April 2013: The “Asia and the Pacific Parliamentarian and Civil Society Organization (CSO) Forum on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Acceleration and the Post-2015 Development Agenda” resulted in a Bali Declaration on accelerating the MDGs and the post-2015 development agenda. It asserts that the post-2015 framework should be based on: human rights, democracy and good governance; equality and non-discrimination; sustainable development; and quality public service delivery.

The meeting, organized by the UN Millennium Campaign (UNMC) and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), and held in Bali, Indonesia, from 25-26 March 2013, coincided with the fourth meeting of the High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Agenda (HLP).

The meeting convened in plenary and parallel workshops on themes including water and sanitation for all, sustainable development, governance and human rights, inequality, gender equality, children and youth, and universal access to health. Participants also heard presentations on the global thematic consultation on water, sanitation and water for all, a South Asia regional partnership on sanitation, and the MDGs, among others.

The Bali Declaration recommends that the post-2015 framework include: climate change; disaster risk reduction (DRR); affordable, reliable and safe energy for all; peace and security; and sustainable development. The Declaration also calls for: urgent action on unsustainable patterns of production and consumption; increased efforts on climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience; integrating disaster resilience into budgets, progammes and policies; and addressing water and sanitation, including a focus on quality access to sanitation and water services, with a focus on marginalized groups.

Prior to the Bali meeting, UNMC and AFPPD convened subregional meetings of parliamentarians and CSOs in: Manila, the Philippines, in November 2012; and Dhaka, Bangladesh, in December 2012 respectively. These events also produced recommendations to the HLP. [Event Documents] [Bali Declaration by Parliamentarians and Civil Society on the MDG Acceleration and the Post 2015 Development Agenda] [Forum Concept Note] [Global Thematic Consultation on Water] [IISD RS Story on Manila Declaration] [IISD RS Story on Dhaka Declaration]