LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called upon the government to prepare for realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as these targets correspond to Pakistani people’s aspirations in nearly all fields of life.

In a press release issued here on Friday the commission said: “The international community is busy finalising the SDGs that will lay down the development agenda for most of the states for the period 2016-2030. Planned as a follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2000-2015, the targets mentioned in the 17 SDGs include an end to poverty in all forms, end to food insecurity and promotion of sustainable agriculture, guaranteeing of healthy lives, ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all, achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, guaranteeing access to affordable energy, promoting inclusive and sustained economic growth, full employment and decent work for all, achievement of reduction in inequality within and between states, and guaranteeing of rule of law and responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making at all levels.”

The statement further read: “While all the SDGs and their 169 sub-goals are relevant to Pakistan, we believe some of the goals are critically important for our people. These may include a determined campaign to realise the objectives in the areas of education and health, eradication of poverty, reduction of inequality (in all its forms), elimination of gender inequality, equitable dispensation of justice and establishment of participatory, representative governance.”

It added that a consultation on SDGs held by the HRCP in Islamabad the other day revealed a consensus that the main reason for Pakistan’s failure to achieve the MDGs had been the government’s lack of will and capacity to address the tasks involved.

“In order to ensure that a similar cause does not prevent Pakistan from realising the SDGs the government must start putting things in order to ensure that work on the SDG agenda could begin as early as possible. Priority needs to be given to the creation of administrative mechanisms and mobilisation of financial resources for creating a society of knowledgeable and healthy men and women capable of establishing and sustaining an order based on equity and justice,” the statement concluded.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2015

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