10 November 2015
Governments Debate Private Sector Involvement in 2030 Agenda
story highlights

UN Member States discussed partnerships in the post-2015 era, and in particular the engagement of the private sector in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, during the UN General Assembly's (UNGA) Second Committee discussion on 'Towards global partnerships.' Delegates particularly emphasized the need for effective monitoring mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability, and the need for a strong agreement at the Paris Climate Change Conference.

unga704 November 2015: UN Member States discussed partnerships in the post-2015 era, and in particular the engagement of the private sector in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, during the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Second Committee discussion on ‘Towards global partnerships.’ Delegates particularly emphasized the need for effective monitoring mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability, and the need for a strong agreement at the Paris Climate Change Conference.

The meeting took place on 4 November 2015, in New York, US.

Lise Kingo, Executive Director, UN Global Compact, introduced the Report of the UN Secretary-General on ‘Enhanced cooperation between the UN and all relevant partners, in particular the private sector,’ which she said shows that the UN should pursue stronger disclosure of partnership activity to better monitor results. It should also promote initiatives to mobilize the private sector to report more systematically on non-financial issues. Kingo said the report encourages UN entities to scale up their investments in system-wide collaboration, build capacity, strengthen coherence, disseminate partnership best practices, and make effective use of existing platforms, such as UN System Private Sector Focal Points Network.

Many countries commended the integration and engagement of the private sector in partnerships for sustainable development, promoted by both the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (the AAAA) and the 2030 Agenda. Many also stressed the need for: transparency and accountability; multilaterally agreed guidelines on how the UN should engage the private sector; due diligence procedures; and a more standardized form of reporting for such initiatives, with disclosure of partners, funding levels, commitments, and expected outputs and performance.

Brazil underlined that if private participation is to be an effective part of development cooperation, Member States must establish member-driven governance structures to ensure private funding is aligned with and supportive of intergovernmentally agreed mandates and priorities. He said the increased participation of private finance of UN activities has not been matched by equivalent efforts to adopt concrete measures to improve transparency, accountability and governance mechanisms by Member States over partnerships involving the private sector and the UN. He added that existing partnerships have expanded outside the purview of intergovernmental oversight, without regular and effective participation by Member States. Noting that the 2030 Agenda encompasses strategic and profitable markets in sectors such as energy, water services, oceans, natural resources, infrastructure and industrialization, Brazil cautioned that the lack of monitoring could allow for deregulation and liberalization of markets, jeopardizing long-term sustainable development objectives, engagement of civil society and provision of public services. He stressed that the 2030 Agenda is not intended to be a tool for opening markets and deregulating economies.

Belize, for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), highlighted the Guidelines on Cooperation between the UN and the Business Sector as an importance reference, and encouraged their continued improvement and systemic application. CARICOM also underscored that “global partnership” is government-led, and its success will be measured by the results of national development initiatives to “leave no one behind.” She welcomed: the UN Global Compact’s initiative for a centralized online platform; the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Compass; a revamped UN/business website; and its “communication on progress” model. Supported by the EU, she also said the ultimate test of Member States’ commitment to transformation is whether they can unanimously agree to a particular global partnership that will safeguard the planet for present and future generation – a climate change agreement in Paris.

Singapore, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), supported by Zambia for the landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), said official development assistance (ODA) will remain central, particularly for the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS), and called for developed countries to fulfill their ODA commitments. She said South-South and triangular cooperation, however important, do not substitute public funding from developed countries. The LLDCs underscored the importance of South-South cooperation and partnerships in particular for technology transfer, capacity building, infrastructure development and improvement in transit. ASEAN noted the need for enabling environments to encourage greater private flows.

The EU presented a draft resolution titled ‘Towards global partnerships: a principle-based approach to enhanced cooperation between the UN and all relevant partners.’ [IISD RS Sources] [Meeting Details] [Meeting Webcast] [Second Committee Webpage]

related posts