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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Meeting with Financing for Development co-facilitators: Friday, 17 April 9:00-9:45am Conference Room A at UNHQ

We have received the following from UN-NGLS:

Dear Colleagues, 

On Friday, 17 April from 9:00-9:45am, the co-facilitators of the process for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3), Ambassadors Geir O. Pederson of Norway and Ambassador George Talbot of Guyana, will meet with stakeholders in Conference Room A at UN Headquarters. Susan Alzner of UN-NGLS and Daniel Platz of DESA FFDO will facilitate this dialogue in the context of the 13-17 April drafting session for the outcome document of the FfD3 Conference...

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Second drafting session for the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) begins

The second drafting session for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) began in New York on Monday 13 April 2015. The main agenda item was to begin to negotiate the zero draft of the Addis Ababa Accord (See also: Zero draft for Financing for Development Addis Ababa conference).   

Ambassador George Talbot, Permanent Representative of Guyana and Co-facilitator, in his opening presentation stressed that this was a critical stage in the process and that negotiations were about to begin in earnest on the zero draft. 

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Post-2015: Stakeholder views on indicators - deadline 26 April

As you are aware, on 19 March 2015, a technical report was released by the Bureau of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) on the process of the development of an indicator framework for the goals and targets of the post-2015 development agenda. This report was discussed during the March inter-governmental negotiating session of the post-2015 development agenda. 

DESA-DSD and UN-NGLS invite non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and organizations participating in the Major Groups to contribute their views and assessment of the draft indicators by completing the online google form at: http://bit.ly/onlinegoogleform

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18-22 May negotiating session for the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Nominate speakers for interactive dialogue with Major Groups and other Stakeholders

We have received the following information from UN-NGLS:

The UN DESA Division for Sustainable Development (DESA-DSD) Major Groups Programme and UN-NGLS are facilitating stakeholder Steering Committees to ensure broad and inclusive participation of stakeholders in the negotiating sessions on the post-2015 development agenda at UN Headquarters in New York. DESA-DSD and UN-NGLS are also conducting open and transparent nomination processes for these Committees to select speakers for the post-2015 negotiating sessions, in accordance with the modalities that are defined for the negotiations...

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Draft Programme for Joint Session between Post-2015 processes and FfD processes now available

The Co-facilitators for both the intergovernmental negotiations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, Ambassadors David Donoghue of Ireland and Macharia Kamau of Kenya, and the preparatory process for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), Ambassadors George Talbot of Guyana and Geir O Pederson of Norway, have made available the draft programme for the joint session to be held in New York next week. 

The meeting will open on 21 April with a discussion of issues from the FfD negotiating session, followed by a discussion with the International Financial Institutions...

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Financing for Development Hearings (FfD) with Civil Society and Business Sector

As part of the preparatory process for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD 3), hearings with civil society and the business sector, hosted by the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly, with support from the Financing for Development Office (FFDO) and the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) were held on 8 April for the business sector and on 9 April for civil society.  The concept notes are now available.

Claudio Guedes Fernandes, shared ideas on innovative finance on behalf of Gestos and the Brazilian Association of NGOs (ABONG), as the national hub of the campaign Beyond 2015.