August 2011: The August issue of the newsletter of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) includes a summary of the recent High-level Dialogue on the institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD).

In the section on Global Dialogue on Development, the newsletter notes that the High-level Dialogue, which took place from 19-21 July 2011, in Solo, Indonesia, concluded with the adoption of the “Solo Message,” a contribution to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

According to DESA News, the Solo Message: focuses on two main points, to integrate the three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental – and to effectively implement political commitments for sustainable development; calls for an organization at the international level that enhances the integration of the three pillars, with participants discussing options ranging from an enhanced mandate for ECOSOC, to establishing a sustainable development council, to strengthening the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); emphasizes the need to renew political commitment and translate it into implementation, including by reviewing and supporting sustainable development governance at the local, national and regional levels, and by providing more integrated support for national strategies, including the UN’s “Delivering as One” initiative; and calls for innovative and additional financing to enable implementation of capacity building and technology transfer. [Publication: DESA News, Volume 15, No. 8] [Sustainable Development Policy & Practice Story on High-level Dialogue on IFSD]