LWF Council Resolution: Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
On September 25, 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 17 “Sustainable Development Goals” (UN Resolution A/RES70/1). The SDGs are a detailed aspiration of a life where most people in the world will realize a life abundant. We read in Christian Scriptures where God will “wipe every tear from their eyes”, where there “will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed” (Revelation 21:4) so “all may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). As a faith-based organization within civil society, the LWF brings added value to the implementation and realization of these goals.
For example:
• As a communion of churches, the LWF works as a connector, bringing local voices to global UN forums in Geneva and New York. For example, churches and country programs in Colombia, Mozambique and Myanmar offered parallel reports to their respective Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanisms.
• In 2015, the landmark Paris Climate Agreement was reached. Since 2011, the LWF has engaged the Conference of Parties through collaboration with other faith-based groups of goodwill, with youth participation and leadership as a key motivating factor.
• The LWF values working in inter-faith partnership. In a world where religion is too often seen as a force for division, we see the power of inter-faith work in peacebuilding and development. In 2014, the LWF and Islamic Relief Worldwide entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on humanitarian and refugee matters and issues of faith and culture related to gender justice. They continue to collaborate on “Welcoming the Stranger” with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The LWF affirms the new participatory process used to develop the SDGs, which included regional meetings and consultations with civil society and governments alike. The LWF also affirms the universal applicability of the SDGs to all member states, not only poor countries. The LWF Council, meeting 15-21 June 2016 in Wittenberg, Germany, calls on member churches to: • Commit to awareness raising on the SDGs throughout the member churches and their communities, and
• Encourage and advocate for relevant stakeholders (i.e., nation states and private partners) to mobilize resources toward full funding of the SDGs, and
• Encourage and empower member churches to be practically involved in SDGs implementation strategies and processes in their own countries, and
• Continue active capacity building for participation in the monitoring of the implementation and reporting mechanisms of the SDGs, including Voluntary National Reviews, and
• Encourage the fostering of stakeholder partnerships, especially with UN agencies, governments and civil society, in collaboration and support of the above activities
