Monthly Archive: February 2016

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What can we expect from the 47th Session of the UN Statistical Commission?

On 8-11 March 2016, the 47th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission will be held at the UN Headquarters in New York. A major item on their agenda will be the consideration of the global SDG indicator framework, by which to measure progress on achieving the 169 far-reaching SDG targets generated by the Interagency and Expert Group on SDGs (IAEG-SDGs. After several rounds of consultation led by IAEG-SDGs co-chairs Enrique Ordaz (Mexico) and Lisa Bersales (Philippines), 231 indicators have now been agreed upon by the IAEG-SDGs. John Pullinger, Chair of the United Nations Statistical Commission, said that the Commission’s overarching commitment is to make sure “countries have the information they need to ensure that by 2030 no one individual, region or country is left behind.” Read more…

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The UN development system: important, yet inconspicuous to Civil Society

The United Nations – a 70-year-old institution – has reached an inflection point and like other institutions, is facing challenges in rapidly demanding times, challenges to which it must adapt in order to survive. Some Member States are asking if this important institution will maintain its relevance and credibility. They’re asking whether the UN development system will be able to be country-led and to deliver to all countries, and in particular demonstrate its commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Read more…

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The UN to discuss Inequality and Taxes

In addition to its full programme (see below), the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations has called for a special meetings in the first six months of 2016 to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (ASD). The issues to be addressed require ambitious policy changes at national and global levels if the 2030 ASD is to be realized: Inequality and Tax Matters. Read more…

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Technology and SDGs

One of the concrete commitments from the Addis Ababa Action Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 ASD) is the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM). Spearheaded by Brazil and France, the development of the TFM has been described by Sérgio Rodrigues dos Santos of Brazil, as a “testimony to the strength of multilateralism through collective action.” Read more…

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World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016

The United Nations has offered its annual assessment of prospects for 2016 in its World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report. It opened with: “The world economy stumbled in 2015, amid weak aggregate demand, falling commodity prices and increasing financial market volatility in major economies.” In addressing the impact of the downward pressure on economies, UN ASG Lenni Montiel, explained that many countries, “specifically LDCs which rely on commodity exports, will be unable to sustain public spending on health, education, and climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.” With LDCs reliant on the commodity export – most averaging 16% of GDP from the commodity industry – LDCs will not reach sustainable development goal 8, target 8.1, of 7% economic growth per year in GDP. (See WESP 2016, Box I.1 for more detailed outline of economic prospects for LDCs.) Read more…

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Where next for the United Nations Development System?

By Barbara Adams and Sarah Dayringer

The UN has released the advance unedited version of its report of the UN Development System (UNDS), lightly entitled the “Implementation of General Assembly Resolution 67/226 on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review [QCPR] of operational activities for development of the United Nations system.” The UNDS comprises the activities of some 30 agencies – coordinated by the UN Development Group – and the intergovernmental bodies that provide guidance and oversight, such as the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and its commissions. This report is the key input for the ECOSOC Operational Activities Segment to be held at the UNHQ on 22-24 February 2016. Read more…

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The mandate of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters ends June 2017. In early April 2017, the Committee met to discuss updates and renewal of their vows. A change the Committee will implement in their next cycle is regional representation. Additionally during their time in New York, there was a call by for more resources to fund the committee and subcommittees’ work resounding on the edge of the continued pursuit by G77 and China to transform the tax committee into a UN intergovernmental body due to its comparative advantage of universal membership. This call hit a wall of OECD member countries defending the OECD’s Base Erosion & Profit Shifting or BEPS plan for international cooperation in tax matters. It is easy to see where priorities lie if you look at resources of these institutions. The trust fund created for the UN committee of experts on international cooperation in tax matters, is nil and there are only 1.5 paid staff in this department. The World Bank employs 45+ tax experts with an annual budget of give or take USD 45 million, and the OECD employs 75+ tax experts and has a near USD 65 million annual budget. Further reinforcing the OECD-led BEPS plan, is the launch of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax.

There is a method of addressing the SDGs at the UN becoming more and more popular. The UN World Data Forum (created to expand and accept broader input in response to the Data Revolution) in early January 2017, created essentially a to-do list called the “Cape Town Global Action Plan” which was explained as an organizing framework for all stakeholders. The design of that action plan resembles other fora, for example the Oceans Conference, which set up a platform of action areas, that invite stakeholders to ‘sign-on’ to contribute to those areas by making voluntary commitments.

The idea is, post sign-on, to assess where there is capacity to deliver on which SDG targets (and for the UN to fill in where there are gaps or “SDG orphans”, according to Stefan Schweinfest, Director of the United Nations Statistics Division, UN DESA. For more information see  http://undataforum.org/WorldDataForum/launch-of-the-cape-town-global-action-plan-for-sustainable-development-data/ and https://oceanconference.un.org/.

Since taking office, the UN Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly have prioritized raising enthusiasm for the 2030 Agenda and achievement of the SDGs. The new Chair of the Group of 77 (Ecuador) has shown similar enthusiasm in institutional reforms needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda. For instance, in the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly is emphasizing a more transparent, gender and geographically balanced selection processes for senior UN officials, and how to more efficiently organize their work program to facilitate equal footing at high-level meetings. On this point the G77 Chair noted in his statement that “enhancing the participation of equal footing [in the General Assembly] cannot be led by a restrictive group of hegemonic powers”. Additionally, on institutional reform, the Ad Hoc Working Group established the need to enhance coherence between the agendas of the General Assembly and ECOSOC in paragraph 22 and 23 of resolution 70/305, which will hold an informal on 6 March 2017. The next meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group is 15 March 2017 in New York. For more on this process see (http://www.un.org/en/ga/revitalization/revital_current.shtml).