By Jordan Street.

The universal adoption by all 193 United Nations Member States of the 2030 Agenda, also known as the Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals, in September 2015, embodied a transformative shift for the multilateral system and the development community at-large.

As many now know, included within the 17 Global Goals, is Goal 16 – labelled the Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions goal, which is anointed by many as the defining goal of the 2030 Agenda. Through the inclusion of targets on violence reduction, access to justice, the promotion of transparent and accountable institutions, and the reduction of corruption, bribery and illicit financial and arms flow, it is argued that Goal 16 can be the bedrock for achieving sustainable development universally.

One year on from the adoption of the new development agenda, the many dedicated and committed actors who worked tirelessly to ensure that Goal 16 made its way into the SDGs, have wasted no time in mobilizing support to make universal implementation by 2030 a reality.

Leading the way in New York are three new partnerships of civil society, the private sector and United Nations Member States, that are seeking to build upon existing goodwill and positive rhetoric to ensure global implementation for Goal 16.

The Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, the Global Alliance for Reporting Progress in Promoting Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, and the 16+ Forum, spearheaded by the New York University Center on International Cooperation (NYU-CIC), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) respectively, will all have high-level events during the opening of the 71^st General Assembly at the UN this week.

Each initiative, whilst acting collaboratively, will carve out separate niches in New York, to kickstart early efforts to achieve Goal 16. The Global Alliance is offering an exciting new hub for all member states to fulfil their reporting obligations on their progress towards Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies. The Pathfinders initiative is exploring member state leadership in delivering the SDG targets for peaceful, just and inclusive societies. Whereas, the 16+ Forum is working to facilitate dialogue and discussions between stakeholders to move towards delivering Goal 16 and the 2030 Agenda universally, while launching an annual event to showcase innovative strategies for implementation.

These New York-centric efforts, are being matched by the great implementation work of many other dedicated organizations. Saferworld, long seen as leader in Goal 16 policy, has begun to roll-out in country programming in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. The SDG16 Data Initiative, launched by a strong coalition of civil society actors, is a new hub that will be used to procure and collate data relevant for the targets within Goal 16. While the Transparency, Accountability, and Participation (TAP) Network – a network of over 200 organizations – has developed a Goal 16 Advocacy Toolkit and has begun to facilitate trainings and workshops around the world for CSO actors.

This range of dedicated initiatives will be invaluable as the international community work towards eradicating extreme poverty by 2030. Yet, despite an active group of dedicated Member States, we are still some way off the necessary financial commitments needed to ensure that implementation of Goal 16 is not just an adhoc undertaking in a few pockets around the globe. Political goodwill in New York is a necessary first step, but it cannot be the only step. Donor countries must step up and allocate funding for the achievement of Goal 16 internationally, whilst other countries must ensure national development planning is streamlined with the many related targets to the Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies pillar within the 2030 Agenda.

One year ago, in a sweltering meeting room in a Turtle Bay brownstone, a diplomat for a leading donor country noted the five-year delay before the international community began to take implementation of the preceding Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) seriously. We cannot afford the same to happen this time around.

To ensure that their efforts are not in vain, the many new partnerships must go beyond thinking, and move into the doing. The doing will require the mobilization of resources that only donor countries and the private sector are capable of facilitating.

Civil society, think-tanks, and many UN agencies, are upholding their part of the bargain – taking the lead with the many alliances and networks that are beginning to emerge. As these initiatives evolve, it will be up to donors to support their work to take it to the next step.

Image: Children perform during a special event entitled “Student Observance on the occasion of the International Day of Peace (21 September)”. The theme of the event was “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace”.