These activists say the UN’s ‘Leave No One Behind’ pledge promotes colonialism — here’s why
Why It Matters
While the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are seen as a guiding framework for civil society, businesses, and governments alike, the rigidity around the goals may pose a barrier to helping those most in need of equity, experts say. There’s a great need to engage in critical analysis of global frameworks to seek existing gaps.
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Stitched into the fabric of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the promise, and a pledge to ‘Leave No One Behind’ (LNOB) — to ensure that everyone everywhere benefits from the transformations the SDGs call for.
But some global development professionals have criticized the language of the pledge, arguing it’s problematic that the pledge assumes some people are ahead of others. They say it assumes groups who are ‘ahead,’ socioeconomically speaking, can and should lead those ‘behind them.’ But who defines who’s ahead and who’s behind? Are those who are ‘ahead’ in the best position to build equitable societies?
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