spanish on the windows of Panama … [+] Tocumen City International Airport. Mother and son looking out to see the planes.
Before I talk about the United States, I’d like to leave some room for the other countries in this group. According to the Fragile States Index, Yemen ranks first, South Sudan third, Myanmar 10th and Haiti 11th. A country that barely exists probably doesn’t have the time and resources to produce a VNR.
This excuse does not apply in the United States. It certainly ranks well in terms of “creativity, knowledge, technology and financial resources”. On the last point, it is the largest country in the world in terms of GDP. It is also worth noting that 65 percent of the market capitalization of the world’s 100 largest companies is from the US ($20.55 trillion). In terms of investors, seven of the top 10 asset management firms and 13 of the top 20 are US firms. Rounding out the top five are BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity and State Street Global Advisors. Together they account for nearly 25 percent of global assets under management (AUM). Stating the obvious, it will be very difficult to achieve the SDGs without strong US support.
Which brings us to VNRs. These are “regular, inclusive, country-led and country-driven reviews of progress at national and subnational levels” (paragraph 79)” which “aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and the lessons learned”. , with the aim of accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda”. They are presented at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development which is “the main platform of the United Nations on sustainable development and has a central role in the monitoring and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).»
Woman’s hands holding piece of cardboard with words Volunteers needed against brick wall background.
How strange, then, that the United States, Haiti, Myanmar, South Sudan and Yemen are the only countries that have so far not submitted a VNR. And they won’t be running in 2023 either. These are the countries that are: Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Fiji, France, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Kuwait, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mongolia, Oman , Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, St Kitts & Nevis, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zambia. Two of these will be doing it for the first time, 39 for the second time and one for the third time.
Look at. I’m not naive. The credibility and sincerity of some of these countries, and others that have already come forward, are evident. But I really have to wonder about some of the others. Consider the list of those who will present next year. Freedom House ranks 210 countries in terms of people’s access to political rights and civil liberties. Nine of these countries are classified as Unfree (Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Vietnam). Seven are partially free (Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Fiji, Kuwait, Maldives and Tanzania). All of these countries rank poorly in the Sustainable Development Goals Report. Reflecting my global geographic ignorance, I have never heard of St Kitts & Nevis (40,000 inhabitants) or Timor-Leste (1.9 million inhabitants and recognized as a country by the USA in 2002).
I haven’t looked at the VNRs of any of these countries, so I can’t judge their quality. My previous entry is that it is hard to believe that a country classified as partially free or not free is producing a credible VNR. Of course, I could be wrong. These countries may see the SDGs as a more apolitical means of making improvements in their country, as they have the support of the UN which provides them with some coverage.
Beautiful nature Norway natural landscape aerial photography.
I looked at the VNR 2021 on page 124 very informative for Norway. It is well done and informative. In her opening statement, Prime Minister Erna Solberg notes that “we identify our positive results and point out where we have not yet succeeded. Our ambition is to learn from the past and plan for the future. Norway ranks first in SDG index. But we have challenges to solve, too.” Norway ranks fourth, in order, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. It’s not a surprising list. The United States ranks 41st, just behind Cuba but ahead of Bulgaria Russia ranks 45th and China ranks 56th.
Norway’s VNR clearly sets out its methodology and explains how it was created based on input from government, civil society and the private sector. He points out that “The private sector has a key role in the realization of the 2030 Agenda. Through its investments, the private sector mobilizes financing for the creation of vigorous companies that bring innovation, technology, knowledge and experience that can solve our social challenges”.
For each SDG there is a government assessment of progress since 2016 and the challenges to be met. There is also an assessment of civil society which, again, not surprisingly, is generally more negative. Civil society provides an overall score of positive, stagnant or negative. There are no positive trends and six negative ones (#1 No Poverty, #10 Reduced Inequalities, #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, #12 Responsible Production and Consumption, #14 Life Underwater and #15 Life on Earth).
In its Conclusion, the report points out that “Awareness of the 2030 Agenda and the goals is increasing in the public and private sector. The number of networks that have been established in recent years to work with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, illustrates the growing interest and commitment in implementing the goals.”
European Union politician signing the termination of the sanction, congratulates the partner
To be honest, I’m not sure what to make of the fact that the US hasn’t published a VNR, even though the Brookings Institution recently recommended that it do so. I am aware of the fact that the US has not signed certain international conventions or has signed them but not ratified them. The United States is also not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was created under its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, from which it derives its authority. There are 123 member states that have signed it. “The US participated in the negotiations that led to the creation of the court. However, in 1998 the US was one of seven countries, along with China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar and Yemen, to vote against the Rome Statute.” I am no expert of the conventions to which the US is not a signatory, so perhaps there is a good reason.
On the other hand, the United States is a signatory to several international treaties and conventions. The latter includes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Under President Obama, the United States signed the Paris Agreement, “a legally binding international treaty on climate change.” At the end of his term, President Trump withdrew the US from this agreement. On his first day in office, President Biden re-signed the United States. In terms of climate, there is nothing surprising about how the two sides have approached this deal.
Climate change and American flag in two directions on the road sign. Withdrawal from the climate agreement.
The SDGs are not legally binding. They are not a treaty or a convention. They are a form of “soft law” that depends on voluntary consent. They were endorsed by all 193 UN member states in 2015, when Obama was still president. When Trump became president, they were certainly a low priority, assuming he even knew they existed, but there was nothing formal to withdraw from. The first VNRs were introduced in 2019, so the work should have been done during their tenure. The next reviews are due in 2023. It seems to me that a country with the resources of the US should be able to meet that deadline since Biden became president in 2020. He certainly doesn’t.
I have no idea who has the authority in the US government to decide to produce a VNR. Perhaps the issue is simply one of bureaucratic complexity and uncertainty about who should or can be responsible for carrying out this review. It is easy to speculate on the likelihood of a 2027 US VNR, depending on what happens in the next election. But this speculation could be wrong.
A beautiful young Weimaraner with his head tilted to the side isolated on a white background.
Given my perplexity about this, let me close with three questions.
1. Why hasn’t the US released a VNR?
2. Is it important for the United States to publish a VNR or not?
3. If the answer is “Yes”, what must be done to make this happen?
