On 19 December 2007, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) officially adopted the resolutions that had been negotiated and approved by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) during meetings held from 8 October-18 December 2007.

In her concluding remarks on 18 December 2007, the Second Committee Chair Kirsti Lintonen (Finland) highlighted that the Committee had approved 34 resolutions during UNGA’s 62nd session and set in motion two major initiatives by formulating the procedure for the Review Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Doha in 2008, and by proclaiming the Second Decade on Poverty Reduction (2008-2017). She also noted that the Committee had shown a united front on the issue of climate change, while “regrettably not being able to reach consensus on the draft resolution on trade and development for the fourth consecutive year.” In addition, member States reached consensus on a resolution on the triennial comprehensive policy review that will shape UN development activities over the next three years (A/RES/62/208), specifically on funding, national-capacity development and development effectiveness. The resolution notes the declining share of core contributions to UN funds and programmes, and invites countries to consider increasing their contributions to those agencies’ budgets so the UN could respond more comprehensively and efficiently to global development demands. The text also underlines that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to development, and suggests that the UN’s development assistance should respond to the varying development needs of countries, in line with their national development plans and strategies.
In the draft resolution (A/C.2/62/L.59) calling on UNGA to hold the ‘Follow-Up International Conference to Review the Implementation of the Outcome of the International Conference on Financing for Development’ in Doha, Qatar, from 29 November to 2 December 2008, UNGA agreed that the Conference will include plenary meetings and six interactive multi-stakeholder round tables on the six major thematic areas of the Monterrey Consensus. They also agreed that it will result in an agreed outcome as well as summaries of discussions, which will be included in the report of the Conference.
As regards the preparatory process of the Conference, direct intergovernmental consultations will continue with the participation of all states and the major institutional stakeholders involved in the financing for development process. In addition, six substantive informal review sessions on the six thematic areas of the Monterrey Consensus will be scheduled during January to June 2008. These meetings will be followed by informal consultations on the contents of the outcome document of the Conference, with a view toward presenting the first draft outcome document by the end of July 2008, followed by informal consultations and drafting sessions from September 2008 until the commencement of the Review Conference.
Links to further information
UN News release, 19 December 2007
UN News release, 18 December 2007
Draft Resolution on the “Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus,” Document A/C.2/62/L.59
Newsletter “The Road to Doha”