Title: Supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution expresses support for meeting key goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including achieving gender equality, ending extreme poverty, and improving public health. The resolution also states that the agenda's Sustainable Development Goals form a critical blueprint to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people can live in peace and prosperity by 2030.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 654 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 654

      Supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 24, 2019

   Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Mr. Sablan, Mr. McGovern, Mr. 
 Hastings, Ms. Norton, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Rush, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Tlaib, 
 and Mr. Levin of Michigan) submitted the following resolution; which 
            was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Whereas 193 nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the 
        2015 United Nations General Assembly;
Whereas, on January 1, 2016, the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 
        Agenda for Sustainable Development officially came into force;
Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes 17 Sustainable 
        Development Goals and 169 targets to address extreme poverty, protect 
        the planet, and ensure that all people have access to peace and 
        prosperity by 2030;
Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that ending 
        extreme poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies to improve health 
        and access to education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth;
Whereas the Sustainable Development Goals include--

    (1) no poverty;

    (2) zero hunger;

    (3) good health and well-being;

    (4) quality education;

    (5) gender equality;

    (6) clean water and sanitation;

    (7) affordable and clean energy;

    (8) decent work and economic growth;

    (9) industry, innovation, and infrastructure;

    (10) reduced inequalities;

    (11) sustainable cities and communities;

    (12) responsible consumption and production;

    (13) climate action;

    (14) life below water;

    (15) life on land;

    (16) peace, justice, and strong institutions; and

    (17) partnerships for the goals;

Whereas the United States played a strong role in the member state negotiations 
        at the United Nations, reflecting the longstanding bipartisan support 
        for the foreign policy and development priorities that Republican and 
        Democratic administrations and Congress have championed;
Whereas the United States prioritized two areas throughout the negotiations, 
        governance, peace, and security (Goal 16) and gender equality (Goal 5);
Whereas the Sustainable Development Goals align with many United States 
        priorities, including ending human trafficking, increasing access to 
        jobs in collaboration with the private sector, gender equality, and good 
        governance;
Whereas these Sustainable Development Goals will attempt to complete what the 
        Millennium Development Goals did not achieve;
Whereas the Millennium Development Goals focused on ending extreme hunger and 
        poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender 
        equality and women empowerment, reducing child mortality, improving 
        mental health, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, ensuring 
        environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for 
        development;
Whereas, according to the Millennium Development Goals 2015 report, the global 
        mobilization behind the goals resulted in the most successful 
        antipoverty movement in history;
Whereas in the United States and around the world, racial injustice continues to 
        plague communities;
Whereas the United Nations and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 
        should continue to include a commitment to racial justice, equity, and 
        the elimination of global racism and the dismantling of structural 
        racism;
Whereas the number of people living in extreme poverty declined by 56 percent 
        between 1990 to 2015, with most progress occurring since 2000 when the 
        Millennium Development Goals were launched;
Whereas over 6,200,000 malaria deaths were averted between 2000 and 2015, and 
        the primary school enrollment rate in developing countries reached 91 
        percent by 2015 from 83 percent in 2000;
Whereas much progress was made, but many challenges and opportunities for 
        development remain, particularly in areas that were not addressed by the 
        Millennium Development Goals;
Whereas women and girls still face violence and gender-based discrimination that 
        limit their economic opportunities;
Whereas the poverty burden remains overwhelmingly concentrated in some parts of 
        the world, including sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia;
Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development introduces new focus areas 
        that are key to ending extreme poverty, including accountable government 
        institutions, which came out of the understanding that structural 
        inequalities in societies keep people in poverty;
Whereas the Sustainable Development Goals call for global action and 
        coordination to achieve a dignified life for all people, peace, 
        prosperity, a sustainable planet, and strong global partnership;
Whereas gender equality is the fifth Sustainable Development Goal which builds 
        on the successes of the third Millennium Development Goal, promoting 
        gender equality and empowering women;
Whereas, from 2000 to 2015, about two-thirds of countries in the developing 
        world achieved gender parity in primary education, but disparities 
        persist at the secondary and tertiary levels;
Whereas the average proportion of women in parliaments nearly doubled between 
        1995 and 2015, yet gender parity in government remains a distant goal;
Whereas one of the key targets of gender equality as part of the 2030 Agenda for 
        Sustainable Development is to eliminate all forms of violence against 
        all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including 
        trafficking, sexual, and other types of exploitation;
Whereas the total number of girls married before the age of 18 stands at 
        12,000,000 per year, and more than 150,000,000 additional girls will get 
        married in childhood by 2030;
Whereas child marriages are a fundamental violation of human rights, and the 
        target set out in the Sustainable Development Goal agenda is to 
        eliminate all harmful practices such as child, early, and forced 
        marriage by 2030, and supporting this target means impacting the lives 
        of 150,000,000 girls who would otherwise be married off before their 
        18th birthday;
Whereas one of the targets of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development is to 
        ensure reforms are taking place in all countries to give women equal 
        rights to economic resources, property, financial services, inheritance, 
        and natural resources by promoting birth registration in areas where 
        girls are systematically undercounted, which will ensure that girls can 
        enjoy other rights such as education and health;
Whereas the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for countries to 
        collaborate to achieve universal peace and justice, because countries 
        that lack the rule of law often fail to meet the most basic needs of 
        their populations, and peace, justice, and accountable institutions make 
        it possible for countries to develop;
Whereas all people have a right to peace, and all forms of violence violate 
        human rights, hinder people's well-being, and significantly limit 
        development and progress of countries;
Whereas Goal 16 is key to ensuring that progress and prosperity are widely 
        shared, and that those most in need can claim and exercise their rights 
        as global citizens;
Whereas data show that homicide is more prevalent in countries with high income 
        inequality, which are majorly developing countries;
Whereas many victims of exploitation and trafficking are people from vulnerable 
        populations, and some of the poorest regions in the world, which 
        suggests that least developed areas are the most prone to violence;
Whereas supporting the Sustainable Development Goals will significantly reduce 
        violence in developing countries so peaceful and empowered populations 
        can then begin to create and reinforce just, inclusive, and accountable 
        institutions;
Whereas sustained United States leadership in supporting the Sustainable 
        Development Goals will ensure that we can leverage our resources and 
        expertise with the private sector, governments, faith-based 
        organizations, and nonprofits to build a better and safer world for 
        generations to come;
Whereas the expanded Sustainable Development Goals represent a new understanding 
        of what effective sustainable development looks like;
Whereas the Sustainable Development Goals now include key economic drivers of 
        poverty alleviation and go beyond foreign assistance to focus on trade 
        and investment from the private sector to better account for their 
        important contributions in development, health, and economic and social 
        opportunity; and
Whereas support for the Sustainable Development Goals will continue to be 
        counted through direct multilateral development assistance, domestic 
        spending, grants, subsidies, loans, public-private partnerships, and 
        other financial instruments such as guarantees and direct investment 
        instruments: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
                    (A) the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 
                Agenda for Sustainable Development is a critical 
                international blueprint to end poverty, protect the 
                planet, and ensure that all people can live in peace 
                and prosperity by 2030; and
                    (B) the United States, which adopted the 
                Sustainable Development Goals, should recommit to 
                implementing its commitments under the Sustainable 
                Development Goals; and
            (2) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) reaffirms its support for multilateral 
                organizations such as the United Nations and its role 
                in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable 
                Development; and
                    (B) reaffirms its support for meeting key goals of 
                the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including 
                gender equality, ending extreme hunger and poverty, and 
                improving public health.
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