26 January 2016: UN Member States considered a proposed road map for informal consultations on “revitalization” of the work of the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Second Committee (Economic and Financial). Angrej Logar, Permanent Representative of Slovenia and Chair of the Second Committee, presented the proposal, which addresses the Committee’s role in guiding and supporting implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The informal meeting of the Second Committee took place on 26 January 2016, in New York, US.

The proposed road map underlines that, while the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda is the primary responsibility of the High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF), the Second Committee will play a vital role in guiding and supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and will provide political guidance on global development priorities, including the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) on financing for development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The tentative schedule includes meetings on the following topics: ‘Methods of work of the Second Committee,’ to consider the existing arrangements contained in UNGA decision 65/530 on ‘Improving the working methods of the Second Committee,’ with a view to possible improvements (5 February); ‘Organization of the agenda of the Committee, with poverty and sustainable development at the core,’ aiming to review the Committee’s agenda in relation to agreed outcomes, including the identification of duplications and gaps, taking into account the agendas of the UNGA plenary, Third Committee and ECOSOC (17 February); ‘Relevance and impact of the work of the Committee in contributing to the international development objectives,’ focused on the role of the Second Committee in the emerging architecture for the follow-up to the 2030 Agenda, the AAAA, the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework, and the Programmes of Action for countries in special situations, and the HLPF (26 February); Informal consultations (March 2016); and a Resumed Session (plenary meeting) of the Second Committee on the ‘Adoption of the outcome of the consultations on the revitalization of the work of the Second Committee’ (April).

The road map also envisions two streams of work led by co-facilitators. On organizational matters, Logar appointed Germany and Indonesia as co-facilitators of consultations. On the Committee’s agenda, Australia and Rwanda will serve as co-facilitators of consultations, Logar announced.

In the ensuing discussion, Thailand, for G-77/China, said development must remain at the core of the Committee’s work. He added that: the richness of the Committee’s agenda should not be lost for the sake of efficiency; the Committee is a platform for reviewing the implementation of the commitments set through different processes such as the 2030 Agenda, the AAAA, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework; and the Committee should have a role in the follow-up on international commitments, as the UNGA is the only universal body ensuring universal participation. Supported by Costa Rica, he also expressed concern with regards to the proposed timeline, noting many ongoing processes that will need the experts’ attention during the same timeframe.

The EU, Canada, Japan, and the US expressed preference for the Second Committee to adopt a streamlined agenda, aligned with the 2030 Agenda, removing “peripheral” areas of work or those that are no longer relevant. They stressed the imperative to respect deadlines, with the US saying, “if the deadlines do not work, let us adjust them rather than completely ignore them.”

Switzerland underlined the need to: work on a shared vision and understanding of the Committee’s mission; establish broad principles to guide the Committee’s work; and reflect all three dimensions of sustainable development in its agenda. Costa Rica called for the process to remain informal. [IISD RS Sources] [IISD RS Story on Conclusion of Committee’s Main Part of Work]