Title_ Localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Civil Society Organizations’ (CSOs) Strategies and Challenges in Malaysia

Author_ Ying Hooi Khoo and Lii Inn Tan

Pages 149-158

Abstract_ The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the accompanying 169 targets and 230 indicators cover a wide range of complex political, social and economic challenges. Address- ing these goals will require transformations in how societies and economies operate and how we interact with our planet. Human rights are not explicitly mentioned in the SDGs, but its mantra of “leave no one behind” mirrors key human rights principles. The SDGs are significant in two ways. First, they acknowledge rights in a way that the predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had neglected. Second, the SDGs mark a turning point in approach, from a focus on a right to development to a human rights-based approach (HRBA). Recognising the instrumental role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the implementation of the SDGs, this article analyses strategies and challenges of Malaysian CSOs in making the SDGs work through a localization approach. Following an overview of the current SDG and human rights discourses in Malaysia, this article describes the SDG-related activities of CSOs. The attributes of CSOs that increase their potential effectiveness are also discussed.

Keywords_ Humanrights, CSOs, Localization, Rights-based approach, SDGs, Malaysia