GLOBAL COOPERATION NEWSLETTER
October 2012 In this issue:
Looking Ahead: The UN System starts charting the road map for the post-2015
agenda Forum on Development Policy: European Development Days Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: Report sheds light on progress towards
implementing international commitments
 Useful resources and links

In focus: Looking Ahead. The UN system starts charting the road map for the post- 2015
agenda.
Business as usual cannot be a viable option and transformative change is needed—that is one ofthe key messages of the first report prepared by the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UNDevelopment Agenda called “Realizing the Future We Want for All”. The Task Team, launched inJanuary 2012, brought together senior experts from over 50 UN-system entities and otherinternational organizations, representing a genuinely collaborative effort of the UN familyorganizations to review the progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) andidentify the contours of the post -2015 UN development agenda. The terms of reference of the Task
Team envision not only assessing ongoing efforts within the UN system and defining a system-widevision and road map on the post-2015 agenda, but also foresee broad-based consultations withvarious stakeholders, representing civil society, academia and the private sector as to how to chart
the future course in a better way.
The central challenge of the post-2015 UN Development Agenda is seen by the authors of thereport to be ensuring that globalization becomes a positive force for all of the world’s people ofpresent and future generations. That is not an easy task. While the cross-border flows of trade,investment and finance have made national economies ever more closely integrated, offering many
new opportunities unseen before-- amid a technological revolution in transport and communications
that has decreased the significance of time and distance barriers-- the benefits of globalization
continue, however, to be distributed and shared in a very uneven way. The report tackles theexistence of persistent inequalities and struggles over resources among “key determinants ofsituations of conflict, hunger, insecurity and violence, which in turn are key factors that hold backhuman development and efforts to achieve sustainable development”. In the absence of a radicalshift towards more sustainable patterns of consumption, production and resource use, thecontinuous striving for improvements in material welfare might become a factor that exceeds thelimits of the natural resource base.
Taking the core values of human rights, equality and sustainability as points of departure andacknowledging that “an agenda format based on concrete end goals and targets, one of the key
strengths of the MDGs framework, should be retained”, the report puts forward four key dimensionsof a more holistic approach that are required to address highly interdependent existing challenges.
These dimensions, consistent with the principles of the UN Millennium Declaration, are as follows:
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1) inclusive social development; 2) inclusivesustainability; and 4) peace and security.

economicdevelopment;

3)

environmental

Emphasizing the transformative power of global goals such as the MDGs, and their role ingalvanizing development efforts globally and nationally, particularly with regard to poverty
eradication, the authors of the report also acknowledge the shortcomings of the MDGs framework.
In the words of the report, the MDGs did not adequately address “issues of productive employment,
violence against women, social protection, inequalities, social exclusion, biodiversity, persistentmalnutrition and the increase in non-communicable diseases, reproductive health and complexities
related to demographic dynamics, peace and security, governance, the rule of law and humanrights. In focusing on end objectives, the MDG framework provided little guidance as to the means
to achieve them”. As a result, several of the goals and targets related to the global partnership fordevelopment were defined “rather imprecisely, thereby weakening accountability for the promised
international support for the implementation of the MDGs framework”, and eventually many of thecommitments made by the international community have remained unfulfilled. The report identifies
some important constraints to sustainable and inclusive development in developing countries, suchas “insufficient access to predictable development finance, export markets, technologies andmedicines”.
The Task Team also acknowledges some shortcoming in the inception of the MDGs, first of all, aninsufficient consultation process during the initial stages of their conceptualization and formulation.
Accordingly, “a more inclusive process might have led to a better understanding of the need toadapt the global goals and targets to country contexts”. Given the lessons learned, those
shortcomings should be avoided during the ongoing work on the post-2015 agenda.
In the context of existing global interdependence, setting collective goals and targets to be pursued
by the world community does make sense, provided that there is the necessary degree of flexibility
in tailoring targets to local conditions, which is done best through a participatory process. In thewords of the report, “the post-2015 UN development agenda should maintain the focus on humandevelopment and the eradication of poverty as the ultimate objectives of any developmentagenda”. Yet, the agenda should also respond to several challenges of the modern world, such as
fighting persisting inequalities, promoting peace and security, good governance and accountability,
addressing population ageing and international migration, global urbanization and environmental
degradation, promoting greater knowledge-sharing, and other challenges. The proposed road map
is anchored to a two-step approach geared at supporting Member-States in their efforts to develop
the post-2015 UN development agenda. The first step is to promote an open, inclusive andtransparent consultation process aimed at taking stock and encouraging contributions from a wide
range of stakeholders. The second step is to intensify efforts to achieve intergovernmental
consensus on the post-2015 agenda, while sustaining and open and inclusive process.
For more details, please go to the full text of the document available at:
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/poverty-reduction/realizing-the-futurewe-want/
Forum on Development Policy: European Development Days, October 16-17 2012
Organized by the European Commission, European Development Days (EDD) has become theEuropean Union flagship forum on international affairs and development cooperation, bringing
together in mid-October in Brussels thousands of development advocates, decision-makers andpractitioners. The EDD assumed the role of an important platform for a yearly debate and exchangeof ideas, benchmarks and best practices, facilitating networking and building new partnerships
within the development community, in particular participants wishing to meet other stakeholders
involved in North South or South –South cooperation. This year’s two-day conference centered on
three priority themes: food and nutrition security, inclusive growth, and engaging the private sector
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for development. Several panels explored a wide range of issues on the agenda and beyond,putting forward fresh ideas and examining options and trade-offs. For more details on the agenda
and panels go to: http://eudevdays.eu/
Priority themes discussed.
Food security figures prominently on the agenda of EU development cooperation. According to thebackground note on sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security prepared by theorganizers for the discussions, the situation is critical in many developing countries. About 16 percent of the world population suffers from hunger and lives in poverty. Most of these people live inrural areas, where agriculture, mainly small-scale farming, is the predominant economic activity,
subject to the vagaries of climate, intense competition for land and water and rising prices for
fertilizers and fuel. Disaster risk management should be a clear priority in the war against hunger,
but in many cases that has not been the case. Achieving universal food security is of paramountimportance from many standpoints, as it underpins political stability, social welfare and economicgrowth. There is much untapped potential for scaling up production in developing countries.
Evidence shows that investments in the small holder sector often yield the best returns in terms ofpoverty reduction and growth, also building resilience of communities. For further details:
http://eudevdays.eu/edd12/topic/food-security
Inclusive and sustainable economic growth is closely linked to achieving long-term poverty
reduction. To that end, the development policy of the European Union aims at promoting more
inclusive growth, characterized by people’s ability to participate in, and benefit from, wealth and job
creation. Empowering people for inclusive growth requires a number of prerequisites, including
political stability, good governance, and security, the respect for human rights, a conducive
regulatory and business environment and a well-educated, healthy and creative population. Someother factors include the sustainable use of scarce natural resources, economic infrastructure,
implementation of core labour standards, and effective and beneficial participation in internationaltrade. Confronting persistent inequality is essential, along with promoting access to finance by poorand vulnerable groups, enhancing social protection and fighting corruption. Given a particularly
alarming situation in many countries with regard to youth unemployment, education and training
programmes should be combined with schemes that ensure that young people have a say in their
future. For further details: http://eudevdays.eu/edd12/topic/inclusive-growth
The private sector can be a driving force in making growth inclusive. This goal is achieved in a
multitude of ways, starting from generating productive and decent job opportunities along withinvesting in innovation and business models that are targeted to the needs of the poor. Engaging
the private sector as a development partner is a relatively new concept for national and donor
governments and multilateral organizations. Given that the foundations of private sector
development are weak in most developing and least developed countries, it is imperative fornational and donor governments to undertake reforms in the legal sphere, promoting public-private
cooperation and partnerships and encouraging the development of business models that can besuccessfullyreplicated and thatare commercially sustainable.
For more details:
http://eudevdays.eu/edd12/topic/private-sector
Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: Report sheds light on progress towards
implementing international commitments.
“Population ageing can no longer be ignored” –says the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon,in the preface to a new comprehensive report called “Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: A
Celebration and A Challenge” produced jointly by the United Nations Population Fund and HelpAge
International, and the Secretary-General’s observation does a good job of capturing the gist of its
content and the discussion: population ageing is one of the most significant trends with globalimplications.
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The report seeks to raise awareness about the speed of population ageing, and more generally,
about the experience of being old in the contemporary world. Fertility and mortality rates havedecreased world-wide. Increasing human longevity is undeniably one of the greatest achievements
of modern societies, and the opportunities associated with people living longer and healthier lives
are numerous. But those welcome opportunities need to be maximized, and ageing requires
multiple development responses.
This evidence-based report highlights crucial aspects related to population ageing: human rights,
income security, health issues, age-friendly environments, social exclusion and many others. The
results of a global survey on ageing are also presented and analyzed.
The executive summary is available in following languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French,
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.
The full text of the report can be found at: http://unfpa.org/ageingreport/
Useful resources and links
African Development ForumThe eighth African Development Forum (ADF VIII) has concluded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, withthe adoption of a Consensus Statement suggesting ways to aid African countries in using theirnatural resources to promote people-centered development.
http://new.uneca.org/adfviii/AboutADFVIII.aspx
Inter-Parliamentary Union AssemblyInter-Parliamentary Union members at the IPU’s 127th Assembly convened in Quebec City,
Canada, have committed to a comprehensive and ambitious Plan of Action on gender-sensitive
parliaments, aimed at radically transforming the way national institutions address gender equality.
The action plan, a potentially far-reaching outcome of the 127th IPU Assembly, not only tackles
women’s access to parliaments through affirmative action, but also gender parity in roles and ranks
inside parliaments; legal frameworks; the gender infrastructure and culture within parliaments, aswell as the need to engage political parties on the issue.
http://www.ipu.org/conf-e/127/res-plan.htm
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