August 2014: The Committee for Development Policy (CDP) issued a publication on global governance, noting that UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) “has played no role in coordinating and providing guidance for the post-2015 development agenda so far,” which it says has been “largely coordinated directly by the Secretary-General.” The CDP report calls for appropriate global architecture to be developed for addressing economic and social challenges. The CDP is a 24-member expert body of ECOSOC.

According to ‘Global Governance and Global Rules for Development in the Post-2015 Era’, existing proposals to strengthen global governance have received insufficient attention in the context of the post-2015 development agenda. They recall that the 2009 proposal of the UN Commission of Experts on Reform of the International Financial and Monetary System recommended creating a Global Economic Coordination Council at a level equivalent to the UN General Assembly and Security Council. The Commission also recommended creating a body similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but focusing on economic and social challenges.

The authors note that ECOSOC’s responsibilities have been limited to coordination of economic and social affairs within the UN system, and they propose that it be strengthened to monitor the fulfillment of international commitments. They comment on the limited powers of ECOSOC in comparison with those of the Security Council, and they highlight the suggestion made during the sixth session of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that ECOSOC be ‘reinvigorated’ as a forum for a broad discussion of the international financial and economic system. However, “to what extent ECOSOC will provide more than a discussion forum remains to be seen.”

Finally, the authors underscore five critical principles to be observed in global governance reform: common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR); subsidiarity; inclusiveness, transparency and accountability; enhanced coherence between the international and national spheres of policy making; and ‘responsible sovereignty’ based on mutual respect among nations. [Publication: Global Governance and Global Rules for Development in the Post-2015 Era] [CDP Publications]