MDG Gap Task Force Report 2012: The Global Partnership for Development: Making Rhetoric a Reality

To be launched the third week of September, the report notes that out of the 23 donors that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC), 16 reduced their aid in 2011. This was mainly as a result of fiscal constraints due to the current economic crisis, negatively affecting their official development assistance (ODA) budgets.

The MDG Gap Task Force was created by the UN Secretary-General to improve the monitoring of the global commitments contained in MDG 8, the Global Partnership for Development. Its main purpose is to systematically track existing international commitments and to identify gaps and obstacles at the international and country level in the areas of official development assistance, market access (trade), debt sustainability, access to essential medicines and new technologies.

The Task Force integrates more than 20 UN agencies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the OECD, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO). UNDP and DESA are the lead agencies in coordinating the work of the Task Force.

To download: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/mdg_gap/index.shtml

Statistical compilations

Monthly Bulletin of Statistics and MBS Online

The Monthly Bulletin of Statistics presents current economic and social statistics for more than 200 countries and territories of the world. It contains over 50 tables of monthly and/or bimonthly, quarterly and annual data on a variety of subjects illustrating important economic trends and developments, including population, prices, employment and earnings, energy, manufacturing, transport, construction, international merchandise trade and finance. 

Vol. LXVI – No. 7, July 2012 

In addition to regular monthly tables, this issue includes the following quarterly and annual tables: 

36. Total exports and imports by countries or areas: volume, unit value, terms of trade and purchasing power of exports, in US dollars
40. World exports by provenance and destination 

For more information: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mbs

Meeting records

Report on the Eleventh Session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA)

The Report and Resolution on the Eleventh session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), which was held fon 16-20 April 2012, and the Provisional Agenda for the next CEPA meeting in April of 2013 were recently adopted at ECOSOC’s annual substantive session which ended on 27 July, 2012. The main issues of the resolution for consideration by the Council were:

• To take note with appreciation of the conclusions and recommendations of the report of CEPA in its eleventh session on local public governance and administration for results, particularly the special emphasis on the role of citizens’ engagement, human capital development, including training and education of public servants, and fair allocation of resources in strengthening governance at all levels, particularly the local level. 
• To invite CEPA in the framework of the preparations for its twelfth session, to study the  effect of specific practices in responsive and inclusive public governance on development, bearing in mind the need to promote high standards of public sector integrity, transparency, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness, at national and local levels, to promote equal access to public services, and provide opportunities for all people to participate in the conduct of public affairs; and requests the Committee to convey the outcome of the study to the Council through its twelfth report in April 2013 with a view to assisting the process of preparing for deliberations on a post-2015 development agenda. 
• To invite Member States and other institutional donors to consider contributing to the relevant trust funds of DESA’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management, for extending its capacity building programmes and outreach activities, as appropriate. Additionally, the resolution requests the Secretariat to: a) increase the scope and depth of its online and offline capacity development training and to further develop its Public Administration Country Studies (UNPACS), b) give due recognition to innovative public sector initiatives by Member States through the promotion and strengthening of the UN Public Service Day and Public Service Awards, c) support the development of the UN Public Administration Network (UNPAN) for partnership-building, knowledge dissemination and the exchange of best practices and lessons learned in the area of public administration, and d) assist the implementation of the Geneva Plan of Action.

For more information:
http://www.unpan.org/DPADM/CEPA/11thSession/tabid/1505/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Discussion papers

Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects 

The latest issue notes that severe drought affecting large parts of the United States is having a damaging impact on crops and pushing up world food prices. The briefing also states that in response to slowing domestic growth and heightened uncertainty over the global outlook, monetary authorities in emerging economies are increasingly moving towards a more supportive policy stance.

To download: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/wesp_mb.shtml

Websites

UN Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda

The UN Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda website, prepared by DESA’s Division for Development Policy and Analysis, includes all the information, publications and key resources related to the UN System Task Team which aims to coordinate preparations for the development agenda beyond the MDG deadline of 2015 and support the work of the High-level Panel that the Secretary-General has appointed.

To browse: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/untaskteam_undf/index.shtml