2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: The work begins

1 January 2016 saw the beginning of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is the successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expired on 31 December 2015. 

The UN has marked the new beginning by highlighting the importance of partnerships and international solidarity in implementing the 2030 Agenda, also calling for sharing experiences and tracking progress, through an Annual SDG Progress Report.

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Annotated Agenda for 2016 Statistical Commission now available

The annotated agenda for the 2016 Session of the UN Statistical Commission is now available.

The Commission will have before it the report of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs)  on the development of a global indicator framework for monitoring the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In the report, the Group describes the activities it has undertaken since its establishment and the outcomes of its first two meetings and the process for the development of the global indicators. 

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IAEG-SDGs comments on “grey” indicators now available

The 2210 comments to the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) from UN Member States, UN organizations and civil society representatives on the “grey” indicators for monitoring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their respective targets, made during an online consultation for non-IAEG Member States and representatives of UN and other organizations, have been posted on the IAEG website. They have been compiled into a matrix under each of the 17 goals. 

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World Bank Publishes SDGs Country Development Diagnostics Framework

As reported by IISD, the World Bank has released a publication, entitled Trajectories for Sustainable Development Goals: Framework and Country Applications, which presents a framework developed to assess the country-level implications of the post-2015 global development agenda, as well as brief, "at-a-glance" applications of the framework to ten countries.

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"Grey" indicators consultation has just gone online

The UN Statistical Division has just announced that the open consultation on the proposed SDG Indicators currently coded as 'grey' (indicating that further discussion on them is still needed) is now open for comments. The consultation will be open from Wednesday, 9 December at 9 am EST to Tuesday, 15 December at 9 pm EST to both observers (non-IAEG Member States and representatives of regional commissions and regional and international agencies) and other stakeholders (civil society, academia and private sector) for technical comments. 

The consultation can be found at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YZKHPKN

Additional information can be found on our website: http://unstats.un.org/sdgs/

UN Secretary-General appoints Special Adviser on 2030 Agenda

Dr David Nabarro

The UN Secretary-General has appointed Dr David Nabarro of the United Kingdom as his Special Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He will work with Member States and other relevant stakeholders “to galvanize action on implementation of the Agenda, while overseeing the Secretary-General’s special initiatives,” such as “Every Woman Every Child”.

David Nabarro has over 30 years experience in public health, nutrition and development work. Having led the UK delegation at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994. Most recently he was the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Ebola, providing strategic and policy direction for the international response.

URGENT: IAEG-SDGs Open Consultation on "Grey" Indicators: 9 December - 15 December

The IAEG-SDGs has posted another open consultation – this time on the “grey” indicators for observers and other stakeholders. It will run from Wednesday, 9 December to Tuesday, 15 December. You can find more on the UN Stats website here: http://unstats.un.org/sdgs/

Urgent sign today: letter to 2nd Committee negotiators on stakeholder participation

The UN General (UN GA) Assembly Second Committee discusses and approves the main GA resolution on Sustainable Development every year. Main negotiators of the draft are the Group of 77 and China as the main sponsor and the EU. The draft they have been discussing this year has a major gap on civil society and overall stakeholders participation and engagement which is critical for the implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

A group of organisations have drafted a letter recommending our role be recognized and included in the draft resolution in line with the broad recognition of our contribution to the development of the 2030 Agenda...

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SDG Indicators and Data: Who collects? Who reports? Who benefits?

by Barbara Adams

The Global Policy Watch has posted on its website a briefing by Barbara Adams entitled SDG Indicators and Data: Who collects? Who reports? Who benefits? In the briefing Barbara discusses the recent meeting of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals (IAEG-SDGs), (See: Informal meeting of the Plenary to hear about progress in the development of the Global Indicator framework for the SDGs pursuant to para 75 of Resolution 70/1) pointing out that many of the agreed indicators remain inadequate, and that 62 require “more in-depth discussion and/or methodological development.”...

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IPPF launches SDGs: A SRHR CSO guide to implementation

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has launched its Sustainable Development Goals: A SRHR CSO guide to implementation, which is available in English, Spanish and French, with Portuguese and Arabic versions to follow.

The purpose of this publication is to set out what the new 2030 Agenda means for CSOs working on SRHR and how it can be used to push for progress at a national level. It details relevant targets, looks at how they relate to existing programmes and commitments and suggests ways to ensure that they are implemented. It describes specific actions that national advocates may want to consider taking to drive progress on the development and implementation of national plans, to play a role in monitoring and accountability, and to support the measurement of progress...

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