The post 2015 negotiating session held from 17-20 February at UN Headquarters in New York focused on the Declaration component of the new development agenda. The Declaration “will be an important part of the future framework and indeed of the outcome document” of the post 2015 agenda, said Co-Facilitator David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland. Co-Facilitator Macharia Kama, Permanent Representative of Kenya, stressed that the Declaration should be visionary and “speak to the future”.
In the run up to the session, the Co-Facilitators had circulated an Elements Paper to animate discussions among Member States, which was turned into a Discussion Paper reflecting comments made by the delegations in the course of the session. During the last two days of the meeting, delegations expressed their views on the Discussion Paper.
There was wide agreement that the Declaration should be concise, visionary, ambitious, actionable, communicable and simple. Many delegations stressed that it should lay out a collective vision and clearly argue why we need the new development agenda. Many also said that it should show how the agenda responds to the challenges facing the world today and convey the assurance that ‘no one will be left behind’, be it vulnerable groups or countries in special situations. Furthermore, a number of delegations underlined that poverty eradication should be highlighted as overarching objective and sustainable development as the way forward.
An interactive Dialogue with Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS) was held on Thursday morning, during which they commented in detail on the Elements Paper. The Co-Facilitators lauded the organization and contributions of MGoS during the session and reiterated their commitment to continuing such dialogues moving forward.
Next to the Declaration, the four part post-2015 development agenda will consist of sustainable development goals, targets and indicators; means of implementation and global partnership for sustainable development; and a follow-up and review framework.
Statements from the four day session, the Co-facilitator’s Discussion Paper and further information can be found on the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform.
The third session of the Post-2015 intergovernmental negotiations will be held from 23 – 27 March 2015 and focus on the sustainable development goals and targets.
