Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) First day meetings

Opening session 

At the opening of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the senior national and international officials assembled to together forge a framework for a “sustainable world free of poverty”. “Let us put aside what divides us and overcome narrow self-interest in favour of working together for the common well-being of humanity,” he said, at the start of a four-day meeting that brings together 30 Heads of State and Government and their deputies, as well as more than 100 ministers of finance and development, lawmakers, and more than 1,000 representatives of civil society, academia and philanthropic organizations. As Mr Ban asserted, “… without resources, commitments will amount to little more than promises on paper.”...

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Post-2015 development agenda intergovernmental negotiations, 20-31 July, No 4: Programme for first week

We have been informed by the Division for Sustainable Development that the programme is available now for the first week  of the negotiations.

Monday: General Comments & Declaration
Tuesday: Declaration
Wednesday: Goals and Targets
Thursday: Means of Implementation
Friday: Follow-up & Review 

Evening sessions to be scheduled as necessary. 

Post-2015 development agenda intergovernmental negotiations, 22-25 June No 10: follow up and review

The discussion on the follow-up and review in the IGN took place on 24 and 25 June, being introduced by Ambassador David Donoghue, Co-facilitator.  Insofar as a numerous statements were made, setting out the positions of groups and Member States that can be of importance during the negotiations in the July sessions, they are included in some detail below. They may be helpful for advocates that are working on the various aspects of the follow-up and review in seeking knowledge of the arguments put forward on the various issues discussed...

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25-27 September Post-2015 Summit: Apply to speak (deadline 20 July) or serve on the civil society Selection Committee (deadline 17 July)

We have received the following email from NGLS and DESA-DSD

Apply to speak or serve on the civil society Selection Committee for the 25-27 September United Nations Summit for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Application Deadlines: 

• Civil Society Selection Committee: 17 July 2015
• Speaking Roles: 20 July 2015

From 25-27 September 2015 at UN Headquarters in New York, Heads of State and Government will gather along with leaders from civil society and business for the historic UN Summit to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

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Financing for Development (FfD 3) Outcome Document Forwarded to Addis for further consideration

Based on report by IISD:

The Third Drafting Session on the Outcome Document of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD 3) has finally closed, following continuous informal consultations at various levels since the plenary was suspended on 22 June 2015. As Member States have been unable to achieve consensus on the draft of the text to be adopted at FfD 3, which begins on 13 July 2015, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the co-facilitators of the preparatory process convened a closing plenary, at which they proposed that the latest version of the text be considered further at the Conference itself.

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Post-2015 development agenda intergovernmental negotiations, 20-31 July, No 3: All representatives of Major Groups and other Stakeholders must register to attend

We have received the following information from Lotta Tahtinen/NY/UNO

Please note that all representatives of Major Groups and other Stakeholders must register to attend the July IGN session by completing the following form: http://tinyurl.com/JULY-P15-REG  by midnight on Sunday, 12 July.

It is expected that representatives of major groups and other stakeholders may make a few short interventions at the end of each day of the IGN. DESA-DSD and UN NGLS will facilitate collaboration among all registered participants to prepare these interventions, including by organising daily meetings in the morning (8-10am), at lunch time (1-3pm) and the evening (6-8pm)...

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Post-2015 development agenda intergovernmental negotiations, 20-31 July, No 2: Co-facilitators release final draft of the outcome document for the UN Summit on Post-2015

The Co-facilitators have released the final draft of the outcome document for the UN Summit in September 2015 which will adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda. It builds on the feedback from Member States and other stakeholders during our 22 to 25 June negotiation session and contains three annexes. 

Nineteen of the proposed technical revisions to the targets (contained in Annex 1 of the Zero Draft), have been incorporated in the final text, by amending the relevant targets in the listing provided in the attached draft. They have made a slight change to the proposed revision previously circulated, in relation to target 8.7 and the proposed revision to target 14.c remains in Annex 1 for further consideration by member states...

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Post-2015 development agenda intergovernmental negotiations, 20-31 July, No 1: Registration for SETs to attend the Post-2015 July IGN's is now open until 12 July

The following information has been received from DESA - DSD

Dear Colleagues, 

We are pleased to announce the launch of registrations for Special Event Tickets (SETs) to attend the July Post-2015 Intergovernmental Negotiations. 

If you are in possession of an annual UN Grounds Pass (blue badge) you do not need to register for a SET. 

Please sign up by filling out the following google form: http://tinyurl.com/July-IGN-Reg

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Post-2015 development agenda intergovernmental negotiations, 22-25 June No 9: 6th meeting with Major Groups and other Stakeholders – possibilities for civil society participation going forward

Ambassador Macharia Kamau, Co-facilitator, in opening the meeting with Major Groups and other Stakeholders, noted that the intergovernmental negotiations (IGN) are constrained by time and space and there is little opportunity in the declaration to express the multitude of views and perspectives. Some people say that their issues have not been taken up and the response of the Co-facilitators is that organizations need a constituency of Member States around the issue concerned, as it is they who are leading the process. Crosscutting issues in the declaration are important. They want to hear from civil society on the goals, which will not be reopened. There is also not much appetite for reopening the targets, although the room is split.  On means of implementation the expectation is that organizations have been able to get their views integrated into FFD as well. They would like to hear from civil society on follow-up and review, as sometimes they over-invest in what the issues of concern are, and fail to invest in the long-term work of implementation.  This is just the beginning. Organizations should pace themselves as how to invest in this process over the next 15 years...

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Post-2015 development agenda intergovernmental negotiations, 22-25 June No 8: 4th and 5th meetings on goals and targets

On the afternoon of Tuesday 23 June, following the conclusion of the discussion on the preamble and declaration, the intergovernmental negotiations moved on to the goals and targets, although some delegations had already referred to them. The main areas for discussion included: suggestions in the Annex from the Co-facilitators for the ‘tweaking’ of 21 targets, vis-à-vis the ‘Xs’ and the targets that do not meet internationally agreed standards; chapeau and reservations; and indicators and work of the inter-agency and expert group (IAEG) of the UN Statistical Commission...

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