In his closing remarks to the General Assembly during the Thematic Debate on “Ensuring stable and peaceful societies,” Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson highlighted the essential link between the rule of law and an inclusive political processes as the binding elements in peace, development and human rights.
Commitments to rule of law are important to reaching developmental goals, as was discussed and agreed upon in the Rio +20 Report of the UN on Sustainable Development in June 2012, and the General Assembly’s High Level Meeting on the Rule of Law in September 2012.
To futher support this issue, the Deputy Secretary-General noted the high priority of “An honest and responsive government” in the MY World Survey:
A world survey, organized by the United Nations in support of the discussions on the post-2015 development agenda, shows that “honest and responsive government” – and I quote, “honest and responsive government” – is a very high priority for all population groups in all regions.
Inclusive political processes help to ensure the accountability of the State. Being included in political processes empowers people to address inequality, exclusion and other causes of conflict. That is why it is essential that we promote broad-based participation in all levels of the political process, particularly in post-conflict societies.
“An honest and responsive government” has risen to the third priority globally among the 1,855, 839 MY World voters from its previous position as the fourth priority. This was thanks in part to the 1.1 million voices of people aged 16-30. Among this age group, 561,575 people voted for “An honest and responsive goverment.”
This priority is second for voters 31-45, and third for all other age groups with the exception of those 15 and under, who rank it sixth.
Regionally, this priority is second for those in Europe, third for those in the Americas and Asia, and fourth in Africa. It ranks lowest in Oceania behind environmental issues such as “Protecting forests, rivers and oceans,” “Access to clean water and sanitation” and “Affordable and nutritious food.”
For more information:
- Read the DSG’s closing remarks on “Ensuring Stable and Peaceful Societies”
- Vote in the MY World Survey
- Explore the MY World Data Set
- Explore The World We Want to see data visualizations on the post-2015 process, follow events and outcomes from discussions thus far, and to add your voice to the debate.