4 April 2014: At the tenth session of the UN General Assembly’s Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), governments held a detailed discussion of 19 focus areas and approximately 300 targets for potential inclusion in the SDGs. Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya, and Csaba Kőrösi, Permanent Representative of Hungary, served as Co-Chairs of the meeting, which took place from 31 March-4 April 2014, in New York, US.

In addition to their own exchange of views, delegates also heard the reactions of Major Groups to the focus areas. At the close of the meeting, Co-Chair Kamau encouraged the Group to not “get stuck” in 19th and 20th century issues, but to keep 21st century issues such as climate change, ecosystems, social inclusion, and governance high on the agenda.

Based on the discussions at OWG 10, the Co-Chairs will issue a revised focus areas document on 18 April, to guide preparations for OWG 11, which will convene from 5-9 May 2014. [IISD RS Meeting Coverage] [Meeting Website]