29 October 2012: A Communiqué of the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP) outlines broad areas of consensus that emerged from its first meeting, and outlines plans for the second meeting. The first meeting of the HLP took place in New York, US, on 25 September 2012, followed by the second meeting in London, UK, on 1 November 2012.

Authored by Homi Kharas, HLP Lead Author and Executive Secretary, the Communiqué highlights a convergence of views among Panel members on various issues during the first HLP meeting. Those include: accelerating efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the next three years; bringing the MDGs’ “unfinished business” into the new framework and learning lessons from the MDGs; and focusing the post-2015 development agenda on poverty eradication and sustainable development while reflecting the changed world and new challenges that have arisen. The Communiqué also mentions the Panel’s intention to carry out evidence-based, accountable and transparent work based on an inclusive consultation process.

On the second HLP meeting, it is noted that the Panel meeting will discuss issues related to individual and household level poverty, accompanied by a seminar for panel members on 31 October and an outreach day on 2 November. According to the Communiqué, the HLP will meet again in Monrovia, Liberia, and Bali, Indonesia, in the first quarter of 2013, and will hold its final meeting in New York, US, in May 2013. Online and in-person stakeholder consultations also are being planned.

The HLP consists of 26 Eminent Persons, including representatives of governments, the private sector, academia, civil society and youth, and is co-chaired by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, and David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. The final report of the Panel is to be submitted to the UN Secretary-General on 31 May 2013. [Communiqué on the HLP] [UN Press Release] [HLP Website]