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Declaration adopted at parliamentary summit, vowing support for sustainable development goals

Xinhua, September 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

A much anticipated declaration was adopted at the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament Wednesday, stressing parliaments' role in translating sustainable development goals into concrete action through passing legislation.

Parliamentary leaders from nearly 140 countries have pledged to do their utmost to reconnect people with democracy in an ambitious and far-reaching declaration, titled "Placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development: Building the world the people want."

The parliamentarians acknowledged that extraordinary efforts would be needed to build a world that people want by turning the tide against the many challenges that undermine democracy, peace and development.

"The world is at a crossroads. The enormity of the challenges that we and our planet face is daunting. We must have the resolve to overcome them. How political leaders respond to the crises that threaten us has perhaps never been as important to our future as now," said Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) President Saber Chowdhury.

In the final run-up to the UN Summit on Sustainable Development later this month, the global parliamentary community gave its unequivocal support to the new development agenda with its 17 goals (SDGs) for the next 15 years till 2030. The SDGs are due to be adopted at the Summit scheduled to be held later this month.

The speakers highlighted parliaments' role in translating the goals into concrete action through passing legislation, making it critical for budget allocations and holding governments accountable to the people, said the declaration.

"We are committed to doing our part by passing the enabling legislation, allocating the required budgetary resources and holding governments accountable for the attainment of the goals. We will draw from a vast catalogue of actions to help build public awareness and national ownership, strengthen coherence within and between national and local administration and parliament itself, facilitate citizen involvement and evaluate and report on progress," it declared.

The conference is organized by IPU every five years and supported by the UN. The next World Conference of Speakers of Parliament will take place in 2020. Endit