September 2012: The UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) has published a new issue of its “NGLS e-Roundup,” with a focus on the outcomes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). the publication explores ways of expanding on or implementing these outcomes to achieve a sustainable world.The September 2012 edition of the newsletter, titled “Rio+20: A new direction for a more sustainable future?” offers an overview of the discussions undertaken at Rio+20. It highlights important elements of the outcome document, titled “The Future We Want,” including those relating to a green economy, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Rio principles, and various thematic issues such as sustainable consumption and production (SCP), decent work, water and sanitation, and food security and agriculture. It also describes the elements of the outcome document relating to the institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD), such as the agreement to establish a universal intergovernmental high‐level political forum to eventually replace the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), and the commitment to strengthen the role of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

In addition, the newsletter describes the reaction of various stakeholders, including civil society and the UN, ranging from disappointment by several civil society organizations, to satisfaction with some elements of the document, by some UN agencies. The newsletter also highlight side events and conferences held in the sidelines of Rio+20, and contains interviews with civil society representatives.

Also interviewed for the newsletter is Sigrid Kaag, Assistant Secretary‐General and Assistant Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy (BERA), on the role of multi‐stakeholder partnerships for post‐Rio+20 development, as well as on her experience at the People’s Summit at UNCSD, an event organized by 150 organizations, entities and social movements, which took place in parallel with Rio+20.

Finally, the newsletter contains an opinion piece titled “Green Economy: The New Economy,” written by Peter Utting, the Deputy Director of the UN Research Institute on Social Development (UNRISD), in his personal capacity. [Publication: UN-NGLS E-Roundup, September 2012]