On 16 January 2015, the UN President of the General Assembly (PGA), H.E. Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa, conducted and interactive dialogue with civil society representatives to discuss the five high-level thematic debates that he will host in 2015 as a contribution toward defining and implementing a transformative post-2015 development agenda.
Two months after the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Lima, Peru, the UN Climate Change Conference in Geneva was held from 8-13 February. A climate change conference will also be held this year in Bonn, Germany from 1-11 June, with the aim to continue progress toward achieving an ambitious climate change agreement at COP 21, taking place from 30 November to 11 December in Paris, France.
The UN President of the General Assembly hosted a high-level thematic debate on “Means of Implementation for a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda” on 9-10 February at UN Headquarters. The debate brought together Member States, parliamentarians, representatives of local and city authorities, UN entities, international financial institutions, regional development banks, the private sector, civil society, academia, and others. The event consisted of an opening plenary with remarks by the President and Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliaisson; two multi-stakeholder panel discussions; and a closing plenary.
On the sidelines of the President of the General Assembly’s High-Level Thematic Debate on “Means of Implementation for a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda,” the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) convened a side event on 10 February entitled “Making the Sustainable Development Goals Work – Harnessing Trade, Investment and Technology for Sustainable Development.” The event included opening remarks from President of the General Assembly Mr. Sam Kutesa and a welcome address by UNCTAD Secretary-General Mr. Mukhisa Kituyi. The discussion included perspectives from Member States and civil society, and was followed by an interactive debate.
The 2nd annual United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Forum will take place from 17-21 May in New York, and interested stakeholders are encouraged to register early (see below). The Forum takes place at an important juncture given the critical work taking place this year in the post-2015 development agenda negotiations, the Financing for Development Conference, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
The first drafting session in preparation for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3), to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 13-16 July 2015, took place in New York from 28-30 January 2015. Five days before this session, the co-facilitators of the FfD3 preparatory process, Ambassador George Wilfred Talbot of Guyana and Ambassador Geir Pedersen of Norway, in cooperation with the FfD3 Secretariat, released an “elements paper” for the outcome document of the FfD3 conference.
عربي http://bit.ly/Arabic_PGA_6March
中文 http://bit.ly/Chinese_PGA_6March
Español http://bit.ly/Espanol_PGA_6March
Français http://bit.ly/Francais_PGA_6March
Русский http://bit.ly/Russian_PGA_6March
English http://bit.ly/English_PGA_6March
At the request of the Office of the President of the General Assembly, UN-NGLS conducted an open nomination process for 3 civil society speaking roles in the President's High-level Thematic Debate on "Achieving gender equality and empowerment of women and girls for a transformative post-2015 development agenda." This event took place on 6 March 2015 at UN Headquarters. Travel funding was provided for the 3 civil society speakers that were selected.
The Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD3) will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 13-16 July 2015. The preparatory process for the Conference is co-facilitated by Ambassador George Wilfred Talbot of Guyana and Ambassador Geir O. Pedersen of Norway. The GA held two rounds of substantive informal sessions in November and December 2014 at UN HQs. Beginning in January, a series of informal drafting sessions will take place to negotiate the Conference outcome document.
On 31 December, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released his synthesis report on the post-2015 development agenda in all six UN languages. “The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet” outlines a vision for Member States to consider in negotiations leading up to the UN Special Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2015 that will adopt the post-2015 development agenda.
The 20-year review of the Beijing Declaration (Beijing+20) will take place during the 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59), to be held in New York from 9-20 March 2015. In the lead up to the global review, a number of regional events have been held to consider progress achieved since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) was adopted.
At the request of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), UN-NGLS conducted an open process to obtain nominations for civil society speakers and participants in the official segments of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which took place 14-18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan. This process sought nominations for 3 speakers in high-level multi-stakeholder partnership dialogues, and 5 participants in Ministerial round table discussions. Travel funding for a total of 23 civil society representatives was available through this process.
At the request of the Office of the President of the General Assembly, UN-NGLS conducted an open process to obtain nominations for a civil society speaker in the UN event to officially launch the International Decade for People of African Descent, which took place at UN Headquarters on Human Rights Day, 10 December. Dr. Barryl A. Biekman, a Surinamese-born African Diaspora organizer, served as the civil society speaker in the special event. Her statement received a standing ovation in the Trusteeship Council. This article reflects on the key presentations made during the event and presents the overall objectives of the International Decade for People of African Descent.
Against a backdrop of fast growing urbanization in Africa, the Marrakesh City Council, the FMDV-Global Fund for Cities’ Development and United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) brought together African local and regional authorities and their partners, under the theme “Financing African Cities: agenda, alliances and solutions,” in Marrakesh from 11-12 December.
On 1-3 December 2014, the Palais des Nations in Geneva opened its doors to almost 2,000 participants of the third Forum on Business and Human Rights. During three days, representatives of government, transnational corporations, other business enterprises, and civil society engaged in dialogue on fostering respect for human rights in the business sector, including international financial institutions (IFIs).
The Second World Human Rights Forum (WRHF) was held in Marrakesh on 27-30 November, with participants highlighting that peoples’ participation in decision-making and governance is essential in achieving human rights worldwide. The Forum, building on the first World Human Rights Forum held in Brasilia in December 2013, brought together representatives of governments, international human rights organizations, national human rights institutions, national and international NGOs and UN experts.
The UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) is an inter-agency programme of the United Nations mandated to develop constructive relations between the UN and civil society organizations.
