Goal 10, “Reducing inequalities within and among countries,” is a centerpiece of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), negotiated for the past 3 years and adopted on 25 September 2015 by all nations in the UN. (Read more here.)
IfE was instrumental in the development and adoption of Goal 10 (read how here). Although there are many problems with the language, it represents a significant shift in global discourse, endorsing the importance of reducing inequalities. IfE’s Deborah Rogers spoke at a Side Event on Goal 10 during the UN General Assembly meetings to adopt the SDGs. You can read her statement here: Reducing Inequalities Between Countries. Speakers at the event, which was sponsored by the government of Indonesia, the European Commission, and several NGOs, agreed that inequalities are the central theme of the new SDGs, and that addressing inequalities will be a political battle, not a technocratic process.
Holding governments and international agencies accountable through citizen participatory monitoring will be the key to success. IfE’s Participatory Citizen Monitoring & Accountability network is designed to make that happen.