“Despite considerable efforts these past four years, we are not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. We must dramatically step up the pace of implementation as we enter a decisive decade for people and the planet. We must connect the dots across all that we do – as individuals, civic groups, corporations, municipalities and Member States of the United Nations – and truly embrace the principles of inclusion and sustainability. Together, let us make the difficult choices that are necessary to realize our ambition and commit to accelerating progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General
About the Foundational Certification on Sustainable Development
The UN Secretary-General underlined that sustainable development must be in the DNA of a Resident Coordinator (RC), and that the UN needs to ensure that the relevant leadership, capacities, and skill sets are available within United Nations Country Teams to support country needs, complementing and building national capacities. To strengthen this ambition, the UN system developed a Foundational Primer on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals; endorsed a new programming framework, the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF); and invests substantively in strengthening UN Country Teams.
The foundational certification on sustainable development is available to future and current UN Resident Coordinators. The SDG Primer e-course is also available for UNCTs, Governments and partners.