14 June 2011: The UN General Assembly (UNGA) hosted a Development Dialogue on 14 June 2011, in New York, US, to discuss the implementation and accountability of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with a focus on MDGs 4 and 5 on maternal and child health, and on how to advance the UN development agenda beyond 2015.

In her opening remarks, Asha-Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General, recalled that the Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) held in Istanbul reaffirmed the commitment to support the 800 million people living in the poorest countries to build capacity and resilience. Noting remaining challenges to achieve the MDGs, she underscored that the impacts of climate change are more visible, and that a transition to a low-carbon, clean-energy development has been too slow. Recognizing that the global economic crisis has led to fiscal austerity in most countries, she stressed that investments in development pay huge dividends. For instance, she stressed the need to look for multiplier effects of development investments. She also noted that the UN System is working on an Integrated Implementation Framework (IIF) which focuses on accountability. The framework will track commitments made, how they are being allocated and spent.

Speaking on the panel on “Advancing the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015,” Richard Manning, independent consultant, noted that, although the MDGs have become a successful global brand for the UN, there is a need to integrate a host of emerging socioeconomic issues, such as climate change, into the global development agenda.

Amitabh Behar, Global Co-Chair for the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), stressed that the post-2015 agenda needs to be driven by social inclusion with a more holistic approach that goes beyond development and looks at social justice, including human rights and climate justice. [Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General’s Remarks] [UNGA Press Release] [UN Press Release]