The United States has denounced the United Nations' 2030 agenda and sustainable development goals, or SDGs, dampening prospects for their achievement.

US representative Edward Heartney was speaking at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

He said the agenda and SDGs advance a program of "soft global governance" that is "adverse to the rights and interests of Americans."

He also said US President Donald Trump "set a clear and overdue course correction on gender and climate ideology, which pervade the SDGs."

The assembly later adopted by a majority vote a resolution on creating an International Day of Peaceful Coexistence and reaffirming the 2030 agenda, which includes a commitment to the SDGs.

But the US, Israel and Argentina voted against the resolution.

The SDGs include reducing poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality and advancing measures against climate change. The UN aims to achieve the goals by 2030.

US refusal to work on the SDGs would likely make achieving them even more difficult.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told NHK that UN member states "will speak and vote as they wish." He stressed that they decided in 2015 to unanimously adopt the 2030 agenda.

He called the agenda "guiding principles" for UN efforts "to work with member states to advance a world of peace, prosperity and dignity for all."