"Everything is settled"

DW: Ambassador: Is everything settled already or are there areas left for negotiation?

Ambassador Donoghue: Well, the simple answer is that everything is settled. The General Assembly (GA) met on August 2, to formally transfer the document we agreed to the next session of the GA. That was another opportunity for countries to indicate any reservations they might have about the agreement, but most of the comments made were very positive. Some countries entered reservations about particular aspects, but the actual text of the agreement will not change.

What were the most difficult issues to agree upon?

It varied a bit in the course of the negotiations but overall I think one of the most sensitive and difficult issues was the question of whether the draft goals and targets, as they appeared in the report of the Open Working Group (OWG) process, could be altered. A second one was the issue of how to communicate the new agenda. We got through that but it was a bit difficult for a while.

The third one was how the Addis Ababa outcome should be reflected and this was a sensitive matter because although the Addis Ababa conference on finances for development reached a good agreement in mid-July, it would be fair to say that the G7 was not entirely happy with some aspects of that agreement. At the end of the day we found a good compromise.

Would you say there were issues that were particularly difficult for industrial countries and other issues that were especially difficult for developing countries to agree upon?

There are different perspectives on economic growth, for example, and on how growth is to be achieved and on the balance to be struck between achieving growth and protecting the planet.

But a general point to make is that this is a voluntary framework. It is politically binding or morally binding but it is not, of course, legally binding. So although there might have been sharp differences over climate change or whatever during the OWG phase, ultimately countries had the comfort of knowing it is not a legally binding framework, but is a set aspirations, if you like. And so they were finally able to reach common language.

Your job as co-facilitator in the SDG process is almost over, did you ever regret taking on the job?

No, I didn’t really. I mean there were times when there were obstacles in the negotiations which had to be resolved somehow and when it was frustrating, but overall I have to say that I was impressed by how positive the mood was from the very beginning. This actually came as a pleasant surprise.

I think there is tremendous political will on the part of the member states to actually show that they are taking this new framework seriously and that they will implement it to the greatest extent possible.

And I have to say I was also very glad that it was possible for us to maintain an NGO-presence in the room right up to the end. I know I am excessively positive here, but the answer to the question is that I never regretted it. There were occasions and moments of frustration as with any negotiations, but on the whole I knew we would reach a successful conclusion. It was only a question of when.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Ambassador David Donoghue is Ireland's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Together with Kenya's UN-Ambassador, Macharia Kamau, he was co-facilitator during the final negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals.