Post-2015 Update - September 2013

Whats Coming Up?

As the opening of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly approaches, several key events are taking
place to rally support for Millennium Development Goal (MDG) acceleration and clarify the road ahead
for negotiations and agreement on a post-2015 development agenda. The September 25 Special Event
on the MDGs, hosted by the President of the General Assembly, is expected to result in an outcome
document agreed by member states that will outline the roadmap for the process through the end of
2015.
Member states continue to search for agreement on two issues: whether the post-2015 framework
should be referred to as a single framework or a coherent and integrated framework, and whether
to include reference to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. Those pushing for
a coherent and integrated framework remain reluctant to accept that poverty and sustainable
development should be covered within a single post-2015 framework.
The long-awaited SGs report, A Life of Dignity for All, has been released, calling for acceleration of the
MDGs by 2015. It includes recommendations on key areas of sustainable development to be addressed
within the post-2015 agenda. The report draws on various contributions submitted to this summer,
including reports of the High-Level Panel, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Global Compact,
regional commissions, and the many consultations with civil society and academia held around the
world. It also suggests that member states may ask the Secretary-General to draft another report at
the end of 2014 that would draw on the intergovernmental processes underway: the Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development
Financing, and the High-Level Political Forum.
The release of the Secretary-Generals report in August marks the transition from a mostly UN Systemled process to a member state-driven process. It is expected that civil society, the research community
and other stakeholders will remain engaged by channeling their inputs through the intergovernmental
mechanisms (more below).

Intergovernmental Processes:
Co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) have issued a progress report that outlines key takeaways
from the first four substantive sessions. The report is not a negotiated document, which has raised some
concern over whether it accurately reflects the points of convergence and divergence among member
states, particularly on controversial areas like sexual and reproductive health and rights. It is unclear
how this report and other documents produced by the co-chairs will feed into the final report of the
OWG, which will be negotiated and drafted between February and September of 2014. The upcoming
November OWG meeting will focus on sustained and inclusive economic growth, macroeconomic policy
(international trade, international financial system, and external debt sustainability), infrastructure

development and industrialization; and energy and is therefore expected to be somewhat more
controversial than previous OWG meetings. View the full OWG agenda beyond November.
The Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing, mandated in Rio+20, held its first
meeting from August 28 30 to review its program of work which will include: financing needs for
sustainable development; improving effectiveness of public, private, and blended finance; resource
mobilization; and institutional arrangements. The Committee is comprised of 30 experts from capitals of
the member states that were nominated based on regional groupings.
The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) will hold its first meeting on September 24. The HLPF is the
successor to the Commission on Sustainable development mandated by the Rio +20 outcome. The
forum will conduct regular reviews on the follow-up and implementation of sustainable development
commitments and objectives, including those related to the means of implementation (financing,
partnerships, accountability), within the context of the post-2015 development agenda. It will meet
annually under the auspices of ECOSOC and every four years under the auspices of the General
Assembly.

Must-Reads:

Secretary-Generals report: A life of dignity for all: accelerating progress towards the MDGs and
advancing the UN development agenda beyond 2015.

Draft outcome document for the September 25 Special Event on MDGs and Post-2015.

NGLS first primer issue: Overview of UN Intergovernmental Processes to Define the Post-2015
Development Agenda.

OWG co-chairs Progress report on the work of the General Assembly OWG on SDGs at its first
four sessions.

A blog post by Charles Kenny from the Center for Global Development: The Post-2015
Bandwagon: The Wheels Are Still On, and the Band Is Playing in Tune.

ODIs report on, Consulting the evidence: How conflict and violence can best be included in the
post-2015 development agenda.

*For the latest updates on the Post-2015 conversation, follow us on twitter: @Post2015_UNF