UN Sustainable Development Goal: Poverty Eradication聯合國可持續發展目標之消除貧困

石勁宇

T? ? ?he 2030 Agenda1 acknowledges that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions， including extreme poverty， is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

The first Sustainable Development Goal aims to “End poverty in all its forms everywhere”. Its seven associated targets aim， among others， to eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere， reduce at least by half the proportion of men， women and children of all ages living in poverty， and implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all， including floors2， and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.

As recalled by the foreword of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals Report3， at the Millennium Summit in September 2000， 189 countries unanimously adopted the Millennium Declaration， pledging to “spare no effort to free our fellow men， women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty”. This commitment was translated into an inspiring framework of eight goals and， then， into wide-ranging practical steps that have enabled people across the world to improve their lives and their future prospects. The MDGs helped to lift more than one billion people out of extreme poverty， to make inroads against hunger， to enable more girls to attend school than ever before and to protect our planet.

Nevertheless， in spite of all the remarkable gains， inequalities have persisted and progress has been uneven. Therefore， the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its set of Sustainable Development Goals have been committed， as stated in the Declaration of the Agenda， “to build upon the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals and seek to address their unfinished business”.

The theme of the 2017 High-Level Political Forum4 was “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”， and it included SDG 1 as one of the focus SDGs.

From Agenda 215 to Future We Want

In “The Future We Want”， the outcome document of Rio+206， Member States emphasized the need to accord the highest priority to poverty eradication within the United Nations development agenda， addressing the root causes and challenges of poverty through integrated， coordinated and coherent strategies at all level.

In the context of the multi-year programme of work adopted by the Commission on Sustainable Development （CSD） after the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development （WSSD）， poverty eradication appears as an “overriding issue” on the agenda of the CSD each year.

Poverty eradication is addressed in Chapter II of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation （2002）7， which stressed that eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development， particularly for developing countries.

Priority actions on poverty eradication include：

improving access to sustainable livelihoods， entrepreneurial opportunities and productive resources;

providing universal access to basic social services;

progressively developing social protection systems to support those who cannot support themselves;

empowering people living in poverty and their organizations;

addressing the disproportionate impact of poverty on women;

working with interested donors and recipients to allocate increased shares of ODA8 to poverty eradication; and

intensifying international cooperation for poverty eradication.

The General Assembly， in its 1997 Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21 （paragraph 27） decided that poverty eradication should be an overriding theme of sustainable development for the coming years. It is one of the fundamental goals of the international community and of the entire United Nations system.

“Combating poverty” is the topic of Chapter 3 of Agenda 21. It is also in commitment 2 of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development9.

Agenda 21 emphasized that poverty is a complex multidimensional problem with origins in both the national and international domains. No uniform solution can be found for global application. Rather， country-specific programmes to tackle poverty and international efforts supporting national efforts， as well as the parallel process of creating a supportive international environment， are crucial for a solution to this problem.

The years following the 1992 Rio Conference have witnessed an increase in the number of people living in absolute poverty， particularly in developing countries. The enormity and complexity of the poverty issue could endanger the social fabric， undermine economic development and the environment， and threaten political stability in many countries.

聯合國《2030年可持續發展議程》指出，消除一切形式和表現的貧困，包括消除極端貧困，是世界最大的挑戰，也是實現可持續發展必不可少的要求。

可持續發展目標1是“在全世界消除一切形式的貧困”，共含7個子目標，其中包括：在全球所有人口中消除極端貧困;各年齡段貧困男女和兒童至少減半;執行適合本國國情的全民社會保障制度和措施，包括最低標準，到2030年，實現窮人和弱勢群體的大范圍參保。

《千年發展目標：2015年報告》前言中回顧道，在2000年9月的千年首腦會議上，189個國家一致通過《千年宣言》，承諾要“不遺余力地幫助男女老少同胞，擺脫凄苦堪憐和毫無尊嚴的極端貧困狀況”。這一承諾轉化為一個鼓舞人心的計劃，內含8個目標，繼而又落實為各個領域的實際行動，使全世界的人們改善了生活，增強了對未來的信心。“千年發展目標”幫助10多億人擺脫了極端貧困，減少了饑餓，使比以往更多的女孩可以上學，并保護了我們的地球。

盡管取得了這些令人矚目的成就，不平等依舊存在，進展也不均衡。因此，《2030年可持續發展議程》及其可持續發展目標致力于“鞏固實施千年發展目標成果的基礎上，爭取完成它們尚未完成的事業”。

2017聯合國可持續發展高級別政治論壇的主題是“在變革世界中消除貧困、促進繁榮”，將可持續發展目標1列為一項重點可持續發展目標。

從《21世紀議程》到《我們希望的未來》

在“里約+20”峰會成果文件《我們希望的未來》中，成員國強調需要將消除貧困列為聯合國發展議程的最優先事項，通過各級的統籌、協調和連貫一致的戰略處理貧窮的根源和挑戰。

2002年可持續發展問題世界首腦會議之后，聯合國可持續發展委員會通過了其多年期工作方案，將消除貧困列為每一年工作議程的重中之重。

2002年《約翰內斯堡執行計劃》第二章談到消除貧困的問題，強調今日世界面臨的最嚴重全球性挑戰是消除貧困，這是可持續發展必不可少的條件，對發展中國家來說尤其如此。

消除貧困的優先行動包括：

改善獲得可持續的生計、創業機遇和生產資源的渠道;

提供全民基本社會服務;

逐步建立社會保障體系，幫扶無力自謀生計的群體;

增強貧困人口及其組織的權能;

應對貧困對婦女群體更為嚴重的影響;

與有意向的捐助者和受援者合作，將更大比重的官方發展援助用于消除貧困;

加強消除貧困方面的國際合作。

聯合國大會1997年通過的《進一步執行〈21世紀議程〉方案》第27段指出，消除貧困是今后可持續發展的首要主題，也是國際社會和整個聯合國系統的基本目標之一。

“消除貧困”是《21世紀議程》第3章的主題，也反映在《哥本哈根社會發展問題宣言》的承諾2中。

《21世紀議程》強調，貧困是一個復雜的多方面問題，有其國家和國際根源。沒有全球適用的劃一的解決辦法。然而，根據各國具體情況制定的解決貧困的方案，支持各國扶貧工作的國際措施，以及并行的支助性國際環境的創立，對解決這個問題極為重要。

1992年里約地球峰會召開后的數年中，世界絕對貧困人口數量出現增長，在發展中國家尤為明顯。貧困問題嚴重且復雜，可能危及社會結構，破壞經濟發展和生態環境，威脅多國的政治穩定。

（譯者單位：上海外國語大學）