SDGS priority action plans for the next 15 years must be made."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) discussed sustainable development goals (SDGS) with a number of social civil organizations at the Merdeka State Palace on Thursday.

Organizations that attended the meeting included the NGO Forum Indonesia on Development (Infid), the Environment Forum (Walhi), the Coalition of Indonesian Women, "Perkumpulan Prakarsa" and the Alliance of Indonesian Journalists (AJI).

Infid Executive Director Sugeng Bahagijo, said he had conveyed urgent matters that need to be addressed immediately to make SDGS successful.

"There must be a legal basis. An organizing committee must be formed. SDGS priority action plans for the next 15 years must be made," he stated.

He further said that every country that has signed the agreement must submit a report on what it has been done so far.

Walhi Executive Director Albert Nego Tarigan said there are a lot of problems right now, such as the impact of reclamation, forest and land fires.

"Based on past experiences, the government has only ratified agreements, but they are not in line with its medium-term development plan," he stated.

The Secretary General of the Coalition of Indonesian Women, Dian Kartikasari, said 104 issues in the SDGS are related with gender equality.

"They are also related to child marriages that must be stopped by the state," she added.

The Executive Director of Perkumpulan Prakarsa, AH Maftuchan, said Indonesia needs to boost social spending to overcome social problems.

"Basic infrastructure must be paid attention to, including bridges, schools, health centers and their supporting facilities," he noted.

The Chairman of the Women and Marginal Group Affairs of the Alliance of Indonesian Journalists, Yekti Hesti Murti, said based on the organizations records, there are 39 cases related to the journalistic profession in 2015 that need to be given attention.

"In the early stages, the reform movement was very good, but right now in 138 out of 180 countries, there are eight cases of murders of journalists that have not yet been tackled well," he said.

SDGS are programs that target future global development, which will replace the Millennium Development Goals program with the same intention and goals that will expire at the end of this year.

SDGS were also discussed formally at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio De Janeiro on June 2012 (Rio+20).

Proposals related to SDGS include 17 goals, with 169 targets covering sustainable development issues, such as poverty and hunger eradication, improvement of health and education, sustainable city empowerment, fight against climate change and sea and maritime protection.

(Reporting by Agus Salim/Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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