Next steps on Indicators, based on briefing for NGOs by Stephan Schweinfest, Director of UN Statistics Division

On Monday 20 April  Stephan Schweinfest, Director of the UN Statistics Division (UNSD), accompanied by Francesca Perucci gave a briefing for NGOs.

First Francesca Perucci spoke on the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to the sustainable development goals (SDG) indicators, including the work of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group (IAEG).

Recapping on the outcome of the political negotiations in March on the approval of the Statistical Commission roadmap, it should be noted that the Statistical Commission is in charge of the process. It is therefore a technical, not a political process. They also require more time than originally thought and are aiming at a draft by Dec 2015. 

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Statements on gender equality in Second drafting session for the Addis Conference on FfD and the ECOSOC high-level meeting on sustainable development

As stated previously (See: Second drafting session for the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) – day 5) a cross-regional statement was made by Switzerland on behalf of over 30 countries, highlighting the importance of integrating gender equality and women’s empowerment strongly in every section of the FfD3 outcome.

In addition, a statement, including a strong reference to gender equality, was made by Sweden in the ECOSOC high-level meeting on sustainable development.

Training workshop on the participation of civil society in intergovernmental processes related to sustainable development and the agenda for after 2015

On May 4, 2015, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (DESA) Division for Sustainable Development (DSD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will hold a capacity building workshop on the participation of civil society in intergovernmental processes related to sustainable development and the post 2015 agenda. The workshop will be held in ECLAC headquarters in Santiago (Chile).

Participants in the workshop will also have the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge acquired during the workshop at the first meeting of the Negotiating Committee for Principle 10. Civil society is invited to participate in both events.

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Summary of the second drafting session of the outcome document of the Third International Conference On FfD

iisd Reporting Services' summary of the second drafting session of the outcome document of the Third International Conference On Financing For Development is now available to download. 

Registration / application for special accreditation REQUIRED to attend for the 26-27 May post-2015 hearings — deadline 12 May

Please be informed that registration IS NOW OPEN for the informal interactive hearings of the General Assembly with non-governmental organizations, 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.

1) Organizations with any of the following accreditation need to simply register, by clicking here:...

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Post-2015 joint FfD and post-2015 session, 21-24 April – No 1

Summary of Background Note on Technology Facilitation Mechanism 

The background note on Possible arrangements for a technology facilitation mechanism and other science, technology and innovation issues has been posted on the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, together with the Summary of the General Assembly Structured Dialogues on Possible arrangements for a facilitation mechanism to promote the development, transfer and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound technologies in preparation for the discussions on the Technology facilitation mechanism that will take place on Wednesday.

The importance of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for sustainable development was first emphasized in Agenda 21 adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992. The Rio+20 outcome document The Future We Want, in the section on Means of Implementation, (para 273) calls for “assessing the technology needs of developing countries, options to address those needs and capacity building.”

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Post-2015 joint FfD and post-2015 session, 21-24 April: general logistical information

The following email has been received from Lotta Tahtinen, Major Groups Programme Coordinator, Division for Sustainable Development, DESA

Dear All, 

The April joint session of the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda and the Financing for Development process will be held from 21-24 April in the Conference Room 1 at UN Headquarters in NYC. The programme of work and list of side events and other relevant documentation can be accessed at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/moiandglobalpartnership.

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Second drafting session for the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) – day 5

(Based on report from IISD) 

Ambassadors Macharia Kamau of Kenya and David Donoghue of Ireland, Co-Facilitators of the post-2015 process, addressed the drafting session on Friday morning.

Ambassador Kamau stressed the expectation that FfD3 will link directly to the post-2015 agenda by addressing the Means of Implementation (MOI) for the SDGs. While emphasizing FfD3 will not be a pledging conference, he noted a high expectation that commitments would be made to implement the post-2015 agenda over the next 15 years. Ambassador Donoghue said that the joint session between the FfD3 and post-2015 processes was scheduled to include coherence between the two processes, as well as a briefing on options for a technology facilitation mechanism and an interactive dialogue with multistakeholders...

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Second drafting session for the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) – days 3 & 4

(based on reports by IIED)

Sections of the zero draft on international public finance; international trade for sustainable development; and debt and debt sustainability were considered on Wednesday 15 April.

Overseas development assistance (ODA)

Developing countries urged retaining the Monterrey Consensus section title of “Increasing international financial and technical cooperation for development” on international public finance, instead of “International public finance”, as it indicated the need to scale up finance. They called for scaling up official development assistance (ODA) to 1% of Gross National Income. Others opposed specific targets and timetables, focusing on ODA quality. The EU and others called on all countries to contribute to international public finance commensurate with their respective capabilities, in a transparent manner...

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Second drafting session for the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) – day 2

The logo and website for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) were launched by UN Under-Secretary-General (USG) Wu Hongbo, USG Cristina Gallach, and Ambassador Tekeda Alemu, Permanent Representative of Ethiopia at the beginning of the second day of the drafting session. 

As reported by IISD, Member States then discussed the modalities for the drafting session. Several developing countries stated their preference to begin a negotiation, paragraph-by-paragraph, with text projected on the screen. They also opposed the development of another revised draft by the Co-Facilitators. Developed countries, however, said that a detailed negotiation on the text was not feasible at this session, and supported a revised text from the Co-Facilitators. The session was suspended until a compromise could be reached, whereby delegates agreed to project the draft text on a screen to facilitate the discussion...

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