Colombia – The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

III. OBJECTIVES

… the specific objectives that will develop the general objective mentioned above are the following:

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  • Contribute to the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

 

IV. POLICY DEFINITION

Through this Plan, the national Government urges all companies, regardless of their size, sector, location, ownership and structure, to comply with the highest international standards in the respect of human rights, such as the … 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, consistent with Colombian constitutional mandates.

Sustainable Development Goals

With a universal call to end poverty, protect the environment and ensure that all people enjoy peace, the 193 Member States of the United Nations adopted the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. It is composed of 17 goals, the main elements of which are as follows:

  • The people
  • The planet
  • Prosperity
  • Peace Partnerships

In response to the pandemic, the path towards achieving the 2030 agenda has lagged behind. In order to continue to make progress towards achieving the 2030 agenda, a resilient, inclusive and environmentally friendly economy is needed to meet the agenda and to have a more sustainable and equitable world.

Acknowledging the importance of promoting economic development that fundamentally integrates the SDGs, the national government, through Law 1955 of 2019, issued the National Development Plan (NDP) 2019-2022 “Pact for Colombia Pact for Equity” [“Pacto por Colombia Pacto por la Equidad”], establishing the need to develop the country’s productive potential, always under the obligation to respect human rights.

The NDP has three structural pacts among which is the Pact for Entrepreneurship, Formalisation and Productivity: A dynamic, inclusive and sustainable economy. Its objective is to retake the productive potential and support entrepreneurship projects in the country, while respecting the human rights of all people. It also seeks to ensure that companies generate sustainable projects with positive and long-term impacts in their operating contexts.

On the other hand, the Pact for Legality: Effective Security and Transparent Justice seeks to guarantee access to justice for all people in the event of a rights violation. This objective is fundamental in the framework of the National Action Plan (NAP), as it strengthens the Remediation pillar, which will be developed later, but which seeks to strengthen access to justice in business and human rights cases. The national government seeks to strengthen both the judicial system and all non-judicial mechanisms that ensure conflict resolution and guarantee reparations for all victims of human rights violations.

With regard to the Transversal Pacts set out in the NDP, it is important to highlight the Pact for Sustainability: Producing by conserving and conserving by producing, which aims to establish the importance of developing business activities within the framework of respect for the environment and corporate sustainability. This Pact seeks to promote integrated actions between the business sector, the territories, the public sector, including state-owned companies, international actors and civil society to adopt sustainable practices that take into account the climatic aspects and biodiversity of the Colombian territory.

Similarly, it is necessary to mention the evaluation of Colombia in the Third Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review on 10 May 2018, where the United Nations Human Rights Council requested the Colombian State to prioritise actions regarding the fulfilment of SDG 1 “End Poverty”, SDG 5 “Gender Equality”, SDG 8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth” and SDG 16 “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”.

 

VIII. FUNDAMENTAL PILLARS

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ii. Fundamental Pillar 2: The duty of business to respect human rights

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Strand 3 [Eje nº 3]: Train public and private companies on the need to mitigate the consequences of possible human rights impacts due to their operations, products or services provided, with an emphasis on those located in the region

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  • The Presidential Advisory Office for Women’s Equity (CPEM) will implement an advocacy strategy for companies to promote actions to close gender gaps and empower women and girls from the logic of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Shared Value.