14 December 2012: The Permanent Missions of Indonesia, Liberia and the UK hosted a briefing with envoys of the co-chairs of the High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP).

Desra Percaya, Permanent Representative of Indonesia, said the envoys have been assigned to assist the co-chairs in the day-to-day work of the Panel. The co-chairs are: David Cameron, Prime Minister of the UK; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia; and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia.

Regarding the timeline for the remainder of the Panel’s work, the envoys said the Panel will next meet in Monrovia, Liberia, likely for three days, possibly beginning on 1 February 2013. The third substantive meeting will take place in Bali, Indonesia, in March. The final meeting, during which the Panel will present its report, will take place in New York, US, in May. In preparation for the presentation of the final report, an initial draft is expected at the end of March, to be discussed with the Panel in April and finalized in May.

The Monrovia meeting is expected to result in “clearer direction” on the Panel’s end product. The theme of the meeting is building blocks for prosperity, with a focus on economic transformation. The meeting will include an outreach portion, with a strong focus on the Africa perspective. Over 100 participants are expected at the Monrovia meeting, including private sector and academic representatives.

The envoys also spoke on the Panel’s commitment to transparency and open, inclusive discussions, and said the outreach process has been intensified to ensure involvement of wide range of stakeholders, and has been “extremely rich.” They highlighted the civil society consultation process launched on 10 December 2012, under which anyone can submit responses to a list of “framing questions.” The Panel is also liaising with CEOs regarding the private sector’s role. Finally, a new website on the work of the Panel will be available by the end of the year, at www.post2015highlevelpanel.org

Regarding the 24 “framing questions,” speakers said they had been drafted by the HLP Secretariat, and accepted by the Panel as a structure for its work. The Secretariat, headed by Homi Kharas, is drafting the Panel’s responses to the questions ahead of the Monrovia meeting, leaving room for feedback from the panelists, they noted.

Olav Kjorven, UNDP, highlighted three types of consultations currently underway. At the global level, thematic consultations are being supported on the website worldwewant2015.org, and the consultation on inequalities has received over 700 papers. At the regional level, consultations are being managed by the regional economic commissions. At the national level, consultations in 65 countries, including Zambia, Nigeria and Zazakhstan, are already underway or being planned. He said they hope for 100 to be underway by early 2013. There is an effort to provide initial input from the global and national consultations by early March to inform the Panel’s discussions.

Regarding themes of the Panel’s discussions, Kharas identified a focus on implementation and accountability, and said this would require emphasis on the private sector as a major player.

During a question and answer session, UN Member States’ representatives raised questions about accountability for private sector actors, the role of corruption and embezzlement, the Panel’s vision for the SDGs, and the Panel’s plans for keeping States updated, including presentation of the zero draft of the report well in advance of its final presentation in May. Panel respondents noted that the HLP must report to the Secretary-General, and is not an intergovernmental process, although it will feed into one by contributing input to the Secretary-General’s report to Member States. [IISD RS Sources]