TEHRAN – The U.S. sanctions have acted as a barrier to achieve the sustainable development goals, deputy director of the Department of Environment (DOE) said, noting that global solidarity is needed in moving towards sustainable development regardless of the abuse of political power to put pressure on others.

Narges Saffar, chief of the DOE’s international affairs department, made the abovementioned remarks in a statement to the Seventh Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD7) which was held online on May 20.
The statement reads as follows:

We all pledge international social solidarity as a morality factor for achieving the SDGs. We also hope no potential political leverage could result in any attempt to flout the fundamental principle of the SDGs “leaving no one behind”.

As far as we all aware, Covid-19 pandemic is interconnected with degradation of biodiversity and manifests how human health is associated with planet’s health. Furthermore, its dire consequences on achieving the SDGs are indisputable that a call on global strategic recovery seems inevitable. Also, we should attend in creating green jobs, greening fiscal and financial packages so to achieve SDGs.

As APFSD7 aims to support countries of the region through casting around for solutions on transformative change based on considering the Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR 2019) and tries to develop a regional roadmap for implementing SDGs in Asia and Pacific beyond the national and subnational achievements, we are certain, it will, as a regional platform, play a critical role in this period also.

According to levers for transformational change, we believe financial and technological gap can minimize the effects of any attempt to harness the synergies on transformative change needed for implementing SDGs that comprise a complex interplay with the governance.

Also, referring to the paragraph 17 of Ministerial declaration of the high-level segment of the 2016 session of the ECOSOC, Voluntary National Reports (VNRs) can promote our efforts to ensure that no one is left behind and emphasize the importance of building national capacities for follow-up and review. Iran not only supports VNR’s preparation but also emphasizes that it should be prepared in regional level because of different consequences in different regions for implementation of SDGs.

Concerning our national progress, Iran has invested above the regional average in providing well-being for the public and has improves the HDI, maternal and child mortality rate, agricultural index, adolescent literacy rate in the past years despite all the economic challenges and sanctions.

Iran, also, has to grapple with its highly complex environmental issues such as severe land degradation, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, waste management, SDSs, and climate change. Besides, ceaseless conflicts in West Asia which eventuates insecurity and impurified decision-making exacerbate the impacts of the common environmental challenges we encounter especially SDSs, transboundary river and water management, and new pest attacks across the borders which threats our biosecurity.

At the end, we express our hopes that we all pledge international social solidarity as a morality factor for achieving the SDGs. We also hope no potential political leverage could result in any attempt to flout the fundamental principle of the SDGs “leaving no one behind”.

FB/MG