In December 2017, the UN General Assembly agreed to devote a high-level meeting to discuss global peace in honour of the centenary of the birth of South Africa's first democratically-elected president and world icon, Nelson Mandela. On Monday, 24 September, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi was among many world leaders who attended the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit that took place one day before the official opening of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. Over 190 UN member states adopted a “political declaration” that dubs 2019-2028 as the “Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace”. The declaration calls on all world leaders to “make the impossible possible” and “redouble efforts to pursue international peace and security, development and human rights”. The late Mandela embodied the highest values of the United Nations — peace, forgiveness, compassion and human dignity. He was a champion for all people, in his words and in his actions. When he achieved the pinnacle of power as president of South Africa after spending 27 years in jail, Mandela set an example that still resounds throughout Africa and the world: he stepped down after one term, confident of the durability of South Africa's newfound democracy. He did not pursue power for its own sake, but simply as a means of service. The world leaders who will be debating many volatile world crises during their meetings in New York need to put the Mandela Declaration into action, instead of proving once again that such official declarations are nothing but wishful thinking. There are so many world conflicts right now, especially in the Middle East region, that need the courage and principles embodied and practised by the late Mandela. The same applies to the second high-level meeting, also attended by Al-Sisi on Monday, to approve a world strategy to finance the 2030 Agenda plan to “transform our world”. In 2015, UN member states adopted the agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, which break down into three broad areas: people, planet and prosperity. The adoption of the agenda was significant, as it was the first time that world leaders pledged common action on such a universal and ambitious policy agenda. As the name suggests, the organising principle of the agenda and the SDGs is sustainable development, which is also the key message to the world community. The UN defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. This means taking into account, for example, the effects that unbalanced economic growth can have on the environment and people's wellbeing. The SDGs provide a framework for sustainable development that improves the lives of everyone, everywhere. For example, ensuring that economies grow and provide decent work; that everyone has access to nutritious food, no matter where they live; and access to quality education for all. From 2015 until 2030, UN member states, civil society and other partners agreed to mobilise efforts to change the way the world does business: ending all forms of poverty, fighting inequalities and tackling climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind. Since 2015, the UN has been hosting several meetings every year, designed to monitor the progress of member states and partners, including the private sector, in changing business practices to ensure that the SDGs can be met. Hopefully, the timing, and the senior political levels of the participants in Monday's meeting on the 2030 Agenda, will ensure that considerable attention will be directed to the proceedings and the outcome. The challenge is to build momentum and political support at all levels; step up engagement with the private sector; and make the most of innovative solutions to finance the SDGs. As Egypt chairs this year the Group of 77, a coalition of more than 130 developing nation members of the UN, it will have a significant role to play in assuring that the 2030 Agenda can become a reality, especially that many of the SDGs will benefit their countries that are in dire need for sustainable development. Egypt will also be closely watching the outcome of another significant meeting which was held yesterday, Wednesday, on countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The summit-level meeting, chaired by US President Donald Trump, was due to discuss ways the Security Council can better enforce resolutions on non-proliferation. Hopefully, such non-proliferation efforts will not only reflect US concerns, such as North Korea, and would also include the Middle East region. So far, Israel is the only Middle East country that possesses nuclear weapons, while vehemently rejecting to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or to open its nuclear sites for inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This, also, has to come to an end if world meetings such as the one held yesterday, chaired by Trump, are to have any credibility.
