24 May 2013: The third session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which took place from 22-24 May 2013, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, focused on addressing the thematic issues of: food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture, desertification, land degradation and drought; and water and sanitation.

OWG Co-Chair Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya opened the session highlighting that the issues for discussion are fundamental to human survival. He said the new development agenda must carry over and complete the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), stressing the need to maintain momentum, engagement and enthusiasm. At the close of discussions during the session, the Co-Chairs circulated a one-page summary of general points made at the meeting as an “aide-memoire.” According to Co-Chair Csaba Körösi, Permanent Representative of Hungary, a more detailed summary of the meeting and a running list of proposals for goals, targets and indicators will be available soon.

Körösi summarized key points raised during the meeting. On food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture and DLDD, he noted interventions recognizing the inter-linkages between food, land and water and also other development goals. He underlined calls to address nutrition needs, increased agricultural productivity and investment in agriculture. Körösi also noted interventions focusing on the need to support small-scale farmers, women, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, and fishers. He underscored calls for action to address food price volatility and the elimination of agricultural subsidies in developed countries. Körösi also recalled interventions about the causes of land degradation and the need for land restoration and a land-degradation neutral world.

On water and sanitation issues, Körösi underlined calls for universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. He noted interventions on the use of a rights-based approach, as water and sanitation issues are generally recognized as fundamental human rights. He summarized findings on the inter-linkages and importance of water and sanitation for the attainment of many development goals, including health, child mortality, economic growth, and poverty eradication. He noted the need to address: water access, quality and quantity; improved water governance; better infrastructure and technology; and improved water efficiency. Körösi also highlighted calls for improved preparedness for natural disasters, the need for investment, access to appropriate technologies for water treatment, recycling and re-use, and the need for IWRM and consideration of environmental requirements.

Co-Chair Kamau offered his own reactions to delegates’ calls for more discussion of means of implementation and financing issues, stressing that it is up to Member States to bring these topics into the debate. He called for specific proposals on how the SDGs can be funded and implemented, for example, through either taxation or market instruments, and said the challenge for Member States is to create a new model of implementation based on equity, universality, and common but differentiated responsibilities. [IISD RS Meeting Coverage]