Summit 11: Organizational Arrangements for the Plenary and Interactive Dialogues during the Summit for Post-2015 Development Agenda
Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 1:32PM Ambassador Arthur Kafeero, Chef de Cabinet to the President of the General Assembly (PGA), gave a briefing for Member States and Observers on 4 September 2015, on the organizational arrangements for the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. The Chef de Cabinet of the PGA-elect, Mr. Tomas Christensen, and members of his team, were also present, together with the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning, Ms. Amina Mohammed, and other colleagues from the Secretariat. The briefing was to provide an update additional information on arrangements for the plenary and the interactive dialogues during the Summit, to be held from 25-27 September, 2015.
According to Ambassador Kareero, there is high interest in this historic Summit with 160 Heads of State and Government expected to attend.
Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
As far as the outcome document Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is concerned, during the plenary meeting on 1 September, several Members States explained their positions while others made reservations which were put on record. The expectation is that at the time when the Heads of State and Government adopt the new development agenda during the Summit, no reservations or explanation of positions will be made.
Plenary Meetings and list of speakers for the Summit
The Opening plenary is expected to start at 11:00 a.m. on 25 September. Before the opening, there will be a plenary meeting to hear an address by His Holiness Pope Francis, scheduled to take place from 10:00 to around 10:50 a.m.
After the Pope’s departure, Heads of State and Government and leaders of delegations will be requested to remain in their seats for the opening plenary.
Before the commencement of the Summit, a number of inspiring and celebratory signature elements are being considered for the interval. They include:
- A short film focusing on the theme people and planet showcasing scenes of earth from outer space (offered through NASA);
- An integrated musical performance by internationally renowned musicians (Ms. Isabel Shakira and Ms. Angelique Kidjo) who are also UN Goodwill Ambassadors;
- A brief address/call to action by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai on the hope of the world’s youth (from the balcony).
It is expected that youths from across the world will attend the opening ceremony (with Ms. Malala in balcony) for about one hour after which they will depart.
Following the letter you would have received from the PGA, Member States are requested to indicate by 11 September whether their delegations will include a youth representative and their details, including name and age. The office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth will also propose youth representatives to attend.
In accordance with resolution 69/244, the plenary meetings will be co-chaired by the Head of State of the country of the PGA 69th session, H.E. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and the Head of Government of the PGA 70th session, H.E. Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen of Denmark.
The speakers in the opening segment will include:
- Co-chairs
- SG
- Representative from civil society as Keynote speaker (selected through UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) process).
Gavel Moment
Following consultations, the PGA and PGA-elect have decided that the adoption (gavelling) of the outcome document will be done during the opening segment. This moment will be appropriately acknowledged.
The provisional list of speakers for the plenary meetings was issued by the Secretariat (DGACM) and is being updated and statements will be limited to five minutes. Other speakers will include
- Representatives of intergovernmental groupings (will use slots for national statements).
- President of World Bank Group, Managing Director of IMF, Director-General WTO, and heads of UN system may also be included.
- Representatives of organizations with observer status in GA – League of Arab States, African Union, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, World Conference of Speakers of Parliament of the IPU, may also be included without prejudice to others with observer status
- Representatives of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC, civil society organizations, major groups and the private sector, one from each grouping, selected through a transparent and inclusive process during the informal interactive hearings, may also be included in the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the summit, in consultation with the PGA.
The representatives of NGOs, CSOs, Major Groups and the private sector to participate in the plenary – one from each category- were selected through open and transparent processes conducted by UN-NGLS and Global Compact (for the private sector). See Summit 10 (below)
Interactive dialogues during the Summit
Issues Briefs on the themes of the six Interactive Dialogues were prepared by the UN Technical Support Team at the request of the OPGA and have been sent out to Member States and Observers. The briefs provide background information, some options for advancing progress in the thematic areas, and some questions to help focus discussions. They are meant to assist in the preparations of the co-chairs and the high-level participants.
The PGA transmitted the list of co-chairs in his letter of 31 August, in which he also reminded Member States and Observers that the time limit for statements or interventions will be three minutes, in view of the available time and in order to optimize participation of stakeholders.
As communicated by the PGA, each delegation can only speak in one interactive dialogue (but can attend others of interest). We expect that up to 33 Member States, 5 observers and 10 others including UN system, NGOs, CSOs, Major Groups, the private sector and philanthropic organizations will speak in each interactive dialogue (a total of about 50 speakers).
Delegations are reminded that inscriptions for speaking slots in the dialogues are on-going on a first-come first-served basis, and that the lists of participants in each interactive dialogue will be made available prior to the meeting. Member States inscribed and other speakers in each dialogue will take the seats closer to the podium, and alphabetical order will be used for Member States that will be participating.
The PGA, in conjunction with the PGA-elect, intends to meet the Permanent Representatives of the delegations of the co-chairs to brief them and provide some guidelines, including on structure, scenario and speakers list.
Representatives of NGOs, CSOs, Major Groups and the private sector (a total of 4 per dialogue) were selected through the NGLS and Global Compact processes in coordination with DESA.
In accordance with resolution 69/244, summaries of the deliberations of the interactive dialogues will be presented orally by the chairs of the interactive dialogues or their representatives during the concluding plenary of the Summit (on 27 September).
Special Guests
The PGA and PGA-elect are also extending special invitations to some individuals and organizations, including in response to requests received.
List of NGOs not in consultative status with ECOSOC
The PGA transmitted, in his letter of 1 September to Member States and Observers, a list of 210 NGOs not in consultative status States with ECOSOC (prepared by UN-NGLS and the NGO Branch of DESA following a process of online application) for their consideration. In the absence of any objection by 7 September, those NGOs will be accredited.
List of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC
The PGA transmitted, in his letter of 2 September to Member States and Observers, a list of 607 NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC, including those on the roster through the list of the Commission on Sustainable Development, and those that have participated in previous UN conferences and summits, for their information.
Summit