Southern Voice Alert 9: October 2013

“Implementation is a critical fault line of the MDGs”

-Says Southern Voice at Seoul Post-2015 Global Development Conference

Chair of Southern Voice on Post-MDG International Development Goals Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, made a presentation on “Post-2015 International Development Framework: Challenges of Implementation” at the Seoul Post-2015 Conference: Implementation and Implications. The conference was jointly hosted by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on October 7, 2013 in Seoul, Korea.

This conference presented a platform to discuss the political, analytical and technical implementation challenges that need to be addressed if governments around the world agree to build an ambitious and robust post-2015 framework. The focus was on the lessons learned in the implementation of other international development agendas, particularly MDG’s Acceleration Framework and the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation.

Dr. Deb Bhattacharya described implementation as one of the fault lines of the MDGs, suggesting that this was because of, among other things: shortfalls in the accountability mechanism, low level of public expenditures and narrow fiscal space, inadequate foreign aid flows and shocks emanating global financial and economic crises. Looking ahead, he asked the following questions: will this issue be addressed in the post-2015 agenda; will there be adequate resources to implement the multiple objectives of any post-MDG targets; and how will countries with special needs fit within a “universal agenda”?

H.E. Cho Tae-yul, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea delivered the opening remarks. At the conference, Mr. Sung-hwan Kim, Chair, Institute for Global Social Responsibility and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea; Ms. Rebeca Grynspan, Associate Administrator, UNDP; Ms. Marilou Uy, Senior Advisor to the World Bank’s Special Envoy on MDGs and Development Financing, World Bank; Mr. Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of the National Foundation for India and Co-chair, Global Call to Action Against Poverty and Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna. Director of ESCAP; also spoke at the session.

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