ANNUAL MINISTERIAL REVIEW
The Annual Ministerial Review (AMR) is a new function of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) mandated by Heads of State and Government at the 2005 World Summit. Its purpose is to:
- Assess progress made towards the MDGs and the implementation of the other goals and targets agreed at the major UN conferences and summits over the past 15 years, which constitute the United Nations Development Agenda (UNDA).
- Contribute to scaling-up and accelerating action to realize the development agenda, by serving as global high-level forum with broad-based participation, where lessons learned are exchanged and successful practices and approaches that merit scaling-up are identified.
The AMR session consists of three main elements: A global review of the United Nations development agenda, a thematic review, and a series of national voluntary presentations by countries on their national development strategies.
Participants in the AMR have the opportunity to learn from leading policy makers, practitioners and academics through roundtable discussions, presentations and a general debate. The AMR helps policy makers identify and share proven strategies and approaches. Participants include Member States, UN System Organizations and other major institutional stakeholders, as well as non-governmental organizations, private sector representatives and academics.
ECOSOC successfully held its first AMR in July 2007, which focused on the eradication of poverty and hunger. In 2008, the ECOSOC is considering "Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to sustainable development". The theme for the 2009 Review is "Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to global public health".