South Africa, for the Group of 77 and China (G-77/ China), has tabled a draft resolution on the follow-up to the third International Conference of Financing for Development (FfD3).
The text addresses the operationalization of the annual forum on follow-up to the Conference, as called for in the outcome document, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA).
By the resolution, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) would designate the Financing for Development Office (FFDO) of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat (DESA) as the substantive secretariat of the forum, and request a note from the UN Secretary-General on the forum's organization of work by January 2016.
18 November 2015: South Africa, for the Group of 77 and China (G-77/ China), has tabled a draft resolution on the follow-up to the third International Conference of Financing for Development (FfD3). The text addresses the operationalization of the annual forum on follow-up to the Conference, as called for in the outcome document, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA). By the resolution, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) would designate the Financing for Development Office (FFDO) of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat (DESA) as the substantive secretariat of the forum, and request a note from the UN Secretary-General on the forum’s organization of work by January 2016.
The draft resolution (A/C.2/70/L.29) was tabled on 18 November 2015, in New York, US, in the UNGA’s Second Committee (Economic and Financial).
The text reaffirms the AAAA as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, supporting and complementing it and helping to contextualize its means of implementation (MOI) targets with concrete policies and actions within the framework of a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
The draft also refers to several concrete outcomes of FfD3. On infrastructure, it reiterates the call for the establishment of a new global infrastructure forum led by multilateral development banks, and requests the UNGA President, in cooperation with the UN Secretary-General, to make provisions for the launch and convening of an inaugural session of the infrastructure forum during the UNGA’s 70th session.
On taxation, it requests the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to increase its engagement with the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters through the special meeting on international cooperation in tax matters, and to further enhance the resources of the Committee and increase the frequency of its meetings to two sessions per year, with a duration of four working days each.
On global economic governance: it recommits to broadening and strengthening the voice and participation of developing countries in international economic decision-making and norm-setting and global economic governance; it strongly urges the earliest ratification of the 2010 reforms of International Monetary Fund (IMF); and it reiterates the commitment to further governance reform in both the IMF and the World Bank to adapt to changes in the global economy.
On the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM), it welcomes its establishment, and looks forward to the full operationalization of all its components: the UN inter-agency task team (IATT) on science, technology and innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the collaborative multi-stakeholder forum on STI for the SDGs; and the online platform.
On the forum for FfD3 follow-up, the resolution would have the Assembly decide the following for its operationalization: the forum will hold its sessions at UN Headquarters in New York, for a duration of five days, including a one-day meeting with the Bretton Woods Institutions, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO); it will have universal and intergovernmental participation and hold its inaugural session in spring 2016; its substantive work will be based on the AAAA, the MOI targets and Goal 17 of the 2030 Agenda, and the outcomes of previous international conferences on FfD; substantive considerations on its agenda items, programme, proposals for its intergovernmentally agreed conclusions and recommendations will commence in advance of the forum; and, finally, the forum will be supported by the inter-agency task force to be convened by the UN Secretary-General to ensure the follow-up process at the global level, which will: include the major institutional stakeholders – the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, UNCTAD, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and other entities of the UN system; report annually on progress in implementing FfD3 outcomes and the MOI of the 2030 Agenda; and advise the intergovernmental follow-up on progress, implementation gaps and recommendations for corrective action, while taking national and regional dimensions into consideration.
The text calls on the UN regional commissions, with the support of regional development banks, regional organizations and other relevant entities, to hold regional consultations, the outcomes of which could serve as inputs to the preparations for the annual forum on FfD3 follow-up.
The draft resolution also calls upon the relevant organizations of the UN system to include observer States in implementation. [Draft Resolution: Follow-up to the International Conference on Financing for Development] [Second Committee Webpage]