Inter Press Service: Thousands Rally to Mark Second Anniversary of U.N.’s SDGs
Tanja Gohlert, member of the European Secretariat of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty

“Two years ago on 25 September 2015, 193 governments agreed to an action plan to end poverty, protect the planet, and foster international peace by adopting the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To mark the anniversary, thousands of people participated in over 850 events across 110 countries to raise awareness for the goals and to hold governments accountable for their slow roll-out of national implementation programs. … Central to these actions was the recognition that the most marginalized groups of people require priority access to the resources and programs being mobilized by the goals…” (9/27).

HuffPost: Sustainable Development Goals Are Country-Led And Country-Owned
Magdy Martínez-Solimán, assistant secretary general of the U.N. and assistant administrator and director of the Bureau for Policy and Program Support at the UNDP, and Oscar Fernández-Taranco, U.N. assistant secretary general for Peacebuilding Support

“…[The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development is] the most ground-breaking development agenda the world has seen, for it contains a radical promise: to leave no one behind. … [P]eople have engaged to make the SDGs come alive across the globe. … To spur this development, the U.N. is strengthening its support to Member States for the implementation of the SDGs around the world. We know that the 2030 Agenda is a bold plan for humanity that requires equally bold changes to the U.N. development system to ensure that we support countries as effectively as possible. This also means better connecting our efforts across the peace and security, human rights, and development pillars of the organization to achieve sustainable development on the ground” (9/21).