How can we realize Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

July 04, 2016

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out a shared vision to foster peaceful, stable and just societies. It acknowledges the central role that effective, inclusive and accountable institutions can play in enabling sustainable development.

There can be no sustainable development, however, without democratic governance and respect for human rights. The inclusion of people’s voices in monitoring progress towards SDG 16 is essential.

Accountability, in particular accountability through democratic political processes, is a crucial enabler of all the SDGs. Such democratic accountability can contribute to making the SDGs monitoring framework truly people-centered; this is particularly evident with, though not limited to, SDG 16.

In order to reflect on national and European strategies and actions to implement SDG 16, International IDEA, together with the Embassy of Mongolia to the European Union and the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS), is organizing a Roundtable with the theme, “Implementation of Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: From vision to realization". The Roundtable seeks to answer burgeoning questions:

What are the challenges of mainstreaming SDG 16 in sustainable development processes?
How could the implementation of SDG 16 be reinforced at the EU and country levels?
Which margins do countries have to select and adapt SDG targets?
How is this being done at the EU level, and what kind of assistance could be provided to partner countries?
What demands exist for democratic governance?
How can democratic accountability be assured in the SDGs monitoring framework?

Alexander De Croo, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Post and Telecommunications will deliver a keynote address on the theme. Lead speakers include Jan Vandemoortele, Independent researcher, and co-author of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Christian Leffler, Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Global Issues, European External Action Service (EEAS), Bogdan Vanden Berghe, Managing Director, 11.11.11 and Jean-Louis Ville, Acting Director, Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, European Commission. H.E. Mr. Khishigdelger Davaadorj, Ambassador of Mongolia to the European Union and Local Chair of the Council of International IDEA Member States will deliver closing remarks.

The Roundtable is set to take place on Tuesday 05 July 2016 from 10:00 to 12:30 at the EIAS, 26 Rue de la Loi (10th Floor), 1000 Brussels, Belgium. Register to attend to: idea.euo@idea.int