Discover the new Sustainable Development Goal

Established by the UN system in 2015, the 2030 Agenda brings 17 Sustainable Development Goals to lead the signatory nations towards a joint development proposal that considers, in its conception, attention to people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships. 

The Brazilian government played a leading role both in proposing the SDGs (and in the previous Agenda, the MDGs) and in implementing the 2030 Agenda. In December 2023, the National Commission for the SDGs was set up (Decree 11.704/2023), with equal membership - 84 members, half of whom are government representatives and half from civil society.

With the reinstatement of the CNODS, the Thematic Group for SDG 18 was created (Resolution 2/2023) to continue discussions on SDG 18 and present a Work Plan.

An SDG for ethnic-racial equality

The UN's broadest and most ambitious collective action for development - the 2030 Agenda - could turn out to be its biggest failure. We're halfway through the implementation period and still far from achieving the goals set. Most of the sustainable development goals are moving at a slow pace. In the seven years we have left, reducing inequalities within and between countries should become the overarching goal of the 2030 Agenda. In Brazil, we are committed to implementing all 17 sustainable development goals in an integrated and indivisible way. We want to achieve racial equality in Brazilian society through an eighteenth goal that we will adopt voluntarily.

In fact, the discussion about racial equality in the 2030 Agenda, or lack thereof, has been undertaken on several occasions. An article by Fiocruz researchers pointed to the opportunity to create an SDG for Racial Equality and the path of the issue within the Sustainable Development Agenda. The 2030 Agenda Implementation Guide initiative proposed the inclusion of new SDGs, including one on racial equality.

The creation of a new SDG, albeit on a voluntary basis and restricted to a particular government, was not an unprecedented initiative. In India, SDG 18 was created on local empowerment and rural development, and in Costa Rica, SDG 18 on people's happiness and well-being (Martins and Souza, 2023).

In the Brazilian government, institutions such as the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development, the Ministry of Racial Equality, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the Institute of Applied Economic Research, the Oswaldo Curz Foundation, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, among others, began designing a proposal to build an SDG 18 in 2023.

Thematic Group - SDG 18

With the creation of the Thematic Group for SDG 18 within the CNODS, and following the presidential announcement, negotiations for the implementation of an SDG focused on ethnic-racial equality took to another level. Under the coordination of the Ministry of Racial Equality, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and the CNODS Executive Secretariat, CT-ODS 18 was joined by CNODS members, including government and civil society representatives.

How to Participate in the Thematic Chamber's Work

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) interested in participating in the work of the ODS 18 Thematic Chamber should send an email to edvaldo.batista@igualdaderacial.gov.br or cleide.cruz@igualdaderacial.gov.br expressing their interest in joining the Chamber. Your contribution is essential for advancing initiatives towards ethnic-racial equality.