8 May 2015: Member States gathered to discuss the revised proposal for the themes of the interactive dialogues for the UN Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. The Summit will be held in September 2005 in New York, US.

During the informal-informal consultation on 8 May 2015, in New York, US, Member States discussed the six proposed themes: Ending poverty and hunger, and addressing humanitarian emergencies; Tackling inequalities and leaving no one behind; Fostering economic transformation and sustainable consumption and production; Protecting our planet and tackling climate change; Strengthening governance for sustainable development; and Delivering on a revitalized Global Partnership.

On the process, some delegations came with detailed textual proposals, while others cautioned against going into the drafting of the text as the interactive dialogues are designed for Heads of State or Government, who should be given flexibility. Many delegations stressed the need to limit the time allocated to the negotiations on the themes for the dialogues and expressed strong support for the Co-Facilitators’ proposal to have only another reiteration of the document and another meeting, to be followed by the closing of the document.

On the proposed themes and narratives, delegates noted that the issue of follow-up and review should be addressed during the interactive dialogues. All Member States requested information on the reason for which humanitarian emergencies were included in the document, with some expressing support while others strongly opposed the proposal. Some delegates called for clearly linking economic growth with industrialization, while others suggested focusing economic growth more broadly on sustainability and not only industrialization. A few Member States proposed adding multiple references to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and mentioning it also in the title of the theme on ‘Protecting the planet and climate change,’ while many underscored that the text should mention SCP only once.

Some delegations called for strengthening the governance for sustainable development aspects, including through adding it as a cross-cutting issue, while others strongly opposed mentioning governance in the document. Other suggestions included: addressing innovation as a cross-cutting issue; eliminating the reference to the “right to development;” adding “women empowerment” in one of the titles; and adding a focus on implementation “at all levels.”

Closing the meeting, the Co-Facilitators explained that the narratives are not exhaustive but represent areas of indicative priorities. They explained that concept notes will be drafted ahead of the Summit based on the themes that will be adopted, with the narratives offering guidance for the respective concept notes.

On the humanitarian assistance issue, they noted that the outcome of the Open Working Group (OWG) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) does not reflect it enough and that they are trying to capture the entire breadth of the Post-2015 development agenda. They further informed Member States that a revised text will be circulated soon and expressed their hope to have only one more meeting, to be convened between 11-15 May 2015. [Proposal for themes of the interactive dialogues for the Summit][IISD RS Sources]