Mongolia’s Voluntary National Review 2019 discussed
SocietyUlaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. The
National Development Agency (NDA) in cooperation with United Nations Department
of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations in Mongolia held a
National Consultation on the preparation for the Voluntary National Review
(VNR) on the progress of the implementation of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) in Mongolia on 15 April, 2019.
Central and local government representatives responsible for the
implementation of the SDGs, delegates from non-governmental organizations,
private sector and academia, international partners and media associates reviewed
the draft.
The National Consultation discussed
the findings of the draft VNR report on implementation of SDGs amongst
multi-stakeholders. Poverty,
inequality, economic instability, lack of investment in social and
environmental sectors were named as impediments to development. Whereas for
reaching SDGs Mongolia needs policy coherence, economic diversification,
equitable regional development, innovation, increased employment, better social
services, and transparent governance. MP A. Undraa stressed importance of
measuring country's progress on SDGs and an opportunity VNR presents for
coordinated stakeholders' action for implementation of Global Goals.
Mongolia's first VNR focuses on air pollution as an example of
interconnectedness of development issues. UN's Resident Coordinator, Beate
Trankmann, said at the VNR national validation meeting: "The process of
producing VNR, represents a great opportunity to unite different stakeholders
in an alliance for action on the SDGs".
VNR is a part of the follow-up and review mechanisms of the
implementation of the SDGs. The purpose of the VNR is to promote the monitoring
of progress, the sharing of experiences and the acceleration of actions for
implementation in policy-making and partnerships in multi-stake holder support.
Mongolia volunteered to report on its SDGs progress during the UN High-Level
Political Forum to be organized in New York in July 2019.
A high-level working group was thus established by the Prime
Minister to prepare and complete Mongolia’s first VNR 2019. The report consists
of two main sections. The first section provides a general overview of the
implementation of the SDGs in Mongolia. The second part focuses on air
pollution, one of the most critical social, health, environmental and economic
challenge of Mongolia, to illustrate the nation’s progress and challenges on
the road to SDGs.
The SDGs were adopted in September 2015 at the UN’s General
Assembly by 193 UN Member States. These Global Goals aim at “transforming our
world” through ensuring zero poverty, protecting the environment and
eradicating inequality. The Global Goals are based on the principle of
inclusiveness or “leaving no one behind”. The SDGs consist of 17 goals, 169
targets and 244 indicators. The Mongolian Parliament adopted Mongolia’s Sustainable
Development Vision 2030 in 2016 as part of the country’s efforts towards
implementing the SDGs.
Source: UN Mongolia