Bringing the Goals of the United Nations Home to San Francisco

 

Resolution of intention to establish a civic/academic/business/government-backed UN Goals Advisory Committee for the purpose of developing detailed proposals how the goals of the UN may best be implemented and/or supported by the City and County of San Francisco.

 

WHEREAS, The Charter of the UN was signed on June 26, 1945 at the Veterans Building in San Francisco with a preamble calling for an end to the scourge of war, for human rights, for respect for international law and for social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom; and

 

WHEREAS, A coordinated worldwide response at all levels to global problems is clearly needed; and

 

WHEREAS, A civic/academic/business/government coalition of hundreds of organizations and individuals was responsible for the creation of the San Francisco Department of the Environment in 1996 and the adoption of the City’s Sustainability Plan the following year; and

 

WHEREAS, A similar civic/academic/business/government coalition now wants to create a San Francisco UN Goals Advisory Committee; and

 

WHEREAS, On January 24, 1946, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution, which established a commission of the UN Security Council to make specific proposals “for the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction”; and

 

WHEREAS, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights with 30 articles was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948 as a common standard for all peoples and all nations; and

 

WHEREAS, The UN Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons with 190 signatory states and ratified by the United States on March 5, 1970, includes a commitment "to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control"; and

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WHEREAS, The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 and has since been ratified by 189 nations though not by the United States; and

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WHEREAS, The seventeen awesome UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 detailed targets for 2030 were adopted unanimously by 193 nations on September 25, 2015, with 230 measurable indicators subsequently adopted; and

 

WHEREAS, The SDGs are meant to be implemented locally as well as nationally and globally and are already being implemented by Los Angeles and New York City; and

 

WHEREAS, The cities of the world stand for peace and disarmament, unlike many of the nations, particularly the nuclear armed nations; and

 

WHEREAS, Nuclear arms are a serious roadblock to the achievement of the SDGs, both directly for their expense and indirectly as a signal that we live in an us-vs-them world where it would seem foolish for nations to adopt the sense of international trust and cooperation that is needed to achieve the SDGs; and

 

WHEREAS, The goals of the UN are already being supported and implemented by San Francisco in many ways through resolutions, ordinances, Charter amendments, City departments, commissions and committees as well as by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors; and

 

WHEREAS, The Environmental Department and Commission 1997 San Francisco Sustainability Plan already encompasses many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals; and

 

WHEREAS, The Environmental Department and Commission’s Biodiversity Program is in tune with the UN’s Harmony with Nature program; and

 

WHEREAS, The SDG targets and indicators are in need of greater consideration by the City; and

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WHEREAS, The goals of the UN are intertwined and must be addressed as a package as well as individually if they are to be achieved; and

 

WHEREAS, The goals of the UN provide a common framework making it easier for cities that have adopted these goals to cooperate regionally and globally; and

 

WHEREAS, By adopting the original goals of the UN as part of a larger package along with the SDGs, San Francisco can offer an example for the cities of the world that could lead by 2030 to an end to the scourge of war as well as to SDG success; now, therefore, be it

 

RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors urges the City Rules Committee to prepare a new City Ordinance creating a United Nations Goals Advisory Committee for the purpose of developing detailed proposals how the goals of the UN may best be implemented and/or supported by the City and County of San Francisco; and, be it

 

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the UN Goals Advisory Committee will have at least 15 members, each of which will be appointed by an appropriate branch of San Francisco City government to represent one or more UN goals, with the details to be rearranged as needed by the Rules Committee:

• Veterans Affairs Committee: Peace and General Disarmament; and

• Human Rights Committee: Human Rights, SDG 5 Gender Equality, SDG 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions; and

• Mayor’s Office: Overview of the UN Goals, Nuclear Disarmament, SDG 1 No Poverty, SDG 10 Reduced Inequality, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13: Climate Action, SDG 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal; and

• Office of Financial Empowerment: SDG 1 No Poverty; and

• Department of Homeless and Supportive Housing: SDG 1 No Poverty, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; and

• Food Security Task Force: SDG 2 Zero Hunger; and

• Health Commission: SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being; and

• Children, Youth and Families Department: SDG 4 Quality Education; and

• Commission on the Status of Women: SDG 5 Gender Equality; and

• Environment Commission: Overview of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 14 Life Below Water, SDG 15 Life on Land; and

• Public Utilities Commission: SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy; and

• Office of Economic and Work Force Development: SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth; and

• Planning Commission: SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; and

• Office of Resilience and Capital Planning: SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; and

• Committee on Information Technology: Overview of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Development of an SDGs targets and indicators dashboard, Development of a UN Goals Communications system that will be accessible by the public, by city departments and that will be scalable for shared use by cities and nations globally; and, be it

 

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Rules Committee will contact at least these other San Francisco Departments and Commissions to give them an opportunity to have a seat on the UN Goals Advisory Committee: Arts Commission, Municipal Transit Agency, OECE Citizens Advisory Committee, Police Commission, Recreation and Parks Commission, San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco Public Library, Youth Commission; and, be it 

 

FURTHER RESOLVED, That each member of the UN Goals Advisory Committee will appoint a sub-committee of five that will meet separately on its own schedule to develop detailed proposals how the goals of the UN that are within the sub-committee’s purview may best be implemented and/or supported by the City and County of San Francisco; and, be it

 

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the UN Goals Advisory Committee will meet regularly for discussion and possible adoption of three kinds of proposals for forwarding to the Rules Committee: sub-committee proposals, funding proposals, other UN Goals overview proposals; and, be it

 

FURTHER RESOLVED, That in alternation with the UN Goals Advisory Committee meetings, the sub-committees, each having its own table, will meet together in the same room for informal cross-pollination visits.