Introduction | UN Task team’s Report | Eminent Persons Group | SDGs
Civil Society Engagement | Frequently asked questions
1. How was the Task Team Report prepared ?
2. Which goals and targets does the Task Team recommend ?
3. What will become of the MDGs ?
4. What is the link to SDGs and to the follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference ?
5. Who is involved in the consultations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda ?
6. What will the post-2015 process be like ?
1. How was the Task Team Report prepared ?
The preparation of the Report was informed by initial consultations organized by the Task Team and its member organizations with Member States, civil society, academia and research Institutes, and the private sector.
All the Task Team entities participated in drafting and finalizing the Report, providing their insights and expertise on specific areas. The analysis by the Task Team supports the messages coming from Member States and others, including at the Rio+20 Conference, on the need for a post-2015 development agenda that retains a clear focus on human development and poverty eradication, while building on the lessons from the MDG framework, addressing new challenges and putting sustainable development at the centre.
The Report points to various new challenges, or pressing issues, to be considered: an increasing environmental footprint; disaster risk reduction; rising inequalities, including gender inequalities and discrimination on the basis of gender, age, disability, ethnicity and otherwise; continuing violent conflict; and demographic changes, in terms of population growth, rapidly ageing populations, fast urbanization and continuous migration flows.
There is the knowledge gap between and within countries, and governance and accountability deficits at different levels, requiring strengthened compliance with the rule of law. Food and nutrition security; water and sanitation; energy; and access to quality health services, including reproductive health, and to quality education and vocational training are of crucial importance.
2. Which goals and targets does the Task Team recommend?
The Task Team Report does not attempt to define specific goals and targets at this stage in the discussions. What the Report does is set out a vision for development starting with three fundamental principles – human rights, equality, and sustainability – as the foundation of the post-2015 UN development agenda.
Building on these principles, it suggests four interdependent dimensions that could provide the basis for defining goals and targets: inclusive economic development, inclusive social development, environmental sustainability, and peace and security. It also identifies a set of development enablers, reflecting the inter-linkages among the four dimensions, which could help guide policy making and build policy coherence, without being prescriptive or devolving into a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
3. What will become of the MDGs?
The MDGs have proven to be a powerful tool in embodying a shared global vision and development framework to address poverty and hunger and advance human development.
Significant progress has been made in a number of areas and some targets achieved ahead of schedule. The progress, however, has been uneven, across goals and within and across countries and regions. Gains will need to be consolidated. Gaps in implementation will need to be addressed.
The analysis in the Task Team Report supports an agenda that keeps a focus on poverty eradication and human development, while addressing new challenges and putting sustainable development at the centre. This would provide for a strong continuity between the MDG framework and the post-2015 UN development agenda, including the sustainable development goals or ‘SDGs’ called for at the Rio+20 Conference.
4. What is the link to SDGs and to the follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference ?
There is a recognized need to work towards one global development agenda for the post-2015 period, with sustainable development at its centre. The Rio+20 Outcome is an important step in this direction, having launched an inclusive intergovernmental process for developing a set of sustainable development goals “to be coherent with and integrated into the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015.
5. Who is involved in the consultations on the post-2015 development agenda?
Some Member States and regional organizations have already launched national and regional initiatives. A number of civil society organizations, from every region, have begun to engage in the post-2015 process and have, amongst other activities, formed global coalitions working together.
Academia and other research institutions have been particularly active, with a large array of publications focusing on the post-2015 development agenda and numerous conferences on the topic. The private sector is also involved, including the UN Global Compact. One major vehicle will be national-level consultations.
6. What will the post-2015 process be like?
Broad and inclusive consultations on the post-2015 UN development agenda are already beginning to take place, inside and outside the UN, including at the regional and national level.
A number of intergovernmental processes, in addition to the Rio+20 follow-up, will feed into the discussions moving forward, particularly in terms of identifying priority areas. The processes will focus on such issues as rule of law, international migration and development, population and development, disaster risk reduction, information society, gender equality and women’s empowerment, among others.
There are also the processes on development cooperation, financing for development and a sustainable development financing strategy that will be particularly relevant in terms of thinking about how to strengthen the global partnership for development to support implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. This fall, the General Assembly will consider the second annual report of the Secretary-General on accelerating progress towards the MDGs (mentioned above).
In September 2013, the President of the General Assembly will hold a special event during the 68th session, which is to focus particularly on accelerating progress towards the MDGs in the final stretch to 2015, but it is also seen as a key milestone in the deliberations on the post-2015 UN development agenda.
