12 March 2013: African regional consultations on the post-2015 development agenda have culminated in the third and final meeting to finalize a common position. African Union (AU) Ministers are expected to endorse the common position at the AU Summit in May 2013, following which it will be presented at the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2013.
The “Continental Consultation on the Post 2015 Development Agenda” took place in Hammamet, Tunisia, from 11-12 March 2013. Discussions built on the first and second regional consultations, held in Mombasa, Kenya, in October 2012, and Dakar, Senegal, in December 2012. At the latter meeting, participants identified three development outcomes as post-2015 priorities – economic transformation and inclusive growth, human development, and innovation and technology transfer – and these were discussed in panel discussions at the final meeting.
Participants also heard presentations on, inter alia: the linkages among national, regional and global consultations and institutional processes, such as the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP) and the UNGA Open Working Group (OWG) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), presented by Betty Maina, HLP member; and financing the post-2015 agenda.
Dossina Yeo, AU Commission (AUC), reflected on the July 2012 report, “Assessing Progress in Africa towards the Millennium Development Goals 2012,” noting that Africa’s aggregate performance masks gender, income and spatial inequalities, and highlighting areas of progress and concern. Charles Awitor, AUC, noted a lack of consensus on whether the Milllennium Development Goals (MDGs) should: continue in their current form with an extension of the target year; be substantially revised to reflecting changing development priorities; or be replaced with an entirely new agenda.
The African Development Bank (AfDB), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) – Regional Bureau for Africa, AUC and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) jointly organized the meeting. [AfDB Press Release] [AU Press Release] [Draft Agenda for Consultation] [IISD RS Story on MDG Report 2012] [Statement of Charles Awitor] [IISD RS Story on Senegal Meeting]