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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Meeting HLPF WG Monday 22 Feb, 9:30 am EST

TO UN DESA NGO MAJOR GROUP & OTHER STAKEHOLDERS  

Members of the NGO MG are invited to provide their inputs for 4 representatives of Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS) who will be attending a retreat hosted by Germany and Republic of Korea for the 2016 HLPF volunteering countries in New York from 23-24 February (see attached draft programme and concept note).

• Inputs in writing may be provided in the following Google Document by Monday, 22 February: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sUM2NW-epfcW4845V6ADC_vU8AfcAl-M_cDvGMLOeew/edit
• NGOs are also invited to participate by webex in a meeting with the 4 MGoS representatives taking place on Monday, 22 February, 9:30 am - 10:30 am NY time, by accessing the webex link below...

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ECOSOC Creates Adviser Team on UN Development System Dialogue

An independent team of advisers has been created by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Bureau to support the ongoing ECOSOC dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the UN Development System (UNDS). This dialogue is in its second phase, and Member States will now develop proposals for strengthening the UNDS in response to the requirements of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The first meeting of the advisers will be held on 24-25 February 2016.

Héctor Cerna, Vice-President of ECOSOC, informed UN Member States during a briefing on 12 February 2016, about the road map for the second phase of the dialogue, which began in December 2015. A retreat will be held to focus on what changes, especially in functions, are required in UNDS to support Member States in delivering the 2030 Agenda (26-27 February)...

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