UN Member States, UN organizations and civil society representatives have submitted 2,210 comments to the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) on the “grey” indicators for monitoroing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their respective targets, during an online consultation for non-IAEG Member States and representatives of UN and other organizations.
The comments have been compiled into a matrix available on the IAEG-SDGs' website.
21 December 2015: UN Member States, UN organizations and civil society representatives have submitted 2,210 comments to the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) on the “grey” indicators for monitoroing progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their respective targets, during an online consultation for non-IAEG Member States and representatives of UN and other organizations. The comments have been compiled into a matrix available on the IAEG-SDGs’ website.
The “grey” indicators are those that the IAEG-SDGs determined need more discussion, as opposed to the “green” indicators, which have been largely agreed by IAEG-SDG members. There are currently 225 indicators making up the global indicator framework, many of them still coded “grey.” The IAEG-SDGs is mandated to present its recommended global indicator framework to the UN Statistical Commission in March 2016.
The online consultation took place from 9-15 December 2015.
The Goal receiving the most comments was SDG 16 (Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development and provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels). Participants in the consultation made 443 comments on the proposed indicators for targets under this Goal, including on how to define and measure the incidence of sexual and other forms of violence.
Other SDGs receiving many comments and suggestions for indicators were Goal 1 (End poverty in all its forms everywhere) (226 comments), and Goal 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages) (275 comments).
The target garnering the most comments is Target 3.8, which falls under SDG 3 on health, and calls to “achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.” A total of 163 comments addressed the proposed indicators for this target.
Under SDG 1 on poverty, 129 comments addressed target 1.4 on ensuring that “all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including micro-finance.” Participants called for an indicator on secure land rights, and queried the definition of “basic services” for households.
The UNSC created the IAEG-SDGs in March 2015 to develop a global indicator framework for the SDGs’ targets, and the Group has met twice so far, in New York, US in June 2015, and in Bangkok, Thailand in October 2015. It held an open consultation the “green” indicators in November 2015. [Consultation on “Grey” Indicators] [IAEG-SDGs’ Website] [IISD RS Story on Call for Input] [IISD RS Story on “Green” Indicators Consultation]