At the outset, allow me to warmly congratulate you on your election as the Chairperson of the Second Committee. I would also like to congratulate the other members of the Bureau, and assure our whole-hearted support for the fulfillment of your important responsibilities.

Over the next year, we will work to set the international development agenda for the next fifteen years. We have learned valuable lessons from our experience with the MDGs. We have come to understand that there is neither a simple nor singular solution to the vast and complex challenges we face. Our problems are not one-size fits all, so nor should be our solutions.

In order to achieve our development vision of an inclusive future we must address a multitude of factors. The interlinkages of issues and the need for holistic strategies were made powerfully clear in the discussions on the SDGs. Our experience in the Open Working Group highlighted the need for our goals to fully reflect the causal relationship between issues, and the need for them to be designed to catalyze actions that will exert the greatest positive, mutually reinforcing impacts.

Our world is very different today than it was 14 years ago.  While many of the principles outlined in the Millennium Declaration remain r​elevant, we have seen profound transformations in our global context. New economic powers have emerged, new technologies are completely changing the way we live, and new demographic patterns affect the structure of our societies.. The private sector, philanthropic foundations, and civil society are increasingly woven into global affairs.

We must address these new complexities, which present both challenges and opportunities, to achieve a new development agenda with the potential to catalyze real action on development priorities.

Mr. Chairman,

Israel sees poverty eradication as an essential starting point for the Post-2015 agenda. We have before us a true opportunity to make a decisive push against poverty and its worse depravations. Our conviction to eradicate poverty must be rooted in a basic commitment to universal human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Israel considers gender equality and women's empowerment to be inseparably linked to promoting and protecting the human rights of all women, including their right to have control over and decide freely on matters related to their sexuality. Women still die every day due to preventable childbirth and pregnancy-related problems—and this is unacceptable. Empowering women to control their own reproductive decisions, including determining the number, timing and spacing of their children is essential to reducing maternal and child mortality and enables women to participate fully in their families, professions and communities. Special focus must be given to the specific needs of rural women. Despite overall declines in maternal mortality, women in rural areas are still up to three times more likely to die while giving birth than women living in urban centers.

We must also find ways to harness the talent and energy of young people. There are now more than 3 billion people under the age of 30; eighty-seven percent of them live in the developing world.  In many places, the numbers continue to grow. Their involvement in the decision-making and implementation processes is critical because it affects their lives today and has implications for their futures. Each nation should seek to empower young people and encourage them to have their voices heard. 

Global citizens are more connected than ever before, and in addition to listening to their voices, we must take advantage of the data revolution, which offers us an opportunity to devise new approaches to development problems. Digital data helps us better understand changes in human well-being, and get real-time feedback on how well policy responses are working.

Mr. Chairman,

Israel strongly believes that promoting entrepreneurship is a primary pathway to break the cycle of poverty, empower women and youth, and achieve economic growth and sustainable development.

Entrepreneurship has a ripple effect. Business leaders build teams and instill confidence in their peers. They empower others to pursue their dreams. We must intensify our efforts to create a platform for the visionaries, the dreamers and the risk-takers around the world. For every person that we do not empower, for every person that we do not believe in, we may be losing a great thinker, activist or scientist. Harnessing talents and creating opportunities will be crucial to boost our global agenda forward.

Mr. Chairman,

As we look towards 2015 and beyond, we must recognize that the only way to deliver lasting progress for everyone is by working together. We look forward to formulating an agenda that is easy to understand, easy to communicate, and actionable. We will need to be able to translate our political commitments into every day realities, and we expect the SG's synthesis report to support us in our deliberations as we take on issues of implementation and accountability.

We are beginning what will surely be a very intense year, with many different and interrelated processes competing for our attention. For this reason, we believe it is important that delegations respect the deadlines set by the Secretariat and keep substantive updates to resolutions to a minimum. 

Israel looks forward to working with all our colleagues during this session.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.