22 October 2015: UN Member States and NGOs in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) discussed the role of civil society in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in the work of UN’s Second Committee (Economic and Financial), during the first consultation of its kind. Andrej Logar, Permanent Representative of Slovenia and Second Committee Chair, convened the informal consultations, which the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) called an “innovative step.”

The consultation took place on 22 October 2015, in New York, US. DESA had prepared a discussion paper ahead of the meeting, based on the Committee’s 9 October discussion of its working methods.

Moderator Barbara Adams, Chair, Global Policy Forum, said the revitalization of the Second Committee could contribute to strengthening the UN as a global center for doing business, as there are parts of the 2030 Agenda that UN Member States currently relegate to other fora or institutions. She noted the need to translate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ ambition into something structural, focusing on the practical aspects to ensure that Member States and stakeholders “go beyond New York” in implementation, and that they pool their expertise. She said the Second Committee’s current working methods do not enable that. Adams cautioned that integration should not undermine deepness and specificity, and proposed thinking of UN’s bodies’ and committees’ functional roles, in order to avoid duplication.

Louise Kantrow, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), said civil society could offer guidance to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). She stressed that everybody needs to become “fit for purpose,” not only the UN, and said many corporations are conducting mapping exercises to see how their work addresses one or more of the SDGs.

Jeffery Huffines, CIVICUS, urged the Second Committee to strengthen the HLPF, and identified three structural deficits of the HLPF. First, he said the Forum’s decision-making mandate is “ambiguous at best,” that its institutional governance should be strengthened, and that a steering committee and advisory group comprised of stakeholders should be established to provide guidance to the HLPF. He also noted the shortage of time allocated for the HLPF, calling for a five-day preparatory session to take place during the spring; and highlighted a shortage of resources, including the absence of a “well-resourced secretariat.” He suggested establishing a trust fund to ensure capacity building and stakeholders’ participation.

Jean Krasno, Academic Council on the UN System, noted that women’s economic and political empowerment go hand-in-hand: to secure property rights, women need to be part of political decision-making structures. She explained that, for economic empowerment, women need access to credit, thus ownership of land, property, and bank accounts, and therefore women need to be part of the political processes on these matters.

Daniel Dudis, Transparency International, stressed the need to address corruption in order to eradicate poverty, and spoke about civil society’s role in implementing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies. He highlighted the value of CSO input for developing the right indicators.

Frank Goldsmith, World Federation of Trade Unions, stressed that civil society needs to become “2030-relevant” and called for CSOs to make the 2030 Agenda an item on their respective organizations’ agendas, including with regard to reporting.

Abid Aslam, ActionAid, called for the Second Committee to ensure that: companies pay their fair share of taxes; countries’ national spaces are respected so they can devise relevant policies; and the space for civil society’s participation is enlarged.

Bhumika Muchhala, Third World Network, said the 2030 Agenda offers the opportunity to strengthen the Second Committee’s mandate, including on macroeconomic issues, and cited the need for strong cooperation and dialogue among the follow-up of the Second Committee’s resolutions, the 2030 Agenda, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA).

Eleanor Blomstrom, Women’s Major Group, recommended that the Committee employ a gender lens to help ensure integrated responses to the challenges of the 2030 Agenda. She called for an analysis of overlaps and gaps between the agendas of the Second and Third (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) Committees and ECOSOC. She also highlighted the key role for the UN’s functional commissions, and said that since neither the AAAA nor the 2030 Agenda fully addresses systemic issues of global trade, finance and taxation, the Second Committee’s resolutions should propel systemic change and ensure recognition of the social implications of macroeconomic policy issues.

Naiara Costa, World Vision/Beyond 2015, called for: holding more informal consultations with the civil society on specific themes of the Second Committee’s agenda, to gain concrete and technical input; more predictability and clarity on the resolutions that will be negotiated and the facilitators; and timely access to documents and draft resolutions, to enable easier follow up.

In the discussion that followed, Brazil said the example set by the Second Committee’s consultation with CSOs should be followed by other Committees. He said discussion on adapting the Committee’s agenda to the 2030 Agenda should not be limited to the Second and the Third Committees (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), as issues such as the rule of law, peaceful institutions, or non-proliferation pertain also to the First (Disarmament and International Security), Fourth (Political and Decolonization), Fifth (Administrative and Budgetary) and Sixth (Legal) Committees. Brazil said civil society needs to stay “engaged and vigilant,” especially on issues that do not have designated bodies within the UN – such as SDG 10 on inequality – and support the implementation of new mandates, such as the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM).

Switzerland said reviewing the Second Committee’s work to support the 2030 Agenda is “tricky,” requiring “sufficient time and deliberation,” and sought for input from civil society on how to structure the HLPF in order to attract the participation of ministers from all ministries and mayors. Norway spoke about the need to avoid overlaps and duplication of work between Committees, which she argued is different from mainstreaming key cross-cutting issues such as gender equality. Japan stressed the need to ensure that local and national levels of monitoring and follow-up are open to everyone, not only the HLPF at the global level. Russia welcomed the discussion with the CSOs and invited their input on ensuring that the Second Committee integrates the three dimensions of sustainable development in its work.

Representatives of civil society: said SDG 3 on health must be fully integrated in the UN General Assembly (UNGA)’s agenda, as it spans the work of both the Second and the Third Committees, and suggested joint sessions of the two Committees on issues related to SDG 3; stressed the need for the Second Committee to work with UNGA to give more prominence to geospatial management systems/geostatiscs; called to account for people with disabilities; and urged making CSO participation inclusive, rather than selective.

A summary of proceedings will be made available to Member States in advance of the draft UNGA resolutions being tabled for negotiation in November and December, according to DESA. [Programme] [IISD RS Sources] [Meeting Details and Webcast] [Second Committee Website]