Today’s panel introduced two key mechanisms that aimed at ensuring accountability of the Millennium Development Goals, namely Every Woman Every Child and Open Government Partnership (OGP). The UN Secretary-General launched Every Women Every Child in 2010. It aims at advancing women and children’s health. An accountability framework was pioneered to improve information, track resources and have better oversight over results at both the national and global levels. An independent expert review group was set up to evaluate the progress made.

 Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral initiative. Its goal is to improve access to information, public participation, decision-making and review accountability at the national level. It secures commitment from various sectors to promote transparency, empower citizens and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. An independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) governed by international experts was set up to evaluate and track the OGP progress in all participating countries. These two mechanisms are designed to meet the individual accountability needs and strengthen efforts to meet goals and targets set by member states.

Seven countries have already held workshops this year to review the sustainable development goals and post-2015 development agenda. It is necessary to strengthen the accessibility of data. Reliable statistics are crucially important, and can be presented as a common referential framework for all countries. The importance of strengthening partner country capacity was also emphasized. This is the key to improving accountability. Lastly, it was mentioned that Canada is leading a global commitment to improve maternal, new-born and child health (MNCH) in developing countries. Not only does it reduce the number of preventable deaths, it also enhances gender equality and strengthens governance practices.

Meeting Title: Learning from Existing Accountability Mechanisms: Ensuring Resources and Results for Member State Goals
Speakers: Mr. Navid Hanif, Director, Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, DESA; H.E. Mr. Masood Khan, Permanent Representative of the Mission of Pakistan; H.E. Mr. Vincent Rigby, Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Government of Canada
Location: Conference Room E, United Nations HQ, New York
Date: 8 July 2014
Written By WIT representative: Samantha Kong
Edited By WIT Representative: Marli Kasdan