22.01.2015 Round one of post-2015 negotiations

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On 19-21 January the first of the post-2015 intergovernmental negotiations kicked off with a stocktaking session. Statements from Member States and civil society revolved around:

  • Synopsis of the process (reflection on the Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report and Open Working Group report)
  • Integrating sustainable development goals and targets into the post-2015 development agenda
  • The Declaration
  • Means of Implementation and Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
  • Follow up and review
  • Interactive dialogue with Major Groups and other Stakeholders

This session provided us with an overview of Member States perspectives and what is and may be emerging in the post-2015 process. It is still unclear whether the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be opened again and how and when indicators will be developed. The next intergovernmental session takes place in NY in February (focusing on the Declaration) and this should provide us with more clarity.

Overall, the outcomes from this session were positive for persons with disabilities. Click here to read statements from Member States. Many Member States emphasized attention on the poorest and most marginalized groups of the world and that no one is left behind. Some Member States explicitly mentioned persons with disabilities in their statements, including: New Zealand, Hungary, Belarus, Costa Rica, Romania, Argentina, Gambia and the Philippines. Thank you all for your support!

On Wednesday, January 21 Vladimir Cuk from The International Disability Alliance (IDA) presented to Member States at the Interactive Dialogue with Major Groups and Other Stakeholders. (Thank you, Orsolya Bartha from IDA for your incredibly hard work on making this possible). The objective was to provide an opportunity for civil society representatives to react to statements made by Member States during the stocktaking session as well as to share key concerns with respect to the post-2015 development agenda. Click here to watch Vladimir’s presentation.

Specifically, Vladimir’s presentation called for the Declaration to:

  • Be phrased to advance human rights equally for all and recognize human rights as a core of the new development agenda
  • Explicitly reference the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) of which its core principles and obligations mandate the realization of inclusive societies based on respect for inherent dignity
  • Ensure that the needs of the poorest and most marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities, children, Indigenous persons and older persons are met throughout the entire framework

Furthermore, Vladimir pushed for an explicit reference of persons with disabilities in the poverty eradication goal (goal 1) since 800 million persons with disabilities live in poverty throughout the world. In addition, he recommended the development of a global indicator to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and eradication from poverty.

See details below on upcoming dates and themes of the post-2015 intergovernmental negotiations taking place at the UN in NY:

  • Declaration (17-20 February)
  • Sustainable Development Goals and Targets (23-27 March)
  • Means of Implementation and Global Partnership for Sustainable Development (20-24th of April)
  • Follow Up and Review (18-22 May)
    • Role of HLPF and ECOSOC
    • Partnerships
    • National reports and processes
    • Regional activities to support implementation and review
  • Negotiations on outcome document (22-25 June)
  • Negotiations on outcome document (20-24 July)
  • Negotiations on outcome document (27-31 July)
    • Unclear if open or closed sessions to civil society
  • UN Summit to adopt post-2015 development agenda (25-27 September)

In closing, we need to continue to collaborate and advocate together ensuring that no one is left behind in this new global development agenda.

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