Notes from the Hearings of the General Assembly with NGOs, Civil Society Organizations, Major Groups and the Private Sector in preparation for the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda

NABU representatives participated in the Hearings of the General Assembly with NGOs, Civil Society Organizations, Major Groups and the Private Sector in preparation for the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. The meeting was held at the UN headquarters, from 26-27 May. During the hearing, the General Assembly listened to the input of various stakeholders and member states pertaining to the post-2015 development agenda. Since the United Nations prepares for the meeting in September, which will define the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda and its sustainable development goals (SDGs), it was important for the UN to provide a forum to exchange ideas and gather feedback of NGOs, Civil Society Organizations, Major Groups as well as the Private Sector. The meeting was divided in four sessions with four roundtable discussion. In each one of the roundtables, the discussion started with the presentations of Panelists, followed by a response by Member States and Stakeholder Respondents. Subsequently, the floor was opened to the representatives of the organizations. Each roundtable had a theme: Declaration; Sustainable Development Goals, Targets and Indicators; Means of Implementation and Global Partnership for Sustainable Development; and Monitoring, Review and Follow-up. The first roundtable focused on framing the declaration of the post-development 2015 agenda. The participants stressed that the declaration should be a sincere renewal of political commitment; it should be easily communicated to people through key elements and messages, it should be concise, inspirational, and it should reflect the evolution of the development thinking. In addition, the declaration should address solutions to the problems of the twenty first century; should explain how the goals are to be achieved and should be based on the principle and values supported by the UN. Also, it should emphasize inclusion and engagement of all stakeholders; it should include data- based and evidence-based evaluation of progress. Moreover, the declaration should be people-centered: focusing on human rights, equality, inclusiveness, peace and a social justice. Other crucial components of the declaration should include gender equality, gender empowerment, culture, sport, and solidarity. The declaration should stress the importance collaboration between governments and civil society organizations. The second roundtable was dedicated to the importance of statistical data and reliability of evidence pertaining to measuring progress in achieving set goals. During the discussion, the issue of including indicators that show the national/local factors was raised. It was emphasized that the use of disaggregated indicators would not hide local issues. In addition, access to water management, sanitation and public are crucial for survival and, thus, must be properly addressed.  Finally, the panelist stressed that energy solution development should respect the human rights and any related policies should take into consideration cultural differences. The third round table was dedicated to ways in which SDGs will be achieved. It stressed that every level of society should participate in the process of transformation: the local society, national governments, private sector, and the international community should all be actively involved. The participants recognized that technology, science and innovation have great potential in facilitating the achievement of these goals by fastening, simplifying as well as making the process less expensive. The last roundtable was moderated by the Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director, UN Women and its main focus pertained to women’s empowerment and gender equality. In summary, the panel discussions centered on drafting the main issues to be included in the post-development 2015 agenda: effective collaboration of all stakeholders in promoting sustainable development through poverty eradication, gender equality, and effective use of modern technology in improving education.  NABU fully supports these activities for the development of SDGs. Text drafted by Juliana Kagami and edited by Robert Niewiadomski.