22 September 2014: Members of the UN Secretary-General’s former High-level Panel (HLP) of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda have issued an open letter on priorities for the upcoming negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. The letter, which is signed by 18 of the Panel’s former 27 members, including two of its three Co-Chairs, recalls the recommendations of the HLP’s final report, and offers seven important areas for action in the year ahead.

The HLP report called for five “transformative shifts” to underpin the post-2015 development agenda: leave no one behind; put sustainable development at the core; transform economies for jobs and inclusive growth; build peace and effective, open and accountable institutions for all; and forge a new global partnership. Despite the conclusion of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing (ICESDF), much remains to be done, the authors write.

According to the letter, “If 2015 produces no more than soaring rhetoric, with no basis in strategies for practical action or accountability, then it will rightly be dismissed as hot air.”

It proposes a seven-point plan for governments and stakeholders to prioritize in the last year of negotiation. First, global leaders should focus on the new development agenda well ahead of September 2015, and “it is in capitals that the real breakthroughs will need to be made on turning ambition into action.” Second, there is a need for a clearer emphasis on a new Global Partnership, as everyone has work to do in ensuring implementation. Third, preparations for implementation must begin now, including through coordination between issue areas and stakeholders. Fourth, multi-stakeholder monitoring and accountability mechanisms are needed, and must be flexible and inclusive. Fifth, improved data should be a central aspect of the new agenda. Sixth, the capacities of the private sector must be harnessed. Finally, there is a need for coherence across multiple negotiation processes, recognizing that each will affect all of the others.

The letter is signed by the Presidents of Indonesia and Liberia, two of the three HLP Co-Chairs, as well as the former members from Benin, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, US and Yemen. [HLP Open Letter] [A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development]