Partnering for new global development agenda tops discussion at UN forum in Ethiopia
| Publisher | UN News Service |
| Publication Date | 7 June 2013 |
| Cite as | UN News Service, Partnering for new global development agenda tops discussion at UN forum in Ethiopia, 7 June 2013, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/51b6f8014.html [accessed 25 January 2017] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A global partnership for development is critical to underpin the post-2015 development agenda, a senior United Nations official today said at an international forum in Ethiopia to discuss poverty eradication and sustainable development after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Addressing the high-level Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) in Addis Ababa, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo noted that "a candid and constructive exchange" among the various participants is necessary to keep the promises made under the MDGs.
Agreed on by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, the MDGs contain specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a Global Partnership for Development - all by 2015.
The renewed global partnership must take into account all existing international commitments on development finance, while also effectively promoting sustainable development and efforts to address both existing and new development challenges, Mr. Hongbo told the participants gathered at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) headquarters.
Organized in part by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the forum hosted more than 160 representatives from traditional donors as well as representatives of private philanthropic organizations, local governments, parliaments and civil society.
"We have a shared sense that the changing nature of development challenges and the ever more integrated development landscape overcomes the North-South dichotomy of providers and recipients," Mr. Hongbo said.
The DCF was mandated by the 2005 World Summit to engage all stakeholders in global dialogue on the effectiveness and coherence of development cooperation. This is the third high-level forum to be held since 2007. The next will be held in July 2014 in New York.
The goal of this two-day forum was to critically assess how the new development landscape could reshape the global partnership for development and what implications this would have for its underlying purposes and principles.
Addressing yesterday's opening, the president of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Néstor Osorio, highlighted the important role that the DCF has to advance the substantive debate on global trends in development cooperation and serve as a forum for discussion.
"The main objective of the DCF in its current cycle is to advance a common understanding of what is needed to ensure development cooperation is fit for purpose for a post-2015 era."
