Mrs. Müjgan Suver, the President of EU and Human Rights Platform of the Marmara Group Foundation – with its consultative status – attended together with Gülçin Güloğlu, businesswoman and volunteer member of the Foundation, the Empowerment of Women and its Relation to the Sustainable Development Meeting of Commission of the Women Status (CSW60) attached to the Economic and Social Council of the UN and shared at the interactive expert panel the approach of our Foundation for the program.

She has pointed out the vitality of including universities and NGOs in countries’ programmes within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals aiming at eradicating poverty, campaigning against inequalities and preserving nature by 2030. Mrs. Suver also emphasized the fact how to monitor and evaluate data and accountability, and how to determine priorities must take part in countries’ programmes.    

The Speech of Müjgan Suver at UN Economic and Social Council.  

Distinguished participants,

As you are familiar, in the first day of the three-day Summit starting on September 25, in the United Nations Plenary Session, 193 UN member countries unanimously accepted the Sustainable Development Goals which aim at eradicating poverty, campaigning against inequalities, and preserving nature until 2030.

Acknowledgement of the Sustainable Development Goals composed of 17 main objectives was cheerfully welcomed by the delegates which was also containing more than 150 presidents.    

We appreciate inclusion of the statements in the article 4 as “Providing everyone equal living standards and granting everyone the opportunity of lifelong education” and in the article 5 as “Ensuring social gender equality and strengthening social status of women and female children” in those 17 main objectives.   

At this stage, the issues that need to be primarily thought and concluded by the member countries are how to profile priorities, pursue objectives, monitor and assess data and accountability.    

In order to build confidence, we believe in vitality of including academicians, scientists and NGOs in the projects of UNDP and UNESCO which take part in UN Development Group.

We again want to point out the fact how important especially NGOs taking part in the official missions attending UNWOMEN meetings and, through this way, having a voice in the negotiation processes.

We the civil society representatives insist on establishment of the necessary mechanisms for a stronger monitoring and accountability processes at both local and national levels.

We are in need of independent units of review at both local and international levels. All of these units will be helping governments, other stakeholders and us, the NGOs in the future in deciding whether we have achieved progress regarding the agenda.

The system for accountability would also affect the discussions on the progress regarding the agenda.

Nowadays, we are in an era that assigns a great responsibility on our shoulders. Providing social welfare, increasing the living standards, and through this, eradicating all kinds of inequality, a better governance, a better legal system, a better democracy and a stable economy should take part in all our agendas. 

Honorable Participants,

The geography I am coming from is unique in terms of its own characteristics and its entwined structure. And the society of that geography that I belong to deserves much better living standards.

Distinguished Participants,

To conclude, I wish all of us a fruitful meeting. I hope the discussions being held in the framework of this meeting and possible collaborations which I think will be derived from this meeting would contribute to our following works.