21 December 2012: The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) has published a “critical analysis” on the post-2015 development agenda and an interview with Laura Turquet, UN Women, on the topic.
The interview, published on 15 November 2012, explores how the post-2015 development agenda and process are linked to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the development of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Turquet notes that the goal of the intergovernmental process to develop SDGs, and the establishment of an Open Working Group (OWG), is to ensure that the new development framework helps to refocus global attention on achieving human rights, sustainable development and peace and security, while not replicating the shortcomings of the MDGs. She says the framework should address new issues, such as climate change and rising inequality, including gender inequality. Turquet suggests several “entry and action points” for women’s organizations, including to: engage with members of the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP); engage with national governments; join civil society networks such as Beyond 2015; influence the thematic and national consultations, and help communicate post-2015 discussions to different groups of women.
The “Critical Analysis” piece from 21 December, building on this interview, calls for additional resources and notes the need to “critically challenge the root causes” of current crises, in order to end poverty and inequalities. The article critiques the MDGs as supporting a neo-liberal model of development, presenting women as vulnerable victims rather than change agents, and failing to analyze or address the root causes of under-development. It calls for these areas to be rectified in the new development framework, including by applying an “ecosystem lens” to global challenges. The piece calls attention to the different spaces in which development and women’s human rights currently are being addressed, rather than as a whole, including: the review of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD+20), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Conferences of Parties (COPs), negotiations on the SDGs, and the work of the UN Development Cooperation Forum (DCF), among others. In closing, the article highlights the need for a “genuinely participatory process” allowing diverse voices and demands to be reflected in the documents that feed into the official process. [Publication: The Post-2015 Development Agenda – What it means and how to get involved] [Publication: The UN Post-2015 Development Agenda – A Critical Analysis]