December 2011: The Advisory Group to the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a special high-level event during the Fourth High-level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF-4), with a focus on “Rethinking development: towards a new sustainable development architecture.”

The event took place on 29 November 2011, in Busan, Republic of Korea. Panelists included ministers from Finland and Liberia and a research fellow from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). The meeting was chaired by Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and moderated by Tony Tujan, International Director and Chairperson, IBON and Reality of Aid Network.

Heidi Hautala, Minister for Development, Finland, expressed support for converting the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) into a Sustainable Development Council, as well as for upgrading the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). She also expressed concern that efforts to create Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could undermine the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It would be better to update MDGs by adding goals for energy, food security and other emergent issues, she said.

Augustine Ngafuan, Minister of Finance, Liberia, stressed that to put development on a sustainable development footing, additional resources are needed for developing countries so they can strike a balance between conservation and commercialization of natural resources.

Jonathan Glennie, ODI, suggested that, in the six remaining months before the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), efforts should be made to “de-aid” the sustainable development discourse. He said aid may not form a major part of the Rio+20 outcome.

During the discussion session, civil society participants emphasized the lack of attention given to the social dimension of sustainable development in preparations for the UNCSD. [IISD RS Sources] [Webpage of DCF]