31 May 2013: The UN High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP) has briefed stakeholders on the subject of its newly released report, “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies Through Sustainable Development.”

During the 31 May event, which took place at UN Headquarters, in New York, US, representatives of the Panel Co-Chairs presented on the key aspects of the report and offered their accounts of the writing process. These presentations were followed by an interactive exchange with members of civil society who critiqued, praised and questioned Panel members and the report.

Michael Anderson, UK, discussed the “five transformative shifts” that the report highlights as key to a future development agenda. He gave particular emphasis to the need to “leave no one behind” in achieving the new development goals, and spoke of the new sense of inclusiveness and equality the Panel hopes to create. Anderson said disaggregating data by group, gender, age and location will allow better measurability of goal achievement across marginalized groups. He said the Panel spent much time discussing issues of inequality, and that issues of peace and good governance should also be central to the post-2015 development agenda, as they were left out of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Samuel Jackson, Liberia, presented on the report’s call for economic transformation. He said that the post-2015 development agenda should challenge the centrality of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, by instead prioritizing elastic and sustainable growth. In order to foster “sustained prosperity for all,” Jackson said inequality must be addressed between both groups and individuals.

Yanuar Nugroho, Indonesia, focused on the report’s proposal for a “new global partnership,” and the need for a global spirit of solidarity, cooperation, and shared understanding. He described this new partnership as extending beyond national interest to focus on multi-aspirational needs, such as fighting corruption and climate change. Stating that the “door for stakeholders” had been opened through the Panel’s consultations, Nugroho said these diverse stakeholders need to be continually involved from now on.

Amina Mohammed, Special Advisor of the UN Secretary-General on Post-2015 Development Planning, referred to the release of the report as the “end of the beginning” in the process to determine the post-2015 development agenda. She emphasized that the HLP’s work will serve as the way forward into the Secretary-General’s forthcoming report on post-2015. Mohammed spoke of the importance of pressuring Member States and national governments to meet their existing commitments, and to use the Report as a reference point when creating a transformative post-2015 agenda.

In the question-and-answer session with other members of the HLP and representatives of civil society, panel members discussed: their process of consulting and listening to stakeholders, especially children and youth; elevating the importance of gender equality in the report; economic transformation and diversification; including the voices and opinions of vulnerable groups; the need for accountability and transparency; and implementation of non-binding goals.

Critiques of the report focused on its continued emphasis on economic growth, the need for means of accountability and implementation, and the potential that the report will be watered down by policy makers. One Panel member, Tawakkol Karman, Yemen, insisted that the Secretary-General’s report should be even stronger than the HLP report, and that efforts at global cooperation and participation should only increase from here. [UN Webcast] [Event Flyer] [Publication: Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda] [IISD RS Story on UNGA Briefing by Panel] [IISD Story on Final Report of HLP]