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Inter-Agency Task Force on Financing for Development: Monitoring progress on the means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
1:15 PM - 2:30 PM
Conference room 6

Side Event

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda provides a global framework for financing sustainable development that supports implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Addis Agenda aims to align all resource flows and policies with sustainable development, and incorporates all the SDG means of implementation (MoI) targets into a comprehensive financing framework.

An inter-agency task force was established to “report annually on progress in implementing the financing for development outcomes and the means of implementation” of the 2030 Agenda and “advise the intergovernmental follow-up thereto on progress, implementation gaps and recommendations for corrective action” (Addis Agenda, para. 133). The Task Force published its inaugural report in March 2016, and proposed a three-pronged approach for its future monitoring activities: (i) a discussion of the global context and its implications for the follow-up process; (ii) an overview of progress in implementation in each chapter of the Addis Agenda, while covering the broader set of commitments and action items in an on-line annex, and (iii) analysis of thematic issues. Member States endorsed this approach at the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development (FfD) follow-up in April 2016.

Since then, the Task Force has started preparing Issue Briefs to take stock of progress in implementing FfD and MoI commitments, and has begun preparatory work on the on-line annex. As a platform for inter-agency coordination, the Task Force has also set out additional work streams, including technical discussions on topics relevant to FfD follow-up. Preparations for its second, 2017 report will commence in September and will benefit from additional guidance from Member States, including on relevant thematic issues and on which type of analysis would be most useful in the context of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

The Task Force is chaired by UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Wu Hongbo. It is comprised of over 50 United Nations agencies, programmes and offices, regional commissions and other relevant international institutions. The Financing for Development Office of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs serves as the coordinator and substantive editor, with the major institutional stakeholders of the FfD follow-up process, the World Bank Group, IMF, WTO, UNCTAD and UNDP, taking a central role.

Objectives

  1. Familiarize participants of the HLPF with the work of the Task Force, including its inaugural report and monitoring framework for the Addis Agenda and MoIs of the 2030 Agenda.
  2. Present the Task Force’s work programme for 2017 and solicit feedback.
  3. Present some ideas for inter-agency coordination under the umbrella of the Task Force.
  4. Present and seek inputs on the approach the Task Force will take towards the 2017 report, including its thematic coverage.

Guiding questions
  1. How can the 2016 report of the Task Force be used to support deliberations at the HLPF? How can the monitoring approach proposed in the report and endorsed at the FfD Forum be most useful to the MoI follow-up for the 2030 Agenda in the context of the HLPF?
  2. How can the Task Force’s analysis of thematic issues add the most value for Member States? How should the Task Force’s theme(s) relate to the 2030 Agenda?
  3. Should the Task Force include a greater emphasis on MoIs for those SDGs that are under priority review in any given year?
  4. Task Force members are international organizations, while much of what it is asked to report upon takes place at national or international non-official levels. While the Task Force will draw on the engagement of its members with governments, how can the Task Force best engage with sub-national and local authorities, civil society and the business sector?

Agenda

The side event will be structured as an interactive discussion.

Opening remarks: Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, UN-DESA Introductory remarks: Mr. Alexander Trepelkov, Director, FFDO, UN DESA

Moderator: Ms. Shari Spiegel, Chief, Policy Analysis and Development Branch, FFDO, UN DESA

Comments from: H.E. Mr. George Wilfred Talbot, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations and co-facilitator of the negotiations on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda

Discussants:

Mr. Thulani Nyembe, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of South Africa to the United Nations

Mr. Adebayo Babajide, Minister Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations (tbc)

Ms. Paola Simonetti, Coordinator for Development Policy, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Organizers: DESA/Financing for Development Office
United Nations