Noting recent global economic challenges and recalling his five-year action agenda, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this year's special event of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is “hugely significant." He also outlined ongoing and upcoming work throughout the UN system to follow up on Rio+20 and advance the post-2015 development framework.
15 January 2013: The chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China (G77/China) has been handed over from Algeria, the 2012 Chair, to Fiji, the 2013 Chair. Speaking during the handover ceremony, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted recent global economic challenges and recalled his five-year action agenda, which emphasizes sustainable development.
In that regard, and noting the outcomes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), Ban said this year’s special event of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is “hugely significant” and an opportunity to intensify the focus on achieving the Goals by 2015.
He also called attention to: the ongoing global consultations on the post-2015 development agenda, including the work of the UN High-level Panel (HLP), which will inform his report to the 68th UNGA; UNGA consultations on the High-level Political forum (HLPF); the creation of a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), on which an inter-agency technical support team has already been established; the emergence of an intergovernmental committee on sustainable development financing; and preparations for “the important 2014 Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States” (SIDS).
Finally, he said that in 2014 he would convene world leaders to mobilize the political will for a final climate change agreement. [UN Press Release] [Statement of UNSG]