Working Paper 1.

Noting with deep concern the failure of the previous MDG’s and SDG’s and affirms that the new set of
goals should not be too ambitious in achieving their targets and should learn from the mistakes of its
predecessors,

Emphasizing the need for sustainable development greatly for the following reasons:

a) Fossil fuels, coal and natural gas are a finite resource and we are expected to run out of
these resources in the next 50 years or so,
b) The amount of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases in our atmosphere is continually
increasing, giving rise to increase in global temperature and shifting of weather patterns
c) Most people around the globe lack access to education, water, sanitation, health facilities
and are suffering from poverty,

Draws the attention of the committee to the fact that 3.4 million people die to contaminated water
every year and half of the world’s population live in water-stressed areas. In these conditions, we need
urgent reforms to improve management of water resources,

Bearing in mind the reasons why the previous set of goals could not be fulfilled:

a) Lack of cohesive strategy and unity among nations to achieve the goals/corruption,
b) Lack of focus and accountability,
c) Inadequate resources and technology in low income nations,
d) Insufficient interest in sustainable development among the public and some countries
e) MDG’s and SDG’s did not have an area based approach and had the same goals for the most
developed and most poverty stricken countries,
f) SDG’s and MDG’s did not focus on tackling problems in conflict zones such as Yemen and
Syria which have become a battleground for proxy wars and have become some of the
worst humanitarian disasters ever,

Recognizing that low income countries still face significant challenges to achieve sustainable
development including:

a) Lack of funds, resources and technology to implement SDG’s,

b) These countries are often the countries with the most severe extreme poverty rates up to
60% and the SDG’s do not address any strategy regarding these nations,

Noting that efforts to address ongoing challenges facing low income countries should be strengthened
through:

a) The exchange of experiences among countries,

b) Improved coordination between countries,
c) Better and focused support of the United Nations development system, international
financial institutions and regional organizations,

Convinced that the following measures can be adopted to alleviate poverty:

 a) Fund programs to poor countries for the explicit purpose of creating opportunities for poor
people in areas such as health, education and sanitation. This will work in two ways, one it
will promote jobs and entire industries around that field and second it will improve the
standards of that specific field,
b) Invest in and implement agricultural programs through improved water management. The
biggest example of this strategy of this strategy is China which has already helped more than
800 million people of its nation out of poverty,
c) Motivate countries to engage in trade,
d) Settle differences between countries engaged in proxy wars and direct engagements since
countries and regions which are conflict zones have experienced an upsurge in poverty
rather than a decrease,

Believing that more advanced technology and innovations are needed to tackle the issues of climate
change, poverty and other such issues.