Summary of the 9th Session of the UN General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, 3-5 March 2014 No 1

The ninth session of the UN General Assembly Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) took place from 3-5 March 2014, at UN Headquarters in New York. Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya, and Csaba Kőrösi, Permanent Representative of Hungary, continued in their roles as Co-Chairs of the meeting, which brought together OWG members, other Member States, representatives from UN agencies, and Major Groups.

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General Assembly High Level event on the role of Women, Young People and Civil Society

DAY 2

The second morning of the President of the General Assembly’s Setting the Stage initiative, on the role of Women, Young People and Civil Society began with a panel discussion on “Closing the inequality gap: efforts for addressing inequalities and meeting new and emerging global challenges for the eradication of poverty through meaningful contributions of women, the young and civil society in the post-2015 development agenda.”

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General Assembly High Level event on the role of Women, Young People and Civil Society

DAY 1

The General Assembly High Level event, the second in the President of the General Assembly’s Setting the Stage initiative, on the role of Women, Young People and Civil Society was held on 6 and 7 March 2014.  

The programme on the first day comprised an opening session, followed by the general debate with contributions from regional and other groupings and Member States.

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Updated timeline for post-2015 development agenda

We are pleased to be able to share with you the timeline that has been developed by IPPF-EN for key events for the post-2015 development agenda. It will be updated regularly as more information becomes available.

Timeline - International Processes (Jan-Nov 2014)

 Prepared by Charlotte Nielsen, IPPF European Network

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Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) seeks civil society comments on its new report on Indicators for Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), operating under the direction of Jeffrey Sachs, last year proposed a framework of 10 goals, each with three targets, for the post-2015 development framework.  The SDSN Leadership Council’s released its recommendations in June 2013 and you can review the report at  An Action Agenda for Sustainable Development. On February 14, 2014 they released a new publication of 100 indicators for sustainable development in a new draft report for public consultation: Indicators for Sustainable Development Goals.

They noted in their distribution of the new report: “The public consultation will run from 14 February to 14 March 2014. Full details are available here. Please use the comment form and send it by email to info@unsdsn.org. Please focus your comments on the proposed indicators, as the goals and targets have already undergone an extensive public consultation.

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Comments on SDSN draft report on Indicators for Sustainable Development Goals

(from Stan Bernstein and supported by Commonwealth Medical Trust (Commat))

From the perspective of the SRHR community, the SDSN recommendations leave much to be desired. Sexual and reproductive health are included in several places but with formulations that do not give it much priority or coherence. For example, the realization of sexual and reproductive health rights are seen as instrumental to voluntary fertility decline “in countries above [3] children per woman” and relevant for the continuation of voluntary fertility reduction in countries above replacement level fertility in their statement of Target 2c. This does not capture the breadth of SRH concerns and the universality of rights in this area (especially to make voluntary and informed choices about the number, timing and spacing of one’s children) independent of fertility levels. SRH is also recognized as a component of “universal coverage of quality health care”. Other elements of women’s empowerment (including gender based violence) and health (maternal mortality ratios and rates) are included elsewhere and some links to other elements of economic and social development and environmental sustainability are noted. But there is a diminution of status relative to the independent MDG target 5B. However, the goal and target levels are considered to be frozen. (Comments/complaints are unlikely to be productive, but may be useful to stake a claim against that freeze in later discussions.)

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Invitation from Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) to participate in conference call on Thursday March 6 or Friday March 7

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) in collaboration with the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) will host two conference calls to solicit feedback from civil society on SDSN's latest report, Indicators for Sustainable Development, currently undergoing public consultation. Comments may also be submitted to SDSN via email to info@unsdsn.org using the comment form available at: http://unsdsn.org/news/2014/02/14/public-consultation-on-indicators-for-sustainable-development.

More information about the report and this consultation are available at this same link.

Calls will take place:

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Latest information on General Assembly High Level event on the role of Women, Young People and Civil Society, 6 and 7 March 2014

The General Assembly High Level event on the role of Women, Young People and Civil Society will be held on 6 and 7 March 2014, the second event in the President of the General Assembly’s Setting the Stage initiative. For further background information see our earlier articles Setting the Stage! Briefing for CSOs and further information and Setting the stage! Dates announced for General Assembly thematic debates and high-level events on post-2014 development agenda. 

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UN Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (ICESDF) holds Consultation in Latin American and the Caribbean Region

As reported on the Post-2015 Policy & Practice knowledgebase of international activities on the post-2015 development agenda the UN Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (ICESDF) held a briefing and open consultation, organized by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in Santiago, Chile on 14-15 January 2014. It brought ICESDF members together with academics, civil society, and government representatives from the region to discuss the objectives of the Committee and receive inputs to its work.

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UNFPA launches its Concept Paper on Empowering Adolescents and Youth to Ensure a Sustainable Future for All

UNFPA has launched its concept paper on Empowering Adolescents and Youth to Ensure a Sustainable Future for All. The concept paper calls for a stand-alone Post-2015 goal on Adolescents and Youth. As well as referring to the numerous recent global and regional discussions and their outcomes that recognize the urgent need to invest in adolescents and youth, it makes proposals for such a goal, together with possible six targets and indicators. 

The timing is particularly apposite given the scant attention that is paid to this age group in the Focus Areas Paper recently circulated by the Co-Chairs of the UN General Assembly Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals. The concept paper highlights many issues related to adolescents and youth that should be included in the post-2015 development agenda.