7 August 2012
UN Releases Terms of Reference for Post-2015 Panel
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The Terms of Reference for the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda state that the final report will comprise: recommendations on the “vision and shape” of a Post-2015 development agenda; key principles for reshaping the global partnership for development and strengthened accountability mechanisms; and recommendations on creating political consensus.

The report is to be submitted in early 2013.

31 July 2012: The UN Secretariat has announced the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The TOR address: the outputs of the Panel; its relationship with the UN Task Team, the Special Adviser, and the intergovernmental working group on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and the process expected to follow the completion of the Panel’s report.

The Panel was created by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and is co-chaired by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Prime Minister David Cameron of the UK, with 23 additional members representing governments, the private sector, academia, civil society and youth, while serving in their personal capacity.

According to a UN Press Release, the Panel will produce a report comprising: recommendations on the “vision and shape” of a Post-2015 development agenda, building on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and with a view to ending poverty; key principles for reshaping the global partnership for development and strengthened accountability mechanisms; and recommendations on creating political consensus on the post-2015 agenda, around the three dimensions of economic growth, social equality and environmental sustainability.

The report will reflect consideration of, inter alia: the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), the report and ongoing work of the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda; the work of the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Post-2015, Amina Mohamed, who was appointed in June 2012; the report of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (GSP); the findings of the Global Sustainable Development Network Initiative; and national and regional consultations on the post-2015 agenda, coordinated by the UN Development Group (UNDG).

According to the TOR, the report will be presented to the Secretary-General in the second quarter of 2013. It is meant to serve as a “key input” to the subsequent report of the Secretary-General, on the occasion of a special event to follow up on efforts made towards achieving the MDGs, and to discuss the post-2015 development agenda. This special event is to be organized by the President of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 68) in September 2013.

The TOR note that the Panel and the intergovernmental Working Group on the SDGs should keep each other informed and be mutually reinforcing, and that the Panel should advise the Secretary-General on how the SDGs relate to the broader post-2015 development agenda.

The Panel will be supported by an independent secretariat, headed by a senior official who also will serve as lead author of the Panel’s final report. The overall post-2015 process will be overseen by the Deputy Secretary-General on the Secretary-General’s behalf. [UN Press Release] [IISD RS Story on Appointment of Panel] [IISD RS Story on Report of Task Team] [IISD RS Story on Appointment of Special Adviser]

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