Mr. Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Secretary-General for the International Conference on Small Island Developing States

Remarks
Introduction of the Report of the Secretary-General
(2014 Annual Ministerial Review)

7 July 2014, New York

Your Excellency, Mr. Martin Sajdik, Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Through the United Nations summits and conferences, world leaders committed to the full and timely implementation of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. These have been integrated into the United Nations development agenda.

In particular, the MDGs have been successful in prioritizing development and creating momentum for their implementation.

While significant and substantial progress has been made in meeting many of the goals and targets, progress has been unequal, both among countries and goals.

We are dealing with many new challenges and different actors have emerged.

Excellencies,

I am pleased to introduce the 2014 Annual Ministerial Review Report of the Secretary General.  The report, prepared in close cooperation with UN system partners, informs our dialogue on the theme: “Addressing on-going and emerging challenges for meeting the Millennium Development Goals in 2015 and for sustaining development gains in the future”.

The Report approaches the theme through three broad priority policy concepts, namely:

i) Facilitators and enablers of development progress;

ii) Sustaining development gains through inclusive development; and

iii) Measuring progress in achievement of the MDGs and beyond.

On the first of these, the Report highlights opportunities for accelerating the achievement of the Goals. Several key facilitators and enablers of development are identified. These include:

  • sound national development strategies;
  • strong public institutions;
  • effective leadership at all levels;
  • conducive policy frameworks; and
  • supportive environments that include peace, stability and respect for human rights.

On sustaining development gains, the Report suggests actions necessary for achieving gains that are more inclusive, equitable and sustainable.

In particular, structural transformations are needed to bring about employment-centred growth, equity and coherent social policy frameworks that address inequalities at the national and international levels.

Creating the conditions for sustained and inclusive development will rest, above all, on the institutional arrangements that tackle the structural causes of exclusion and allow all individuals and groups to participate in meaningful ways in setting priorities.

The Report also contributes to mapping the linkage between the MDGs and the post-2015 development agenda, particularly through the issue of measurement.

The need for effective monitoring, review and accountability has been prominent in our minds as we discuss the elaboration of a future development agenda.

The Report notes that monitoring and reporting will be critical for success. It will be imperative to build or strengthen mechanisms that promote accountability and transparency.

It recommends that in-depth periodic reviews need to be conducted on the basis of sound data.

In addition, capacity-building and the effective use of big data have the potential for improving implementation, review and monitoring. There is a strong need to strengthen the capacity of national statistical offices. Overall, global capacity to produce and effectively use official and sound data needs to be built up.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Secretary General’s Report on the 2014 Annual Ministerial Review theme aims as an additional contribution to the completion of the unfinished business of the MDGs. It identifies some of the building blocks for the post-2015 development agenda.

The Report and its recommendations covering the three broad policy areas – facilitators and enablers, inclusive development, and measuring progress – have been crafted with these aims in mind. 

I trust that this contribution will facilitate your work.

Thank you.                             

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