The Rio+20 Conference - the Future We Want - generated new momentum for achieving sustainable development.

The organizations of the UN system play a critical role in implementing its outcome and advancing sustainable development goals.

It is more important than ever that they work together at the global, regional, sub-regional, and country levels. Cooperation helps to avoid duplication among agencies, ensures synergies, and ultimately enhances the support of the United Nations system to developing countries.

To main inter-agency coordination mechanism for the Rio+20 follow-up continues to be the Executive Committee of Economic and Social Affairs Plus (ECESA Plus). ECESA Plus brings together 50 plus UN entities (including Funds, Programmes, Regional Commissions, Convention Secretariats, Specialized Agencies, International Financial Institutions, the WTO and IOM). It is convened by the UN-DESA and it builds on ECESA.

Other inter-agency mechanisms such as the United Nations System Chief Executives Board (CEB), the United Nations Development Group, the Environmental Management Group (EMG) continue to be instrumental in coordinating system-wide follow-up activities in their respective areas.

Joint follow-up action on specific issues is also conducted through formal and less formal issue-driven collaborative mechanisms such as UN-Water, UN-Oceans, UN-Energy, the High Level Task Force on Food Security, the Interagency Committee of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, to mention a few.

UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, in a letter addressed to the executive heads of UN system organizations, called for joint actions to respond to mandates explicitly addressed to the UN system in Rio+20. These have been captured in a framework aimed at ensuring that the UN system responds in a timely and coherent way. The framework is intended to be a working tool and it will continue to evolve as the UN family keeps moving the sustainable development agenda forward. Beyond these mandates, the whole Rio+20 outcome document demands a coordinated response by the UN system and its dedicated efforts to mainstream sustainable development in its work.

ECESA Plus currently serves as the coordinating platform for Rio+20 and SIDS Samoa Pathway follow-up, and it is supported on its day to day operations by the Division for Sustainable Development/DESA.