9 July 2015: Member States discussed the regional dimension of the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) annual Dialogue with the Executive Secretaries of the UN Regional Commissions. The Dialogue ‘Managing the transition to the SDGs: What will it take at the Regional Level’ took place on 9 July 2015 in New York, US.

Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), outlined what it takes at the regional level to manage the transition to the SDGs: an intergovernmental structure to turn global goals and targets into policies, norms, standards and conventions, such as the UNECE’s Committee on Environmental Policy or its Inland Transport Committee; the ability to work cross sectoral and promote political integration, like the Environment Pan-European Programme (PEP) that, together with WHO Europe and UNEP, provides a platform for policy-makers to develop and share approaches for healthy and sustainable transport systems in support of several SDG goals and targets; better data, new data, and new data sources; and mechanisms for review and monitoring, such as Environmental Performance Reviews, Innovation Performance Reviews or the Country Profiles on Housing.

Rima Khalaf, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), explained that ESCWA adopted a nexus approach to the SDGs, taking into consideration trade-offs and building on synergies between key sectors, to help member States address cross-cutting challenges. She further indicated that ESCWA developed models and analytical tools to address: the water-energy-food nexus, which is designed to help countries deliver on resource efficiency and access to energy while safeguarding rights to water and food; the growth-employment-social protection nexus to help governments devise policies focused on employment; and a conflict-development nexus, providing a platform for dialogue between the various parties and offering technical support to facilitate transition from protracted conflict to peace in cases such as those of the Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, and Libya.

Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), noted that the Commission already benefits from solid regional and subregional architectural frameworks to support the implementation of the post-2015 agenda. She added that ECLAC could play a key role through its subsidiary bodies, which provide platforms for policy dialogue, partnerships and enabling environments at the regional level. She called for the establishment of a regional forum on sustainable development to enhance the regional institutional architecture and support regional policy agendas, generate new analysis and advocacy at the regional level, and create innovative region-specific development policy tools. [Dialogue Website]