22 December 2014
Stakeholders React to Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report
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Civil society organizations and stakeholders have issued reactions to the UN Secretary-General's Synthesis Report on the post-2015 development agenda, an advance version of which was released on 4 December.

Reactions include direct comments on the text, and recommendations for the next round of negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

December 2014: Civil society organizations and stakeholders have issued reactions to the UN Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report on the post-2015 development agenda, an advance version of which was released on 4 December. Reactions include direct comments on the text, and recommendations for the next round of negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Stakeholder Forum noted that: the report leaves it to Member States to potentially narrow down the 17 proposed goals; it introduces six “essential elements” for the communication of the SDGs; the report does not explore the full implications of universality; and it offers broad ideas for means of implementation (MOI) and new initiatives to deliver the SDGs.

Beyond 2015 shared an advance version of its analysis, which stresses that the implementation and change needed to achieve the agenda will only be possible with transparency and inclusion, and ownership by a variety of actors. It welcomes the report’s emphasis on leaving no one behind, advancing human rights, creating a strategy to correct inequalities, and calling for meaningful participation to be at the core of development.

Comments published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) stress that the target set must be “tighter,” as “targets are as important as goals,” and suggest targets should be either global or national in nature. The comments also offer updates on the post-2015 negotiations and the ability of civil society and the private sector to be involved going forward. In a blog post on Post2015.org, Andrew Norton and Elizabeth Stuart stress that the review of the SDGs by the UN Statistical Commission will be critical for “slimming down” the targets.

HelpAge International also published reactions to the Secretary-General’s report, through an ageing lens. The analysis finds that an ageing population is identified in the report as a key demographic trend, but laments that ageing peoples are not included in the “six essential elements for driving the SDGs.”

Among the reflections and recommendations offered on the UN negotiation process going forward, an ODI report titled ‘Global Goals and International Agreements: Lessons for the Design of the Sustainable Development Goals’ calls for taking time at the national level to determine country-specific targets, and looking at the development agenda as closer to human rights agreements, rather than as a large international program.

The Columbia University Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) published a policy brief by its Co-President, José Antonio Ocampo, about the future UN system under the post-2015 development agenda. Ocampo stresses that whatever the future shape of the next development agenda, it will require a strong system of monitoring and accountability coordinated by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Post-2015 Data Test published an article on ‘Delivering and Implementing the Post-2015 Development Agenda at the Country Level’ by Andrew Norton, outlining five global impacts that can come from a strong development agenda: normative effects; social mobilization; policy direction; mobilizing resources; and collective action for global issues. To achieve these effects, Norton calls for: a coherent vision and goal set; a coherent and effective architecture; a financing and implementation agenda; a framework for social mobilization, advocacy, and dialogue; and deliverables from other UN processes.

Finally, in a letter to the co-facilitators for intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, Beyond 2015 recommends that civil society be allowed to attend and express their views at the upcoming negotiation sessions. The letter also calls for debates and discussions specifically with civil society. [Stakeholder Forum Analysis] [Beyond 2015 Website] [ODI Comments on Synthesis Report] [ODI Blog Post on Post2015.org] [HelpAge International Analysis] [Publication: Global Goals and International Agreements: Lessons for the Design of the Sustainable Development Goals] [IPD Policy Brief] [Publication: Delivering and Implementing the Post-2015 Development Agenda at the Country Level] [Beyond 2015 Letter]

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