As reported by IISD, on 4 November 2015 the UN General Assembly Second Committee discussed partnerships in the post-2015 era, particularly the engagement of the private sector in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Delegates particularly emphasized the need for effective monitoring mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability, as well as a strong agreement at the Paris Climate Change Conference.
The report of the UN Secretary-General on 'Enhanced cooperation between the UN and all relevant partners, in particular the private sector,' was introduced by Lise Kingo, Executive Director, UN Global Compact. She said it shows that the UN should pursue stronger disclosure of partnership activity for better monitoring of results. It should also promote initiatives to mobilize the private sector to report more systematically on non-financial issues. The report moreover, encourages UN entities to scale up their investments in system-wide collaboration, build capacity, strengthen coherence, disseminate partnership best practices, and make effective use of existing platforms, such as UN System Private Sector Focal Points Network.
Many countries commended the integration and engagement of the private sector in partnerships for sustainable development, promoted by both the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (the AAAA) and the 2030 Agenda. Many also stressed the need for transparency and accountability; multilaterally agreed guidelines on how the UN should engage the private sector; due diligence procedures; and a more standardized form of reporting for such initiatives, with disclosure of partners, funding levels, commitments, and expected outputs and performance.
During the discussions the EU presented a draft resolution titled 'Towards global partnerships: a principle-based approach to enhanced cooperation between the UN and all relevant partners.'
For further information see: http://sd.iisd.org/news/governments-debate-private-sector-involvement-in-2030-agenda/