SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS

Statement by President Rosen Plevneliev, at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015

Mr. President,

Today we are adopting a new development agenda. The Post-2015 process is a unique global effort aimed at ending poverty and achieving sustainable development for all while protecting the planet and its resources. The United Nations and its Member States, representatives of civil society, the private sector and academia, all participated in the deliberation process.

Bulgaria welcomes the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This forward looking and ambitious new agenda integrates the three pillars of sustainable development – thus outlining the interlinkages between poverty eradication, sustainable economic development and peaceful and stable societies. It’s an impressive and transformative Agenda in many ways. For the first time in history a document of global scale places special emphasis on the individual, leaving no one behind. The Agenda is people-centered and based on the principles of universality, inclusiveness and shared responsibilities.

During the intergovernmental negotiations Bulgaria strongly advocated, in its national capacity and as part of the EU, for the elaboration of a human rights-based agenda. Every effort has been made to eliminate all forms of inequality and discrimination. As one of the co-chairs of the Group of Friends of Children and SDGs, Bulgaria worked for the integration of children’s human rights in all aspects of development placing children at the heart of the Agenda. For the first time children and youth were considered as active participants in all processes that affect their lives.

Mr. President,

The Sustainable Development Goals we have set out are ambitious and need bold and determined actions to be fully implemented.

Bulgaria will make every effort towards implementing the new Agenda and achieving its goals of eradicating poverty, eliminating inequalities and fostering peaceful, just and inclusive societies based on the rule of law. Our country will also continue to do its best to help more vulnerable nations achieve these ambitious goals.

The way the Agenda was adopted is indicative of the strong political will for its implementation. Balance was achieved between the commitments contained in the document and the means for their implementation. However, robust national and international accountability should be ensured with the participation of all stakeholders – governments, civil society, the private sector and academia.

The adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda is a success for the international community. The implementation of this Agenda should be guided by the principles of accountability, transparency and inclusiveness. The monitoring and review of the implementation should be based on a well-defined set of global indicators as well as on the timely collection of disaggregated data. We welcome the ongoing work of the UN Statistical Commission in this regard.

Mr. President,

The decisions we make today will affect all of us in the next fifteen years. The Agenda might not be perfect but it is a joint and consensual effort and, at this point, it is the only viable solution that we have to the challenges we face. Bulgaria believes the focus now should be on the implementation of the Agenda and we are fully committed to contribute to this end.

Thank you, Mr. President!