Least developed countries’ perspectives on the next development agenda

24-25 June 2013, in UN Foundation, New York

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), LDC IV Monitor, Southern Voice on Post-MDG International Development Goals, and United Nations Foundation (UNF) held a series of meetings in New York to discuss the next global agenda with a focus on the least developed countries (LDCs).

The events, that had the participation of various national delegations to the United Nations, was an opportunity to connect researchers of the global South with those directly involved in the process of designing the next development agenda.

The events occurred at just the right time. By mid-June, the five reports on the Post-2015 Development Agenda by the High Level Panel on Post-2015, the UNDG consultations, the Regional Commission on Post-2015, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the Global Compact will have been released, and the SDGs Open Working Group will have held multiple meetings.

In this context, the events made a rich contribution from those researchers who are working directly at the national and local levels to accomplish the original MDGs. These researchers were able to bring a fresh perspective both in the review of the existing reports and in the identification of emerging trends that cannot be overlooked as the new development agenda is drafted. Some of these crucial topics included:

• Universality and its particularities. Although the universal approach to the next development agenda has been welcomed, researchers in LDCs have strengthened the need to make sure that it does not overshadow the problems faced by those who struggle the most.
• It is crucial for the next agenda be broader than an aid agenda. Throughout the events presenters and participants agreed on the changes that have occurred since the first MDGs were designed. In this context, it is important for the next agenda to be framed in such a way that it promoted a true partnership. South-South cooperation and other sources of funding – such as trade and migration – were identified as great opportunities to develop a stronger partnership.
• A development agenda cannot be successful without a connection to a wider international agenda. Researchers also agreed that a new development agenda will not succeed if it is not connected to a wider set of reforms, both in other international intergovernmental negotiations and through the work of multilaterals.

In addition to these trends, the event brought insight into key topics that should be taken into consideration such as the relevance of decent jobs and the challenges of urbanisation.

The series of events concluded with the panel Shaping the Post-2015 Development Agenda: The LDC Perspective that included the participation of Gyan Chandra Acharya, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States and Ambassador of Benin, Jean-Francis R. Zinsou.

 

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