Friday
May082015

Financing for Development FfD3: Additional Consultations on zero draft of outcome document begin 11-15 May. Latest draft now available.

The latest draft of the outcome document for the third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3), the Addis Ababa Accord, has been released by Co-facilitators Geir Pedersen of Norway and George Talbot of Guyana, together with the dates for the additional sessions: 11-15 May and 26-29 May 2015, as well as 1-5 June if needed. 

The revised draft is based on views and comments on the zero draft during the Second Drafting Session (April 13-17), the joint session on means of implementation  with the post-2015 development agenda process and written inputs comments received.

Click to read more ...

Thursday
May072015

Post-2015: revised proposal for the themes of the six interactive dialogues to be held during the post-2015 Summit

An informal-informal consultation will be convened , tomorrow, Friday 8 May from 3.00 - 4.30pm in Conference Room 8, at expert level to discuss the revised proposal for the themes of the six interactive dialogues to be held during the post-2015 Summit (25-27 September), as included in a letter from the co-facilitators. The consultation, it is hoped, will facilitate a consensus decision at the next session of  intergovernmental negotiations on the Post-2015 development agenda (18-22 May).

Proposal for themes of the interactive dialogues for the Summit:

As per Decision 69/555 on the modalities for the process of intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, the overarching theme for the dialogues will be...

Click to read more ...

Thursday
May072015

Post-2015 development agenda session on follow-up and review, 18-22 May – No 2: Report on workshop on building an effective review mechanism for post-2015 development agenda

As reported by IISD, a workshop on building an effective review mechanism for the post-2015 development agenda was held in New York, US, on 30 April 2015, convened by the Permanent Missions of Egypt, Liechtenstein, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, the Republic of Korea and Switzerland to the UN, in cooperation with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). 

Moderated by Mark Halle, Executive Director of IISD-Europe, the workshop provided the opportunity to discuss options for the architecture for review and follow-up of the post-2015 development agenda, particularly the sustainable development goals (SDGs),...

Click to read more ...

Wednesday
May062015

Where we are with the inter-governmental negotiations at the beginning of May 2015 

Following the joint FfD3 and post-2015 session, now is probably a good time to reflect on the inter-governmental negotiations (IGN) so far and some of the key issues will need to be resolved when the negotiations proper take place in June and July.  

First three IGN sessions

The Stock-take session in January, followed by the IGN on the Declaration in February; the March session on goals, targets and indicators; and the joint session in April have raised a number of issues that are crucially important for the success of the post-2015 development agenda. Arising out of the discussions in February, it is unclear what sort of document the Declaration will be...

Click to read more ...

Monday
May042015

Nominate civil society speakers for the United Nations Secretary-General's Second Annual Sustainable Energy for All Forum: 18-21 May 2015 

We have received the following from UN-NGLS:

At the request of the United Nations Executive Office of the Secretary-General, UN-NGLS is facilitating a nomination process to identify two civil society speakers for the UN Secretary-General's Second Annual Sustainable Energy for All Forum. The event will take place on 18-21 May 2015 at UN Headquarters in New York. This nomination process seeks candidates for one civil society speaking role in each of two High-level Panel Discussions: 

20 May - Strengthening Global Cooperation on Energy > From Sustainable Development Goals to COP21 and beyond

21 May - Special Panel: Monitoring, Tracking And Accountability...

Click to read more ...

Friday
May012015

Post-2015 development agenda session on follow-up and review, 18-22 May – No 1: regional and other opportunities for engagement

As we move towards the next session of the intergovernmental negotiations on follow-up and review, which will be the final one before the ‘negotiations proper’ take place in June and July, it is important to highlight related regional meetings scheduled for the next two months. These are all included on the calendar of events that we are regularly updating on the website.

Click to read more ...

Friday
May012015

Financing for Development (FfD3): Additional negotiating sessions

There will be additional inter-sessional negotiating sessions for the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) which will consider the next draft of the Addis Ababa Accord, to be made available shortly, on 11-15 May; 26-29 May; and 1-5 June. (Further information will be posted on the website as it becomes available.)

Thursday
Apr302015

Hearings of the General Assembly with NGOs, civil society organizations, major groups and the private sector in preparation for the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, 26-27 May 2015 

Please see the message below from the DESA NGO Branch. Registration is required to attend the 26-27 May post-2015 hearings.

The deadline for completing the questionnaire for non-accredited organizations is extended to 5:00 p.m. EST on 06 May 2015. Please click here to fill out the questionnaire.

Once you have completed the questionnaire you can  register click here.

As a reminder, all organizations in the three categories below are encouraged to register by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. EST on 12 May 2015 by clicking here. (They do not need to fill out the

Click to read more ...

Wednesday
Apr292015

Post-2015 joint FfD and post-2015 session, 21-24 April — No 6: Technology facilitation mechanism and other science, technology and innovation issues

The agenda item on the technology facilitation mechanism (TFM) and other science, technology and innovation issues was introduced by the Co-Chairs of the UN General Assembly structured dialogues on possible arrangements for a technology facilitation mechanism (TFM), Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota of Brazil and Ambassador Paul Seger of Switzerland. (For background see Post-2015 joint FfD and post-2015 session, 21-24 April – No 2: Opening statements) 

Ambassador Patriota outlined the process to date, saying that the structured dialogues were intended to pursue focused deliberations on the TFM to find areas of convergence and possible deliverables that have the broad consensus of Member States. Agreement is possible and would be beneficial. The recommendations of the dialogues include the establishment of an online platform that maps existing TFMs, initiatives and processes; the analysis of technology needs and gaps in addressing them; and ensure UN system coordination and coherence on the issue. He welcomed the engagement of the UN system with the dialogues’ recommendations through the establishment of an Interagency Working Group...

Click to read more ...

Tuesday
Apr282015

Apply to speak or serve on the civil society Selection Committee for the President of the UN General Assembly's 29 June 2015 High-level Event on Climate Change

On 29 June 2015, the President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA), H.E. Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa, will host a High-level Event on Climate Change at UN Headquarters in New York to highlight the world's leading initiatives on tackling this global challenge. Government, private sector, and civil society leaders will show that momentum is building toward an ambitious global agreement at the climate change negotiations in December 2015 in Paris.  

At the request of the Office of the President of the General Assembly, UN-NGLS is leading a process to find three speakers from civil society for the 29 June High-level Event. We invite you to share your story of successful local climate action to help inspire the world to achieve a more sustainable path, enabling economic opportunity, equality, and a healthy environment for all. 

Click to read more ...