Mr. Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Secretary-General for the International Conference on Small Island Developing States
Thematic Debate - Panel I: Shaping the post-2015 development agenda
4 July 2013, Geneva
Ladies and Gentlemen.
There is an emerging consensus that the post 2015 development agenda should build on the Millennium Development Goals with sustainable development at its core. Poverty eradication and sustainable development remain the key development challenges for the international community.
At Rio+20 last year, Member States agreed on the importance of achieving a balanced integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.? They also recognized ECOSOC¡¯s key role in this regard.
Deliberations on the post-2015 development agenda are underway. Some important analytical inputs, such as the report of the Secretary-General¡¯s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons, have been received.
Others are still to come.? The Special Event of the President of the General Assembly will be convened on 25 September of this year.? One of its expected outcomes is to share some views on the road ahead leading to post-2015 framework.? There is also the on-going work of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals and the Expert Committee on a Sustainable Development Financing Strategy.? Our expectation is that this process will result in a single global development framework that builds on the successes and addresses the unfinished business of the MDGs.
Ensuring that the post-2015 development agenda successfully integrates sustainable development into a unified development framework falls on both Member States and the United Nations system.
The intergovernmental processes of the UN all have clear and complementary roles.??
Member States should give clear guidance in advancing the process. At the same time, the UN system must ensure that it provides the relevant data, information and analysis to enable Member States to reach informed conclusions and recommendations. This support is critical to Member States in their elaboration of the sustainable development goals and the post-2015 development agenda.
Ultimately, translating the sustainable development agenda into a unified development framework is everyone¡¯s business. All stakeholders must work with Member States and the UN system to ensure that this undertaking is successful.
We need a flexible and balanced framework for action at the global level. The framework must support initiatives on the ground at the regional and national levels.
Regional development priorities and actions are growing in importance. Regional specificities therefore need to be taken into account.
The United Nations regional commissions, as part of the ECOSOC system, should continue their excellent support of regional development work. They should continue to feed regional experiences and lessons into deliberations at both the national and international levels.
National level actions determine whether commitments on poverty eradication and sustainable development are translated into results. National actions are essential for sustainable livelihoods that free people from fear and want. Working with national governments and their partners must remain at the center of all efforts of the UN system,.
The United Nations system supports governments in advancing development priorities
The United Nations has developed the operational tools and arrangements at the national level to promote joint and coherent planning and priority setting. These must be used to promote poverty eradication and sustainable development in the context of a unified development framework.? They should be refined where necessary.
In addition to supporting implementation, the UN system must support efforts to monitor, review and report on action that has been undertaken and gains made. It also needs to assist in identifying key challenges and implementation gaps, feeding these findings into higher level follow-up mechanisms.
A unified development framework for the future with poverty eradication and sustainable development at its core, is clearly one of our highest priority. The United Nations can facilitate its elaboration, implementation and review.
Thank you.