24 March 2016: The g7+ grouping of fragile and conflict-affected countries has officially committed to joint reporting against selected Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators. This commitment is included in the Kabul Communique, which was adopted at the close of the group’s Fourth Ministerial Meeting. The agreement and remarks during the meeting also addressed implementation of the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, which is expected to receive its second five-year mandate at the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, in Stockholm, Sweden, in April.

The ministerial meeting convened from 23-24 March 2016, in Kabul, Afghanistan. The meeting discussed progress on peacebuilding and statebuilding, New Deal implementation, and efforts toward fostering economic resilience, as well as endorsing the g7+ annual work plan for the 2016-17. To conduct the SDG indicator reporting, g7+ Secretariat will set up a portal.

The New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States is a set of principles guiding international engagement in conflict-affected states. In 2011, the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding adopted the New Deal as an international framework, signed by more than 40 countries and agencies, following which the 4th High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Republic of Korea, endorsed the framework. The New Deal includes five peacebuilding and statebuilding goals: legitimate politics, security, justice, economic foundations, and revenues and services. The New Deal also commits members to focus on nationally-led planning, and seeks to increase trust among national and international actors.

In the Kabul Communiqué, ministers propose using New Deal principles to achieve the SDGs, and call on development partners to enhance their support for private sector development as an essential foundation for peace and resilience.

Mark Bowden, UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, addressed delegates at the opening, saying that Goal 16 on promoting peaceful societies, effective institutions and justice for all illustrates the importance of the New Deal in channeling the collective voice of fragile states into the development agenda. As an example of current implementation, he mentioned UN support for the Afghanistan central statistical office to address the data deficit problem through the use of satellite and aerial imaging for estimating population numbers and distribution, to guide the allocation of resources and development infrastructure.

Bowden also highlighted the New Deal Facility hosted by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and looked forward to a forthcoming Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by the g7+ with UNDP in Stockholm, Sweden. The International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding, holding its fifth meeting on 5 April, is expected to provide another five-year mandate for the New Deal.

In a blog post for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Claire Leigh said the International Dialogue in Stockholm must update the New Deal framework in three ways. It should ensure that: the New Deal principles of country ownership, conflict sensitivity and improved donor coordination are applied to humanitarian aid as well as development activity; New Deal activities support the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and provide guidance on making international support more effective in fragile settings; and the structure of the New Deal keeps evolving to reach new constituencies, bearing in mind the universal nature of the 2030 Agenda.

There are currently 20 member countries of the g7+: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Haiti; Liberia; South Sudan; Sierra Leone; Timor-Leste; Burundi; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Côte d’ Ivoire; Guinea; Guinea -Bissau; Papua New Guinea; Sao Tome and Principe; the Solomon Islands; Somalia; Togo; and Yemen. [Meeting Webpage] [Kabul Communiqué] [Statement of Mark Bowden] [g7+ Webpage on New Deal Implementation] [g7+ Member Countries] [UNDP Blog Post by Claire Leigh]