Roundtable discussions in post-2015 development agenda hearings, 26-27 May 2015, opportunity for feedback on themes

We have received the following email from Susan Alzner, United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS):

Dear Colleagues, 

As part of the preparatory process for the September 2015 UN General Assembly Summit for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, two full days of stakeholder hearings will be conducted on 26-27 May at UN Headquarters. These hearings will be hosted by the President of the General Assembly and the Co-Facilitators of the post-2015 development agenda negotiations, Ambassador David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the UN, and Ambassador Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UN.

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Indicators for sustainable development goals and targets – Update 1

As referred to in the previous posting, the first two days of the next session of the intergovernmental negotiations will focus on indicators for goals and targets. Given the importance of the indicators for monitoring progress in the implementation of the goals and targets, it is important to understand the process of their development. This is therefore the first of a series of updates on the indicators to be posted on the website.

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Inter-governmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, 23 to 27 March session – programme of work now available

The programme of work has now been posted on the Post-2015 Inter-governmental Negotiations website.

The first two days of the meeting will be taken up with open discussions on indicators for goals and targets, after which an interactive dialogue with Major Groups and other Stakeholders will be held, followed by open discussions on the sustainable development goals and targets. During the final afternoon there will be a discussion on the April session on Means of implementation and global partnerships for sustainable development and coordination with the Financing for Development process. 

Youth Leadership Working Group (YLWG) writes to Post-2015 facilitators and others about human rights and needs of children and young people

The Youth Leadership Working Group has written to Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary-General; to Sam Kutesa, the President of the General Assembly; and to David Donoghue and Macharia Kamau, the Co-Facilitators; copied to Ahmad Alhedawi, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth and Amina Mohammed, Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning. 

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Suggestions for text for the Declaration component of the Post-2015 Development Agenda

The following information has been received from the UN-NGLS and DESA DSD on NGO stakeholder suggestions for inspirational and aspirational text / language for the Declaration section of the Post-2015 Development Agenda:

On 19 February 2015, a discussion document for the Declaration section of the Post-2015 Development Agenda was released by the co-facilitators of the post-2015 intergovernmental negotiations, Ambassador David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the UN, and Ambassador Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UN. The document is available here: http://bit.ly/p2015-declaration-discussion-document

It is composed of 15 paragraphs which outline ideas to be included in the Declaration.

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2015 Declaration: Meeting great expectations (maybe)

We are pleased to post the Global Policy Watch article by Barbara Adams and Gretchen Luchsinger on The 2015 Declaration: Meeting great expectations (maybe)

The most recent step in the post-2015 negotiations was the 17-20 February debate in New York on the Declaration, meant to be the framework political statement. Despite strong emphasis on transformation and high aspiration, traditional lines were drawn between (mostly) Northern and Southern positions. 

At the same time, the debate was rich and nuanced, reflecting the increasing diversity of developing country concerns and their willingness to engage substantively on issues that will be critical to transformation. The process continues to suggest there is historic potential for redressing some of the longstanding imbalances driving deep social and economic disparities, and the impending collision with planetary boundaries. The notion that post-2015 is supposed to universally apply to every country and person in the world is unprecedented—never before has there been a development agenda this broad in scope. 

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Post-2015: Conference call with major groups and other stakeholders

On Friday 27 February, representatives of civil society participated in a conference call involving Major Groups and other stakeholders to foster collaboration and cooperation in the process.

During the call, Nikhil Seth, Director of DESA DSD gave a short briefing. He said that the interaction with the Major Groups and other stakeholders during the second session of the intergovernmental negotiations had been the best to date. It was an important opportunity for civil society to reflect on the views of Member States and to “bring substance” to the deliberations.  

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Global Movement for Children of Latin America and Caribbean: Child-friendly version of sustainable development goals and targets

The Global Movement for Children of Latin America and Caribbean (MMI-LAC) has produced a child-friendly version of the 17 sustainable development goals and targets. The publication was referred to in his presentation by Peter van der Vliet of the Mission of the Netherlands to the United Nations during his statement during the recent General Assembly second negotiating session, when he said his 13-year old daughter had used it at school. 

Editor’s note: If the 17 goals and 169 targets can be made comprehensible to a 13-year old , is the argument really valid that there are too many goals and targets?

Summary of key points on procedure for indicators based on Stefan Schweinfest’s briefings during post-2015 intergovernmental negotiating session on Wednesday 18 February and for NGOs on Thursday 19 February

Stefan Schweinfest, the Director of the Statistics Division (UNSD) DESA, gave two briefings in preparation for the session of the Statistical Commission (Stat Com), 3-6 March 2015, during the second negotiating session – the first on Wednesday during the negotiating session and the second on Thursday for the NGOs, in which Francesca Perucci from the UNSD also participated.  

1 Background

The Stat Com is one of the ECOSOC Commissions, along with the Commission on Population and Development and the Commission on the Status of Women. It is serviced by the UNSD and meets annually with the participation of some 140 Chief Statistical Officers,

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Intergovernmental negotiations on post-2015 development agenda, second session / Declaration

At the opening of the first informal meeting of the plenary of the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, on Tuesday, 17 February 2015, Co-Facilitator Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya, said that the “business of the week” was to discuss ways to break with the past by crafting a Declaration that focused on the future.

Co-facilitator David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland, recalled that while the stocktaking session in January had reviewed the entire agenda for the negotiating process, this session would enable more detailed exchanges on the content, tone, and ambition of the Declaration. 

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