Transcript Presentation on the Main outcomes of the United Nations

Main outcomes of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development:
Implications for Africa
An ECA Presentation at the
Eighth Session of the Committee on Food Security
and Sustainable Development
and the
Africa Regional Implementation Meeting for the
Twentieth Session of the Commission on Sustainable
Development
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 19 November 2012
Outline of the presentation
Scope and objectives of the report
The Africa Regional Preparatory Process
The main outcomes of Rio+20 and their
implications for Africa
Conclusion and way forward
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Scope of the report
Focus:
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High Level Political Forum on Sustainable
Development
Sustainable Development Goals
Means of Implementation
Third International Conference on Small
Island Developing States
Programme of work on broader measures
to complement GDP
Green Economy
Thematic and cross-sectoral issues
Objectives of the report
Analyse the main outcomes of Rio+20 and their
implications for Africa
Identify possible areas of intervention by regional
partners and organizations
Inform the deliberations of the Africa RIM for CSD-20
Elicit inputs on regional priorities and concerns in the
implementation of the Rio+20 outcomes
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Africa’s preparations for Rio+20…
Preparations spearheaded by ECA jointly with the AUC and
AfDB, in partnership with RECs, UNEP, and UNDP (OSAA, UNDESA)
Objectives:
 Support African countries to collectively articulate their
concerns and priorities at the Conference
 Ensure these priorities are adequately reflected in the
Conference outcomes
 Strengthen regional consultative mechanism to support
implementation of Conference outcomes
Africa Consensus Statement to Rio+20- Common Position
Website address:
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http://www.uneca.org/rio20
Rio+20 outcomes: The Future we Want
Largely reflects Africa’s priorities and concerns as contained in its
Common Position for Rio+20
UNGA at its 67th Session was to take decisions on a number of important
issues:
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• Identifying the format and organizational aspects of the
Universal, Intergovernmental High-Level Forum
• Strengthening the United Nations Environment Programme
• Constituting a working group to develop global Sustainable
Development Goals to be agreed by UNGA
• Establishing an intergovernmental process to prepare a
report proposing options on an effective SD financing
strategy
• Considering a set of recommendations from the SecretaryGeneral for a facilitation mechanism that promotes the
development, transfer and dissemination of clean and
environmentally sound technologies
• Launch of a programme of work on broader measures of
progress to complement GDP
• Designating a member State body to operationalize the 10YFP-SCP
Our common vision and renewing political commitments
Touches on all aspects of sustainable development,
including the governance dimension
Reaffirms principles contained in all relevant UN documents
(CBDR), including the UN Charter
Reaffirms commitment to all IADGs
Recognizes poverty eradication as a global challenge and
overriding objective of sustainable development
Other important elements:
• Advancing integration, implementation and coherence
• Engaging major groups and other stakeholders
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Institutional framework: global level
Establish a universal intergovernmental high-level
political forum, subsequently replacing CSD
Launch an intergovernmental negotiation process
under the GA - first meeting 68th GA
To respond to Africa’s needs, the forum should:
• Foster the balanced integration of the three dimensions,
including through its membership
• Vertical linkages- global to local based on the priciple of
subsidiarity
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Institutional framework: regional level
Regional and sub-regional institutions, including RCs - key
role in sustainable development
Enhance the RCs and their SROs in their respective
capacities to support Member States
Suggested Actions:
• Africa- RIM to be strengthened to Africa SD Forum
• RCM-Africa to coordinate UN support for Rio+20 outcomes
• Support for African LDCs participation in regional and global
platforms
• ECA to be strengthened to support countries on sustainable
development, including integration of the three dimensions
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Institutional framework: national level
Countries to strengthen institutions or relevant multistakeholder bodies and processes dealing with SD to enable
effective integration
Suggested actions:
• Decentralized structures at the local level
• Be linked vertically – with sub-national, sub-regional and
regional levels – as well as horizontally
• Coordinate the development and implementation of policies
and strategies
• Tools and approaches to promote the balanced integration of
the three dimensions of sustainable development
• Identify innovative sources of funding to implement
sustainable development
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Sustainable development goals
Recognize the importance and utility of a set of SDGs,
taking into account national specificities
Establish an intergvt process to develop global SDGs
Request relevant UN system bodies to support Regional
Commissions to collect and compile national inputs
Suggested actions:
• Ensure effective bottom-up consultations to inform global SDG
process
• Build on the Post-2015 Development Agenda consultations and
promote the convergence of the two processes
• Sustainable development report on Africa – regional chapter of
the proposed Global Sustainable Development Report
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Financing
Establish an intergovernmental process under the GA, with
technical support from the UN system and in open and
broad consultation with relevant stakeholders
Suggested actions:
• ECA, with AUC and AfDB, to carry out a comprehensive
assessment of the financing requirements and provide a
platform for broad-based consultations
• Enhance mobilization of domestic resources; consider
innovative finance, channel FDI to SD
• Accelerate progress towards putting in place a regional
financial architecture to deal with crises
• Consolidating existing SD-related funds, towards creating an
Africa Sustainable Development Fund
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Financing - Voluntary commitments
More than 700 voluntary commitments amounting to more
than 170m USD specific to Africa, and “global”
Suggested actions:
• ECA to serve as a broker between UNDESA, committing
organizations, and African member States
• Requesting ECA and other partners to promote platforms to
share experiences and foster knowledge
• Advocate for inclusion of African countries not yet targeted
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Technology development and transfer
Technology: Request UN agencies to identify options for a
facilitation mechanism that promotes the development, transfer
and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound
technologies
Suggested actions:
• The UN to establish of an independent advisory board on technology–
UN Cluster on Science and Technology of RCM Africa and the African
cluster on S&T could constitute regional chapter
• Strategies to promote and strengthen technology institutions at all
levels
• Establishment of regional and sub-regional networks of centres of
excellence and hubs, leveraging on existing networks
• Establishment of regional funding mechanisms to support developing
countries (taking into account the proposed regional SD fund)
• Establishing of a steering committee to focus on development,
dissemination and use of clean technologies
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Capacity development
Capacity development: Invite all relevant actors to support
developing countries in capacity-building for developing resourceefficient and inclusive economies
Suggested actions:
• ECA and partners to support the revision of the AU-NEPAD Capacity
Development Strategic Framework, informed by regional priorities and
Rio+20
• The coordination of various capacity development initiatives at all
levels
• The elaboration of national capacity development strategies
• School curricula to incorporate knowledge and skills for sustainable
development
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Small Island Developing States
Third International Conference on SIDS to be held in 2014
Five SIDS in Africa: Cape Verde, Comoros, Mauritius, Sao Tome
and Principe, Seychelles
Suggested actions:
• Call for bold and ambitious outcomes
• Reiterate the importance of the consolidating and scaling-up of
the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action and
the Mauritius Strategy
• Support for national and regional preparations for the
Conference & coordination of support to be provided
• African SIDS to provide guidance on the kind of support
required
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Programme of work on broader measures to
complement GDP
Establish a programme of work on measures to complement GDP,
to be led by the UN Statistical Commission
Provides opportunity for more accurate and comprehensive
assessment of the state of the economy
Suggested actions:
• ECA, AUC, AfDB and others to provide required support
• Participation in the process- meeting early 2013
• The Statistical Commission for Africa to provide platform to
discuss and inform Africa’s position – 2014 next session
• African countries to ratify the African Charter on Statistics
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Green Economy
Recognizes GE as one of the important tools, bearing in mind the
need to: respect national sovereignty; strengthen international
cooperation, including MoI; avoid unwarranted conditionalities on
ODA, finance and trade; and promote sustainable consumption and
production
Suggested actions:
Seek better understanding of green economy paradigm
Adopt step-wise approach, considering different stages of
development and country specificities
Case studies that allow for lesson learning to inform policies
Ensure inclusive job-creating growth that is resource efficient
Key requirements are technology, capacity and appropriate
investments
Need to strengthen existing partnerships and build new ones
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Thematic and cross-sectoral issues
Identified a number of thematic and cross-sectoral issues and
highlighted key actions for implementation, supported by
adequate means of implementation:
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Poverty eradication
SIDS; LDCs; Landlocked developing countries; and Africa
Water and sanitation; sustainable transport; energy; mining
Education; human health and population; gender
equality/women empowerment; employment, decent work &
social protection
Sustainable cities/human settlements; oceans & seas; DRR;
climate change; forests; biodiversity; desertification; land
degradation & drought; mountains; chemicals and wastes;
sustainable consumption and production
Food security & nutrition; and sustainable agriculture
Sustainable tourism
Thematic and cross-sectoral issues
Important to implement the Rio+20 thematic and crosssectoral outcomes within the framework of existing
regional, subregional and national frameworks and
ensure coordinated support by UN and other partners:
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Africa has already clearly identified programmes of action in
several of the areas (e.g. ClimDev programme,
AUC/ECA/AfDB Land Policy Initiative, NEPAD framework,
such as e.g. CAADP, PIDA, CPA, DRR, EAP)
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RCM-Africa – coordinated institutional arrangement for UN
Agencies’ support to NEPAD programme and the strategic
plans of the AU and RECs
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SRCMs to ensure effective linkages between RCM-Africa and
UNDAF processes at national level
Africa
Rio+20 called on the international community to enhance support and
fulfill commitments to advance Africa’s sustainable development
Welcomed the efforts by development partners to strengthen
cooperation with NEPAD
Welcomed the progress made by African countries in deepening
democracy, human rights, good governance and sound economic
management
APRM could promote accountability of governments and their
institutions
Invited Africa’s development partners to:
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Support African countries to strengthen human capacities and
democratic institutions
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Facilitate the transfer to technology (as mutually agreed)
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Increase the flow of new and additional resources for
development
Africa
Suggested actions:
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Renew political commitment to sustainable
development
Strengthen the NEPAD programme as a framework for
SD in the region – integrating the outcomes of Rio+20
in its review
Ensure that national and regional development
strategies are informed by sustainable development
frameworks
Enhance awareness of SD and encourage participation
of all stakeholders
Support the creation of an African Sustainable
Development Fund (see financing SD)
Conclusion and way forward
Africa needs to effectively engage in the
intergovernmental processes set out in the Rio+20
outcome document
In this regard, the continued involvement of Africa’s
political leadership critical:
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The Outcome Document of Africa-RIM to feed into CSD-20
and other relevant processes under the GA
Draft decision to be presented at AU Summit in January 2012
(MS to sponsor)
Tabled at the Sixth Joint Meetings of the Joint AUC/ECA
Conference of Ministers (March 2013)
Inform the business plans of RCM-Africa
Thank You
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