According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Lao UXO Unit, the nationalisation processes – through SDG 18 – helped Lao PDR to link the UXO sector with the country’s development sector. 44 The UNDP, particularly through its ongoing project, 45 has been providing technical support to the UXO sector national institutions to ensure the attainment of SDG 18 while contributing to other SDGs, in particular, SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, and 11. 46 In addition, the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) emphasised that “without achievement of the SDG 18, the attainment of other SDGs is jeopardised”. For instance, UXO contaminated land prevents residents from using the land for economic development (SDG 8), food consumption (SDG 2), building schools (SDG 4) or roads and other infrastructure (SDG 9), in addition to presenting safety and security risks due to UXO explosions (SDG 11). All these factors, in turn, affect the attainment of SDG 1 by contributing to poverty in Laos. 47 Therefore, Lao PDR firmly recognises that UXO is a cross-cutting issue. Considerations of a similar approach, although still at an initial stage, were also observed in BiH. The VNR of BiH mentions the intention to create a national SDG 18 titled ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina mine free by 2030’ with a view to better aligning demining with the development agenda. 48 This initiative was also identified in the draft version of the SDG framework in BiH. The document is still under discussion and it aims to define key priority areas and targets for the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs. The draft version of the document foresees inclusion of an additional 18th SDG with three targets addressing landmines and cluster munitions. In addition to referring to an additional national SDG on mines, the document includes demining as one of the drivers under the smart growth pathway. 49 , 50
SDG INSTITUTIONAL AND COORDINATION MECHANISMS
Another significant way of ensuring mine action’s integration into the national development processes is the inclusion of mine action stakeholders in the existing SDG institutional and coordination mechanisms. Since the SDGs are interlinked and require various national institutions working together, there is consensus on the fact that no institution alone can address all the challenges related to development. This notion is the pillar behind the importance of cross-cutting institutional and coordination mechanisms to ensure efficiency and consistency for planning, implementing and monitoring the 2030 Agenda. Such mechanisms present an entry point for the mine action sector to increase its participation and contributions to national decision-making processes, and to anchor their role in the development processes. In turn, policy coherence with inter-agency coordination can help to break the traditional approach of working in silos and generate cross-sectoral synergies. The type of national institutional approach needed will ultimately depend on each national context. Experience shows that there are different approaches that a country can take; for instance, adapting previous mechanisms of the MDG era to the SDG era (e.g. National Councils for Sustainable Development) or establishing new mechanisms and structures like interministerial commissions. 51
The case study countries have adopted different institutional mechanisms to ensure coordination and smooth implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
BiH has primarily focused on establishing different working groups to ensure coordination in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. A prime example is the Intergovernmental SDG Working Group of BiH composed of 11 stakeholders, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations in BiH as co-chairs. The working group is still proactively meeting and currently working on finalising the SDG framework in BiH. 52 Other working groups in BiH are the Private Sector Working Group, aimed at fostering cooperation with the private sector, and the SDG Rollout Working Group which is in charge of planning for SDG implementation; the latter has three subgroups, responsible for crafting the VNR, for SDG Indicators, and for drafting an SDG framework in BiH, respectively. 53 However, the BHMAC has not been represented in these working groups. 54
Part 1 – Is mine action integrated in national socio-economic development frameworks? 19
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