financing for development

“Getting to Know the Economic and Social Council System in the Sustainable Development Goals Era”

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The meeting convened by the President of ECOSOC H.E. Ms. Inga Rhondo King as part of the Orientation Course on the Economic and Social Council for members of the Council. The session was the first part of a series of discussions with members of the council on ‘Getting to Know ECOSOC in the SDG Era’. In her remarks, H.E. Ms. Inga said that the MDGs Era was a period of experimentation where we faced global challenges. She added that to strengthen the work of ECOSOC, three events will be held this year: The Annual youth forum, the High-Level Political Forum (HLFP) on Sustainable Development and the SDGs Fair.

Delegates from different member states in attendance discussed and asked questions on how to strengthen the ECOSOC system and its governance. The secretary of ECOSOC, Ms. Emer Herity highlighted the role of ECOSOC, and explained the structures and related platforms, its mandates and outcomes, and the working methods and procedures of ECOSOC system in the context of work program and agenda for the 2019 ECOSOC cycle. In another statement, Ms. Emer added that the council offers an inclusive space to exchange experiences, knowledge and ideas for a better result on how ECOSOC contributes in advancing the integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda and related agendas. She ended her remarks by stating that the specific global functions of ECOSOC will bring value to, and effectively support, national level implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

In another remark, Ms. Leslie Wade Chief of International Indigenous Speaker Bureau/ Office of Intergovernmental support (IISB/OISC) discussed the implementation of the work of ECOSOC’s segments and Forums such as Financing for Development Forum (FFDF), Youth forum, Partnership forum, Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) and the Multi-stakeholder Forum on science, Technology and Innovation (STI forum)

Meeting: Informal meeting on “Getting to Know the Economic and Social Council System in the Sustainable Development Goals Era”

Date/Location: Wednesday 23th January 2019; Trusteeship Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York, New York

Speakers:

-The president of ECOSOC H.E. Ms. Inga Rhonda King

-Ms. Marion Barthelemy, Director, Office of intergovernmental support and Coordination for Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (OISC/DESA)

-H.E. Marco A. Suazo, Head-of-office, UNITAR New York

-Ms, Emer Herity, Secretary of ECOSOC and the Second Committee

-Ms, Leslie Wade, Chief, IISB/OISC

-Mr. Huanyu Liu Policy Integration Unit, Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO)

-Representative from the Division for the Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG)(TBC)

Written By: WIT Representative Kim Juyeon

Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Rights

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In order to put emphasis on strengthening accountability, transparency and financing for gender equality and women’s rights, a discussion was held to address the role of development cooperation in supporting the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. Ms. Khan began by highlighting the importance of strengthening political support for better financing in dealing with gender equality. Three specific areas were discussed, including mutual accountability and transparency, aid quantity and quality and the engagement of the diversity of development cooperation actors.

Next, Mr. Smith stressed how this is an important subject as an entry point to discuss the techniques needed to make progress.He specifically talked about the importance of easy access to information, which would empower and create solutions for solving grand societal challenges. Mr. Hendra then pointed out it is a must to build a more robust understanding of all countries on their specific situations. In addition, it is essential to strengthen government accountability and identify measures to address gender equality efficiently. This is necessary to maintain a transformative post-2015 development agenda.557630-genderrights-1370150215-998-640x480

Ms. Craviotto then briefly discussed the trends in funding for women’s rights, including the role of the private sector. She also quoted examples of various countries and their experiences in tracking allocations for gender equality. Ms. O’Neill explained the analysis on donor investments in gender equality, and women’s rights towards the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. Based on the latest report published in March, the total amount of bilateral aid targeting gender equality and women’s empowerment tripled from 8 million USD in 2002 to 24 billion USD in 2012, resulting in an annual average growth rate of 12%. The increase in aid to gender equality and women’s empowerment is one of the most tangible outcomes of MDG 3 – promote gender equality and empower women.

 

Meeting Title: What women get: promoting transparency and accountability in financing for gender equality and women’s rights
Speakers: Ms. Zohra Khan, Policy Advisor of Governance and National Planning, UN Women; Mr. Anthony Smith, Director for International Cooperation, Department for International Development, United Kingdom; Mr. John Hendra, Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director, UN Women; Ms. Nerea Craviotto, Lead Advocacy Coordinator, Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID); Ms. Patti O’Neill, Head of Division, Global Policies and Partnerships, Development Cooperation Directorate, OECD
Location: Conference Room C, United Nations HQ, New York
Date: 10 July 2014
Written By WIT representative: Samantha Kong
Edited By WIT Representative: Marli Kasdan

UN Annual Ministerial Review on MDGs

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The United Nations held its annual ministerial review, and Mr.Wu presented the 2014 ARM report of the Secretary General. Mr. Wu elucidated that the MDGs have been important in prioritizing development and creating momentum for their implementation. He then acknowledged that although there has been significant progress in meeting many of the goals and targets, achievements have not been equal among goals, countries and regions.

Further, Ms. Fukuda-Parr gave a report on the sixteenth session of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), (E/2014/33, and Supplement No. 13). The CDP gave policy analysis and substantial recommendations on global governance and global rule. She explained that there are five principles crucial to guiding the reforms on global rules, namely, (i) Common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities, (ii) Subsidiarity, (iii) Inclusiveness, transparency and accountability, (iv) Coherence and (v) Responsible sovereignty. Ms. Fukuda-Parr concluded her statements by recommending that the council’s role to coordinate and guide initiatives of global socio-economic development should include an effective mechanism to monitor all development partners, including developed and developing countries, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and multilateral organizations.images-8

Further, the representatives of Norway and Costa Rica concurred with Ms. Fukuda-Parr’s conclusion. Next, the representative of Costa Rica added that her delegation is interested in establishing a truly global development partnership that builds upon the Monterrey Consensus, the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development and the Rio+20 outcome. The three dimensions of Sustainable Development: Economic, Social and Environment, were at the top of the agenda for many delegates, such as the delegates of South Africa, European Union, Serbia, G77 and China, San Marino and Zambia. With conviction, these ministers and diplomats agreed that a balanced integration and implementation of the injunctions given at Rio+20 asserts the function of the council in achieving a balanced integration of the three dimensions.

 

Meeting: The afternoon session of the high-level segment of the 2014 session of the Economic and Social Council and the three-day ministerial meeting of the high-level political forum on Sustainable Development. The Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) “Addressing on-going and emerging challenges for meeting the Millennium Development Goals in 2015 and for sustaining development gains in the future”
Speakers: Introduction of the report of the Secretary-General: Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; Introduction of the report of the Committee for Development Policy: Ms. Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Vice-Chair, And Committee for Development Policy. General debate (rolling list), His Excellency Sacha Sergio Llorentty Solíz, Permanent Representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the United Nations (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China); Her Excellency Olga Marta Sánchez Oviedo, Minister of Planning and Economic Policy  of Costa Rica (on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States); His Excellency Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Environment (on behalf of the European Union); His Excellency Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia; His Excellency Pasquale Valentini, Minister of Foreign Affairs of San Marino; Representative of Zambia, Representative of South Africa, and Representative of European Union.
Date: 8 July 2014
Location: United Nations Headquarters, NY, ECOSOC Chamber
Written by WIT Representative: Modou Cham