ECOSOC e-Discussion: Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

2016 ECOSOC e-Discussion Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 29 February to 25 March 2016 

You are cordially invited join the 2016 ECOSOC e-Discussion at: https://www.unteamworks.org/ECOSOC-2016 

Stakeholders, experts, practitioners and policy-makers from all over the world are invited to engage in a global dialogue on specific aspects of the 2016 ECOSOC theme of "Implementing the post-2015 developmentagenda: moving from commitments to results". The 2016 e-Discussion will provide the Economic and Social Council with suggestions and recommendations on how to best address implementation challenges of the new Agenda, with a special focus on the national level...

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GA President appoints Co-facilitators for next steps on follow-up and review of the 2030 agenda

The President of the General Assembly has written a letter appointing Ambassador Lois M Young of Belize and Ambassador Ib Petersen of Denmark as co-facilitators for the informal consultations to take decisions, based on the report of the UN Secretary General on the “milestones and way forward towards coherent, efficient and inclusive follow-up and review at the global level.”

The decisions to be taken as a result of the informal consultations should include the “multi-year programme of work for the high-level political forum.” These consultations will be important for civil society organizations, as the report included suggestions as to how they should be involved in the process for reporting to the High-level Political Forum.

Briefing on Statistical Commission by Director, UNSD, 2 March 2016

Reported by Stan Bernstein

Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the UN Statistical Division,  opened the 2 March briefing. CSO briefings are now held before all Commission sessions and other relevant events.

Schweinfest, putting the current discussion in context, referred to 70 years of the same statistical institutions participating at the Statistical Commission. Statisticians only meet once a year, unlike other functional commissions of ECOSOC. All communications within that period are among the multiple stakeholders. There are 12 or 13 items on the Agenda., with the most important discussions on Tuesday 8 to Thursday 10 March. The final day will be devoted to the programme of work and other institutional requirements...

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Report on briefing on work of IAEG for members of ECOSOC

In introducing the briefing the President of ECOSOC said that the Global Indicator Framework is one of the most important tools to support SDGs implementation. It will be adopted by the ECOSOC and General Assembly following the IAEG’s technical recommendations being agreed in the Statistical Commission, in line with existing mandates. ECOSOC will take action on the indicators as quickly as possible. 

Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the Statistical Commission, said that to ensure technical integrity of the indicators, the Statistical Commission is overseeing the development of the indicators and that they will hand the process back to the political level...

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Civil society: Propose questions for UN General Assembly dialogues with UN Secretary-General candidates

We have received the following from UN-NGLS:

"Equal parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and CEO, the Secretary-General is a symbol of United Nations ideals and a spokesperson for the interests of the world's peoples."

In 2016, the UN will appoint a new Secretary-General.

The position of Secretary-General is one of great importance that requires the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, and a firm commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter...

The President of the UN General Assembly and the President of the UN Security Council have invited UN Member States to present candidates with proven leadership and managerial abilities, extensive experience in international relations, and strong diplomatic, communication and multilingual skills.

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WHO Executive Board consideration of Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

At its meeting in January, the Executive Board (EB) of the World Health Organization in preparing the agenda for the World Health Assembly discussed under agenda item 7: Promoting health through the life course discussed together sub-items on reports of the Secretariat on monitoring the MDGs and Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda). The document before the EB was Health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Report of the Secretariat. (ADD LINK) See also our posting of 14 January WHO Paper Recommends ‘Governance for Health’ to Achieve SDGs. Key points are summarized below:

Comments from EB Members...

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To UN DESA NGO Major Group & Other Stakeholders -- Please RSVP Below

We have received the following from Division for Sustainable Development | DESA 

We invite you to participate in a webinar on partnerships to help major groups and other stakeholders to prepare for the ECOSOC Partnership Forum “From commitments to results: Leveraging partnerships for the 2030 Agenda” on 31 March. The webinar will feature presentations made at a retreat on 5-6 February in preparation for the Partnership Forum organized by the DESA Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination...

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Reminder: By 29 Feb, Apply to speak at President of UN General Assembly's High-level Thematic Debate on Achieving the SDGs (21 April 2016)

President of the United Nations General Assembly's High-level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

21 April 2016

By 29 February: Apply for Stakeholder Speaking Roles

On Thursday, 21 April 2016 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the President of the General Assembly H.E. Mogens Lykketoft will convene a High-level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to support prompt and inclusive implementation of the 2030 Agenda. 

The Thematic Debate will feature a panel discussion on "Action at all levels," which will focus on national responses to implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The panel will include three stakeholder representatives: one each from civil society, the private sector and academia...

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IAEG-SDGs revised report issued with the “final” list of indicators

The revised report of the IAEG-SDGs has been issued with the “final” indicators list. It is now available online on the Statistical Commission website.

All of the “greys” have been resolved, and the list has been marked as “final” in included in Annex 4. 

The Commission will be “invited to express its views and adopt:...] (b) The global indicator framework for the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as reflected in the indicators in Annex IV [instead of Annex III] to the present document.” Also, as set out in para 58, it has to consider the revised terms of reference for the IAEG; the workplan on the indicator framework; and the workplan of the Expert Group for the next year.

Changes in UN High-Level Leadership Announced

As reported by IISD, several high-level leadership positions related to intergovernmental sustainable development policy will be filled in the coming months. In addition to positions within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process, there are also selection processes for the next Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the next UN Secretary-General are underway.

In December 2015, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) President and the President of the Security Council sent a joint letter to all UN Member States that officially started the process of soliciting candidates leading to the selection and appointment of the next UN Secretary-General, who will assume the role in January 2017...

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