UN HLP RECOMMENDS BOLD FRAMEWORK FOR POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT by Fardah

    Jakarta, March 30, 2013 (Antara) - Members of the United Nations High-Level Panel (UN HLP) of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda issued a Final Communiqué that they described as an "ambitious yet achievable framework" in their meeting in Bali, Indonesia, recently.

        Co-chaired by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the fourth HLP meeting held on March 25-27, 2013, discussed how to build a global partnership and means of implementation for the development agenda.

        British Prime Minister David Cameron, another co-chair of the Panel, was absent in the meeting, but he was represented by British International Development Secretary  Justine Greening.            
   Prime Minister Cameron in his video messages in the Bali meeting encouraged three points, namely private sector partnership, getting a global compact, and introducing new development goals.

         "First, as we think about the partnerships we need to foster, I hope we support a greater role for private sector investment as the best route to sustainable growth," the British leader said.     
   The Bali meeting was crucial because it discussed  the eighth Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which is "Developing a global partnership for development", which has been considered of being neglected and overlooked so far largely because it lacked specific indicators that could be used to hold leaders to account.

         The MDGs, agreed on by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, has set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction and a "Global Partnership for Development".

         After hearing reports from various stakeholders that included women, youth, businessmen, academicians, civil society, and parliamentarians, the HLP agreed on the need for "a renewed Global
Partnership that enables a transformative, people-centered and planet-sensitive development agenda which is realized through the equal partnership of all stakeholders."
    Such partnership should be based on the principles of equity, sustainability, solidarity, respect for humanity and shared responsibilities in accordance with respective capabilities, according to the Panel's Final Communiqué.

         "Our vision is to end extreme poverty in all its forms in the context of sustainable development and to have in place the building blocks of sustained prosperity for all," the communiqué said.

         Established by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last year, the 27-member Panel,  who had met in New York in September 2012, London in October 2012 and Monrovia in January 2013, also emphasized the need to promote a single and coherent post-2015 development agenda that integrates economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.

         In the communiqué, they highlighted five key areas on which progress is needed to achieve the post-2015 vision.

         The key areas are: Reshaped and revitalized global governance and partnerships; Protection of the global environment; Sustainable Production and Consumption; Strengthened means of implementation; and Data availability and better accountability in measuring progress.

          The Panel believed that stronger monitoring and evaluation at all levels and in all processes of development, from planning to implementation, will help guide decision making, update priorities and ensure accountability. They suggested new technologies must be used to provide access to open data for all people.

         Hoping to promote a single and coherent post- 2015 development agenda, the Panel is expected to submit a report to the UN Secretary General on May 31, 2013, and President Yudhoyono will fly to New York for this purpose.

         Speaking to the press after concluding the three-day Bali meeting, Yudhoyono said that before the end of 2015, hopefully there will be a new cooperation framework that might be called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to replace the MDGs.

         As the MDGs fifteen year program would reach its conclusion while the world is still facing development obstacles that demanded a new mindset, a new paradigm and transformation of behaviours, Ban Ki-Moon established a UN System Task Team on the Post-2015  Development Agenda and the UN HLP of Eminent Person, to advice and recommend on the post-2015 development framework.

          The Task Team is chaired by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme, and assembles more than 60 UN agencies and international organizations.

         National consultations would be supported in 50 countries, encouraging the shaping of the global agenda based on both national realities and priorities for the "future we want".

         Both the Task Team and The HLP are expected to submit their initial reports to the Secretary-General by end May this year.

         As Yudhoyono stated in his opening speech at the Bali meeting that the approach to the development agenda should emphasize on inclusive growth, equity, environmental protection, peace, security, justice, and freedom.

         "We must strive to improve the welfare of our peoples, and create a better world through a just and inclusive development for all. This is not exclusively for our generation, but also for the generations of our children and grand-children," he said referring to the importance of sustainable development. ***4***
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(T.F001/A/F. Assegaf/Suharto) 30-03-2013 20:38:12