While lauding the progress that the world has made since the Millenium Development Goals were launched in 2000, Amnesty International’s Salil Shetty cautioned against letting complacency get in the way of development. He stressed on the need to go beyond rhetoric, and actively promote well-being, especially so for the most marginalised. He suggested four tests to measure the success of the SDGs – Ownership test to esnure the marginalised are primary decision makers at every stage; accountability test to ensure governments hold up the right to information and independent mechanisms of seeking answers; Non-discrimination test to protect rights of the marginalised and means to challenge power structures; and coherence test to ensure consistency in the pledge for sustainable development and international and national policies being followed by countries. A commitment was needed from leaders around the world, and only then would the world be able to raise itself from the current crises of poverty, hunger, terrorism, injustice among others.
