3. Framing the New Agenda
“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid,
poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of
human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that generation. Let
your greatness bloom.” Nelson Mandela
3.1 Setting the stage
57. At this moment, a truly universal and transformational course is being set. From
the 2010 Summit on the MDGs, to Rio+20, and the outcome of the Open Working
Group,viii a remarkably consistent vision has emerged.
58. Because human dignity and planetary sustainability cannot be reduced to a
simple formula, because their constituent elements are so interdependent, and because
sustainable development is a complex phenomenon, the proposal by the Open Working
Group of such a far-reaching set of goals and targets is to be welcomed as a remarkable
step forward in the international community’s quest for effective solutions to an
increasingly complex global agenda.
59. As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I therefore welcome the outcome
produced by the Open Working Group (Table 1). I congratulate the leadership and all
who participated in its ground-breaking work. I take positive note of the decision of the
General Assembly that the proposal of the Group be the main basis for the post-2015
intergovernmental process.
60. In the coming months, the Member States of the United Nations will negotiate
the final parameters of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda. That Agenda
should include a compelling and principled narrative, building on the outcomes of the
major global conferences , including the Millennium Summit, the 2005 Summit Outcome,
the 2010 Summit on the MDGs, the outcome of Rio+20, and the voices of the people as
conveyed in the post-2015 process. The Agenda should also call for full consistency with
current political commitments and existing obligations under international law. It should
include concrete goals together with measurable and achievable targets. This should
demonstrate the important interrelationship between the goals and targets. Importantly, it
must respond to the capacity challenges of countries with varying capabilities and weaker