‘Solo Message’ calls for sustainable development council

The three-day High-Level Dialogue on the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development held in Surakarta, Central Java, ended on Thursday with the so-called “Solo Message” to be brought to the Rio+20 conference scheduled for June 2012 in Brazil.

“I think this is the most important result,” Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta told reporters after officially closing the meeting, which was attended by 350 participants from 90 countries, 56 United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations.

The ‘Solo Message’ — Solo is the popular name of Surakarta — consists of seven points.

Among the important points included in the message is the emergence of ideas in the international level to add mandates to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to deal with sustainable development, to review the role of the commission on sustainable development and to establish a sustainable development council.

Other points include the need to renew political commitments among countries in implementing sustainable development and to integrate economic, social and environmental pillars. “Renewal in the political commitment is urgent because no matter the result, it will not run well unless there is political commitment,” Gusti said.

Gusti added that the Solo Message would be officially introduced at the Rio+20 conference process within the next two weeks and would be treated as input for the conference’s agenda on institutional framework for sustainable development discussions.

“In other words, one of the two agendas [the other agenda is on green economy] has been completed,” Gusti said.

Separately, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Sha Zukang underlined the importance of the establishment of a sustainable development council.

“I think we can agree to explore further the possibility of creating such a sustainable development council. There are a number of questions that need to be sorted out,” Sha said.

Sha said it was urgent that the council fulfill the need to integrate the three pillars of economy, social and environmental into the higher levels of the United Nations.

“We must work hard in the coming weeks to offer as many answers to these and other questions as possible,” Sha said.

Sha also noted the importance of regional and international frameworks for sustainable development in facilitating the flow of knowledge exchange and the sharing of experiences on good practices by countries, local authorities and other stakeholders.