PRESS RELEASE – THE 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity that has at its cornerstone the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are posed to shape global sustainable development efforts till the year 2030.
More than one year since the Agenda took effect on January 1, 2016, the pace of implementation in the Caribbean remains slow. It is, therefore, essential that a clear institutional arrangement for SDG implementation be defined at the national level to ensure national ownership of the 2030 Agenda and to promote a coordinated approach to the implementation of the SDGs in our region.
The OECS Commission recently participated in a workshop to accelerate implementation of the SDGs in the Caribbean Region. This workshop, hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Sub-Regional Headquarters for the Caribbean, took place in Trinidad and Tobago at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on May 18th 2017.
The workshop discussed practical steps towards establishing national institutional frameworks for SDG implementation and provided an opportunity for Member States to consider models of institutional arrangements for SDG implementation that would be most appropriate for adoption, considering national circumstances. The workshop also provided a space for peer-learning on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) for the High Level Political Forum (HLPF), thereby positioning more Caribbean countries to conduct VNR in the coming years.
The main outcomes of the workshop included guidelines for establishing a national institutional framework for SDG implementation and model institutional framework of SDG implementation for consideration by Member States.
Following on May 19th 2017, the OECS Commission also participated in the 18th Meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC). The CDCC was created as a permanent subsidiary body to function within the structure of the Commission to promote development cooperation among Caribbean countries by Resolution E/CEPAL/989/Rev.1.
The objectives of CDCC are:
• To promote and strengthen economic and social cooperation and integration among the countries of the Caribbean and with Latin America;
• To promote the sharing of information and experiences among its membership; and
• To promote common positions and strategies on economic and social issues among Caribbean nations, and on their relations with third countries, and to present those positions to international forums and agencies.
Participants at both meetings included the OECS Member States of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Virgin Islands. Among the institutions and development partners attending were CARICOM, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International LabourOrganisation (ILO), InternationalOrganisation for Migration (IOM), The University of Technology, Jamaica and the University of the West Indies (UWI).