12 January 2016: Members of the g7+ group of fragile states have agreed to jointly monitor 20 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators to ensure that fragile and conflict-afflicted countries are not left behind in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A recent World Bank blog post reflects on a g7+ meeting that identified common strengths and challenges in implementing and monitoring the SDGs in fragile or conflict-affected states, particularly SDG 16 on peace and justice.

The meeting, which was hosted by the World Bank, took place from 7-8 December 2015, in Nairobi, Kenya, and represented the first time that 17 out of the 20 g7+ members were present. Participants proposed 20 indicators to jointly monitor: three for SDG 16 on peace and justice; and one indicator for each for the other Goals.

The g7+ ministerial meeting in March 2016 is expected to discuss and endorse the selected indicators. The g7+ Secretariat will then collect data on the selected indicators (from both the g7+ countries and from international sources), maintain a common database and disseminate information among the group.

The meeting also aimed to promote a continued focus on the fragile situations of g7+ countries in the context of achieving the SDGs. “We were mere spectators to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” observed participants, noting that many g7+ countries were unable to translate the MDGs into their national contexts because that goal set lacked of recognition of peace and state-building, according to the World Bank. “Now we want to actively push our specific challenges to the center of SDGs implementation,” one participant said. Participants also stressed the importance of maintaining the SDGs’ focus on ensuring that no one is left behind.

The meeting also recognized that data challenges with the MDGs resulted in unreported or under-reported progress among the g7+. For example, participants said g7+ countries lacked data on extreme poverty, as well as other topics like employment, which made it impossible to assess their progress in these areas.

The g7+ is an association of countries that are or have been affected by conflict and are now in transition to the next stage of development. Its 20 members are: Afghanistan, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’ Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, Timor-Leste, Togo and Yemen. [World Bank Blog] [g7+ Website] [IISD RS Coverage of g7+]