August 2015: Background papers have been made available for each of the six themes for the interactive dialogues during the UN summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. The six themes were agreed during the fifth session of the intergovernmental negotiation process on the post-2015 development agenda, on 22 May 2015. The papers, also listed as special studies, are published on the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform managed by the Division for Sustainable Development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

The six themes are: Ending poverty and hunger; Tackling inequalities, empowering women and girls and leaving no one behind; Fostering sustainable economic growth, transformation and promoting sustainable consumption and production; Protecting our planet and combating climate change; Building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions to achieve sustainable development; and Delivering on a revitalized Global Partnership.

For each theme, the paper offers background information, proposes solutions, and identifies guiding questions for discussion.

The background paper on theme 1, ‘Ending poverty and hunger,’ invites participants to think about: ways in which national development plans and policies can contribute to ending poverty and hunger in a way that is irreversible and sustainable, and additional efforts required in this regard; the types of support and investment that need to be prioritized for ending poverty and hunger during the next 15 years; revitalizing partnerships to end poverty and hunger, at the local, national, regional and global levels; and ways in which science, technology and innovation can be used in the service of the poor and hungry.

The background paper on theme 2, ‘Tackling inequalities, empowering women and girls and leaving no one behind,’ formulates questions on: the impact that the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) focus on inequality could have on the formulation of national development planning and policies, and on the allocation of national budgets, including on social protection and safety nets; the role of the international financial, trade, investment, intellectual property and knowledge systems in addressing inequalities among countries; the root causes of discrimination on different bases; best practices to reduce discrimination and promote equality; ways in which people could be engaged as active partners in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; measures to enhance gender equality; and building capacity for collecting and analyzing disaggregated data.

The background paper on theme 3, ‘Fostering sustainable economic growth, transformation and promoting SCP,’ invites participants to discuss: policies and incentives for achieving sustainable economic growth and sustainable consumption and production (SCP); capacity building activities and other forms of cooperation needed in the poor, slow-growing economies; special efforts required for countries affected by disasters or conflicts; financial, trade and technological imperatives for sustainable economic growth and SCP, and the required capacities to meet those imperatives; ways in which the public and private sectors could coordinate their work to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; partnerships for promoting SCP; the UN system’s contributions at the local, national, regional and international levels; and improving the measurement and monitoring of sustainable economic growth and SCP.

The background paper on theme 4, ‘Protecting Our Planet and Combating Climate Change,’ outlines the session’s focus on proposals for promoting resilience, achieving carbon neutrality, and potential business models to achieve these aims. The paper provides a summary of environmental challenges, including the need for water, food and energy security, and for cities to take leadership in setting sustainable consumption and production patterns. It highlights that managing the negative impacts of climate change will require limiting the rise of global mean temperature to 2°C below pre-industrial levels, and calls for enhancing global corporate responsibility toward achieving sustainable development. The authors recommend ensuring coherence and complementarity among international agreements on: climate under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the Sendai Framework for Action on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR); and the SDGs. The background paper poses discussion questions on ways to promote resilience and DRR, SCP, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, and achievement of climate goals, including becoming carbon-neutral by the second half of the 21st century. It also directs attention to ensuring that the SDGs can help build resilience for those in vulnerable situations, and identifying business models, financial instruments and incentives to engage the private sector and communities in reversing ecosystem degradation.

The background paper on theme 5, ‘Building effective, inclusive and accountable institutions,’ indicates that this dialogue will focus on proposals to promote universal access to justice and the equitable delivery of public services. The paper provides a summary of challenges in governance around the world, including the need to combat violence, inequality and poverty, advance gender equality, secure legal identity, champion transparent government and increase local governance capacity. It highlights that institutions and the quality of governance are critical to driving development and promoting equality. The authors call for promoting access to justice, and basing reform processes on inclusive political dialogue. They stress that parliaments must be an integral part of efforts to achieve the 2030 agenda. They highlight the importance of public participation in decision making, and for the media to be able to play an independent role in increasing accountability. The background paper asks what practical measures can be taken to achieve these aims, in particular to ensure that institutions are accessible and responsive to people in vulnerable situations.

The background paper on theme 6, ‘A strengthened global partnership for realizing the post-2015 development agenda,’ notes that the session will highlight the role of both domestic and international sources of financing for development, building on lessons learned from the global partnership for development under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The paper provides a summary of challenges for the global partnership that will support implementation of the new agenda. On financing, the authors note that the target for official development assistance (ODA) of 0.7 per cent of GDP remains largely unfulfilled by donors. They propose that, given the increased level of financing needed to achieve the SDGs, countries should use international public finance to mobilize further resource from both public and private sources. Other challenges include promoting science, technology and innovation for development, and ensuring that trade benefits the environment. The authors highlight the need for an adequately resourced, coherent and effective UN system to support efforts toward achieving the SDGs, noting that the new agenda recommits to broadening and strengthening the voice and participation of developing countries in global economic governance. They also highlight the central role of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in follow-up and review, and the potential of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) and technology bank for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) for coordinating efforts in this regard. The paper invites participants to consider how public and private sources of finance can complement each other in support of the SDGs, and how a revitalized global partnership can be monitored for progress.

UN Member States decided in UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 69/244 that the Summit would include interactive dialogues taking place concurrently with the plenary sessions, while the decision on modalities for the negotiation process leading to the Summit (69/L.46) specified that the themes for the six sessions would be decided through the process of intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. Subsequently, based on the agreement reached at the fifth session in the negotiation process, Co-Facilitators Macharia Kamau (Kenya) and David Donoghue (Ireland) informed the UNGA President of the themes. According to the document they provided on 1 June 2015, each dialogue also will address the three dimensions of sustainable development and issues such as: gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; prioritizing the needs of all vulnerable groups including children, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and migrants; and ensuring implementation at all levels.

The UN Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda will convene from 25-27 September 2015, in New York, US, as a high-level plenary meeting of the UNGA. [Interactive Dialogue 1] [Interactive Dialogue 2] [Interactive Dialogue 3] [Interactive Dialogue 4] [Interactive Dialogue 5] [Interactive Dialogue 6] [DESA Website for UN Sustainable Development Summit] [Co-Facilitators’ Letter on Themes for Interactive Dialogues] [UNGA Resolution 69/244 on Organization of Summit] [UNGA Decision 69/L.46 on Modalities for Negotiations] [IISD RS Story on Decision on Themes]