by Martina Fuchs

GENEVA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- As the battle against COVID-19 rages on, Martin Chungong, secretary general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), is urging the international community and parliaments around the world not to forget about other global challenges and to "keep the flame of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) burning."

Chungong told Xinhua in a recent interview that the global goals adopted by all United Nations (UN) member states in 2015 should not take a back seat.

"We want to make sure that the global campaign against the pandemic does not lead us to overlook other challenges that are important for the survival of mankind. It is up to the parliaments to keep the flame of the SDGs burning. Because it is the global blueprint that has been agreed to," he said.

Chungong said his organization was working to promote more development and building capacity in parliaments in a bid to achieve the SDGs.

"It is important for us that parliaments are at the forefront of translating these global commitments into national programs, making sure they are appropriately funded," he stressed.

"We are spending a lot of efforts to make sure that parliaments remain engaged with the SDGs."

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs were launched in 2015 to end poverty and set the world on a path of peace, prosperity and opportunity for all on a healthy planet.

However, the devastating impacts of COVID-19 have significantly slowed down the pace in reaching the specific targets and caused further disruption to SDG progress.

PARLIAMENTARY INNOVATION

Founded in 1889 with its headquarters in Geneva, the IPU is the global organization of national parliaments and works to establish democracy, peace and cooperation among people worldwide.

"In the specific example of China, with the resources that they are making available to us, we have been able to reach out to at least 1,000 parliamentarians in the world and develop their awareness of and knowledge of the SDGs and how they can contribute to implementing those global goals at the national level," Chungong said.

He also underlined the need for parliaments worldwide to harness the power of technology and new digital tools.

"The challenges today call for more innovation and we want to make sure that parliaments are at the forefront of this campaign," he added.

The IPU established a Center for Innovation in Parliament (CIP) in 2018 which aims at boosting innovation across parliaments by bringing them together, supporting collaboration on solutions and sharing knowledge with the wider parliamentary community.

But after all, Chungong said political commitment was paramount.

The IPU secretary general congratulated the Chinese people on their major achievement in tackling poverty, saying this shows that it is possible to achieve major successes where there is political commitment.

"That's why we think a more robust action by parliaments is important. They should use their legislative powers, their budget allocation powers, their accountability oversight powers to make a difference when it comes to the implementation of the SDGs," he noted. Enditem

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