人権と2030アジェンダに関する対話と協力のための会期間会合における岡庭大使のステートメント（平成31年1月16日）

Intersessional meeting for dialogue and cooperation on
Human Rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Statement by Ambassador Ken OKANIWA
The Permanent Mission of Japan in Geneva
16 January 2019

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Japan is committed to promoting the SDGs. Prime Minister Abe chairs the “SDGs Promotion Headquarters”, comprised of all cabinet members. The meeting of this Headquarters adopted the “SDGs Action Plan 2019” in December 2018 to promote the SDGs in Japan and other countries.

I would like to introduce the three pillars of this Action Plan, because I think it would be useful for other countries to consider how to achieve the SDGs. The first pillar is “Promotion of Society 5.0 that corresponds to the SDGs”. This includes the involvement and the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises, and also promoting science, technology and innovation. We feel this is a very important element when we try to achieve the SDGs.

The second pillar is “Regional vitalization driven by the SDGs”. In Japan, we are promoting the SDGs through our “SDGs Future City” initiative, smart-agriculture, and forestry and fisheries. We are also promoting a “Sound Material-Cycle Society” through Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and promoting measures against marine plastic debris and climate change.

The third pillar is “Empowerment of the next generations and women”. I would like to highlight the importance of empowerment as this is critical in promoting the SDGs. For this purpose, we are promoting initiatives of UHC and education around the world.

Let me conclude by saying that we believe human rights and the SDGs are the two sides of the same coin. We hope that the Human Rights Council (HRC) and other human rights mechanism can contribute to “leaving no one behind” in our efforts to achieve the SDGs.