Post-2015 agenda will need partnership

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Source:UN News  Today, during an interactive dialogue with representatives from civil society, Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly, urged the participants to harness resources for an inclusive, transformative post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

“Together, we must go beyond business as usual,” he said, calling for a partnership of development cooperation that promotes global governance and national accountability through existing country-level mechanisms, as well as regional and international frameworks for action.

In that spirit, he hailed the unprecedented collaborative efforts surrounding the creation of a post-2015 development agenda, currently being crafted by UN Member States as a successor framework to the landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which warp up at the end of the year.

“Over 5 million people have taken the MyWorld Survey to voice their priorities,” he informed the participants.

He went on to announce intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda to be held from 19 to 21 January, explaining that the first session would feature an interactive dialogue with all relevant stakeholders, including civil society, parliaments, local authorities and the private sector.

The Assembly President also informed the group of informal that interactive hearings with representatives of civil society and the business sector that will take place from 4 to 5 March, and he encouraged non-governmental organizations and business sector entities to participate in the Third International Conference on Financing for Development and its preparatory process. That Conference is set to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 13 to 16 July.

Spotlighting other upcoming activities, Mr. Kutesa announced that he would be convening a series of high-level events including on, mean of Implementation for the post-2015 development agenda (9 and 10 February); advancing gender equality and empowerment of women in the post-2015 development agenda (6 March); a thematic debate on Promoting Tolerance and Reconciliation is being arranged for April; and on ‘The Demographic Dividend and Youth Employment’ (1 June).

“The United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service is working closely with my office to manage a self-nomination process of civil society representatives for these events,” he explained, with the aim of reaching out to major groups, regional and international civil society networks new participants with innovative ideas.

Mr. Kutesa told the participants that his office was coordinating with the Secretary-General’s post-2015 team, the UN Millennium Campaign, the MYworld team, the UN Foundation, and other stakeholders to promote partner engagement through virtual and social media networks.

“In the past, such processes have brought new voices and ideas to the forefront of discussions on a wide array of global challenges and fostered valuable and constructive inputs,” Mr. Kutesa said, “Going forward, we hope to further strengthen such engagement and partnership across the full spectrum of relevant stakeholders.”

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