The Statement of North-East Asian Civil Society for 2025 HLPF
We are sharing a position paper from a group of civil society organizations in the Northeast Asia region on the topics for review at the 2025 High-Level Political Forum on SDGs(July 14-23, UN Headquarters, New York): SDG 3, 5, 8, 14, and 17.
The United Nations organizes bottom-up deliberative processes prior to the High-level Political Forum at the global level every July, through the Northeast Asia Muti-stakeholder Forum on SDGs (October-November, organized by Member States in Northeast Asia) and the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD, February, UNESCAP Headquarter, Bangkok).
This Northeast Asia Civil Society Declaration was jointly developed by civil society participants at the 8th Northeast Asia Stakeholders' SDGs Forum, held on October 21-23, 2024 in Songdo, Incheon, Republic of Korea(Korea South).
The draft declaration was based on the presentations at the Northeast Asia Civil Society Forum (10/21) and was finalized after circulation to meeting participants and national SDGs civil society networks.
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The Statement of North-East Asian Civil Society 2024
October 23, 2024
Main Message
As members of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from China, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, and the Republic of Korea, we welcome ESCAP for this opportunity to deliver a collective statement at the Eight Northeast Asia Multi-stakeholder Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals for Asia and the Pacific.
On October 23rd we came together for a Civil Society Forum where CSO representatives from all sub-regional countries could exchange experiences and ideas in a productive dialogue. This forum is a crucial opportunity for us to deliver the voices of communities and contribute to the regional and global efforts towards achieving the SDGs that ‘leave no one behind.’
The realities in this sub-region reveal gaps that must be addressed to meet the 2030 agenda. The ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, militarization of societies, and climate change have serious ramifications on the implementation of SDGs in the sub-region and reveal the urgent need to act with solidarity and cooperation.
At the onset, we would like to highlight the principles of the 2030 agenda. Stakeholder participation is not negotiable. Undermining the open participation of civil society in UN processes goes directly against what the UN stands for.
Therefore, we call on all governments and ESCAP to protect the space of the right-holder groups and make extra efforts in this sub-region. We are gravely concerned with the current quality of participation and ‘special treatment’ of CSOs where civic spaces are already restricted. We also encourage governments in the future to use the opportunity of the Civil Society Forum for an open and transparent dialogue.
For the SDGs under review this year, we would like to highlight in particular the following recommendations:
On SDG3, governments should increase health investments and reform UHC systems to be more inclusive, ensuring participation from civil society, marginalized communities, and patient groups, especially diverse women. Key areas include addressing NCDs, mental health, aging, urban-rural disparities, and sexual and reproductive health. Social protection programs must remain public, with better outreach to vulnerable groups, and mandatory sick pay with job protection should be enforced. Post-conflict countries need long-term health strategies to rebuild infrastructure and address trauma. Legal frameworks must protect against gender-based violence and discrimination, and laws hindering healthcare access for vulnerable groups should be revised.
On SDG8 and 14, the current sustainable consumption of marine resources threatens our vital ecosystem services. To mitigate the risk of unsustainable resource use, sustainable trade contracts should be established, ensuring long-term fishing rights for responsible fishermen and promoting sustainable seafood campaigns. A platform for sharing best practices on ecosystem health, particularly in the Pacific, should be created to support regenerative ocean farming and local economies. Governments must implement ILO recommendations, integrate Just Transition policies, and include CSOs and trade unions in legislative processes. Baseline data on pollution must be regularly updated, with enhanced monitoring of marine debris and ecosystems. Industrial waste discharge into oceans should be strictly prohibited, adopting a precautionary approach to environmental protection. Regarding the nuclear wastewater from demolished Nuclear Power Plants, we need to strengthen monitoring activities of all ecosystems, including sediments, autotrophs, and food chains, with participation of all interested parties. Based on the polluters pay principle, all nuclear industries should keep their waste in land, not into the oceans, which should remain as the commons for all human beings, and TEPCO of Japan should consider keeping the nuclear waste from Fukushima in land through concretization.
On SDG5, governments must address social customs that prevent women from assuming leadership roles in politics and professions. Leadership education and capacity-building should be supported to increase women's participation in high-level positions. Workplaces must ensure that women face no discrimination after childcare leave. Ratifying ILO Convention No. 190 is crucial to eliminate violence and harassment at work. Gender-based violence must be combated through stringent measures, while groups advocating for gender equality must be supported. Regular multi-stakeholder mechanisms should enhance policy coherence, and partnerships across sectors should promote SDG 5 through research, training, and public debate.
On SDG17, prioritizing citizen involvement in decision-making is crucial to strengthening global partnerships for achieving the SDGs. Mentioning of partnerships with civil society must be re-included to the indicator 17.17.1 in order to measure progress on SDG 17. Stricter rules and the precautionary principle should be enforced to prevent corporate competition from undermining SDG targets. Additionally, laws regulating artificial intelligence technologies must be enacted and enforced to prevent misuse of crimes and incitement. A clear roadmap should be provided to ensure the effective implementation of existing laws and regulations that are either unimplemented or progressing too slowly.
Moreover, the partnership with civil society still needs to be tapped to its fullest potential. We have played pivotal, irreplaceable roles in revealing the realities on the ground and realizing the SDGs.
We, therefore, urge all stakeholders to take collective responsibility in realizing our shared goals. A full list of our recommendations will be submitted to the ESCAP which we believe must be carefully considered by the governments to reflect the challenges and needs of Northeast Asia.
※ Focal Points (2023~2024)
- NEA sub-regional Group: Hirotaka Koike, GreenPeace Japan, hirotaka.koike@greenpeace.org
- Japan: Masaki Inaba, masaki.inaba@gmail.com, Japan Civil Society Network on SDGs(SDGs Japan), https://www.sdgs-japan.net
- Korea South: Denise K.H. Yoon, sdgnetkorea@gmail.com, Korea SDGs Network, https://sdgforum.org
- Mongolia: Urantsooj Gombosuren, gurantsooj@rocketmail.com, Mongolian CSOs' Network for the SDGs
- Russia: Nelya Rakhimova, nelyarakhimova@gmail.com, Coalition for Sustainable Development of Russia