1 March 2013: Independent experts from the Human Rights Council (HRC) have called for a stand-alone goal on equality in the post-2015 development agenda, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has supported the call. The HRC’s Coordination Committee of Special Procedures, a group of 72 independent experts, met during the HRC’s 22nd session in Geneva, Switzerland, on 1 March 2013.

Michel Forst, Chair of the Committee, said the post-2015 development agenda should foster more inclusive forms of development, and warned of rising inequalities as a threat to development. While affirming achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in reducing poverty, hunger, and maternal and child deaths, he said the MDGs “have remained silent” on inequalities. He said the issue of hunger persists due to a lack of social protection for many, rather than of insufficient food production.

Addressing the committee, Ban supported the call for a stand-alone goal on equality, and called on governments to embrace the opportunity of the upcoming UN Special Event on the MDGs, in September 2013, to ensure that international human rights standards and principles help guide post-2015 objectives. He said peace, development and human rights are inextricably linked, and are essential for achieving the MDGs and advancing sustainable development.

Under its “Special Procedures,” the HRC mandates independent human rights experts to report or advise on specific human rights issues; there are currently 72 mandate-holders on the Committee. [OHCHR Press Release] [Statement of Committee Chair] [UN Press Release] [Statement of UN Secretary-General]