Organisation Internationale de Droit du Développement

HLPF 2024 | General Debate

Statement by the Director-General, Ms Jan Beagle

From the SDG Summit to the Summit of the Future
New York, 17 July 2024
 

Excellencies,

It is a pleasure to address you on behalf of the International Development Law Organization.

Throughout this HLPF, we have heard how the multitude of intersecting crises have jeopardized peace and sustainable development.

My central message is that the rule of law and justice must be at the heart of our efforts to tackle these challenges.

Over the past 40 years, IDLO is proud to have partnered with some 100 countries across all regions.

Our experience has shown us that the rule of law, as embodied in SDG 16, is key to tackling current challenges and promoting progress across the 2030 Agenda.

Allow me to offer three reasons why.

First, the rule of law is critical to rebuilding public trust.

It helps ensure fairness, accountability, and transparency, giving people confidence that institutions are working in the interest of all rather than a privileged few.

People-centred justice systems protect the rights of the least powerful, and empower them to participate in decision-making.

I particularly want to emphasize the need to invest in women and youth as agents of change.

IDLO puts gender equality at the centre of its mandate, promoting transformative measures to close the gender justice gap, including eliminating discriminatory laws, addressing gender-based violence, and increasing the representation of women in leadership.

Secondly, progress on SDG 16 contributes to the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, and can accelerate the delivery of the entire 2030 Agenda.

We can see this relationship clearly when we consider the other Goals under review at HLPF this year.

Effective laws and accessible and accountable institutions are needed to implement all the SDGs, from ending poverty and hunger, to advancing climate action.

The rule of law principles of inclusivity, equity and non-discrimination, are incorporated throughout all seventeen Goals.

They are at the core of the promise to leave no one behind, that makes the 2030 Agenda so transformative.

Finally, the rule of law is needed to address complex, transnational challenges that pose significant obstacles to peace and sustainable development.

The rule of law at the international level, as enshrined in the UN Charter, guarantees the sovereign equality of Member States and is the bedrock of the multilateral system.

Shared concerns like climate change, or the regulation of frontier technologies such as AI, require rule of law-based solutions.

They require fair and efficient mechanisms that incentivize concerted global action, while balancing the needs of the present with the interests of future generations.

Innovation must not give rise to new forms of discrimination.

The Summit of the Future will be an important opportunity to generate political will and financial support for the rule of law, SDG 16, and the entire 2030 Agenda, and to strengthen the broadest multistakeholder partnerships that are essential for success.

IDLO is committed to collaborating with all partners to promote a more peaceful, just and sustainable future through the rule of law.

There is no better investment that we can make in our collective future, and it is the best way for us to stand in solidarity with “future generations”.

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