High-level Panel of Eminent
Persons on the Post-2015
Development Agenda.
(Photo: NGLS)
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A group of Southern NGOs, led by DAWN, ANND and Social Watch, is gathering signatures in order to send this letter in the coming days to the members of the High Level Panel that is advising the UN on the content of a future Agenda for Development post-2015. To add your signature to the letter please write to socwatch@socialwatch.org.
Download the letter in English, Spanish, French and/or Arabic.
See the list of signatories here.
Dear High Level Panel,
When joining the United Nations Secretary-General's High-Level Panel of eminent persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda you were tasked to be bold and ambitious. As concerned individuals and organisations we appeal to each one of you in these last few weeks of your mandate to ensure that the panel report includes at minimum the following critical concerns:
- Poverty is multi-dimensional and should not be narrowly defined and measured only as a matter of income.
- Existing international human rights norms, standards and instruments should be form the basis of the Post 2015 agenda both in terms of its aspiration and accountability mechanisms. This must explicitly include sexual and reproductive rights.
- There is a positive link between peace and security and democratic governance at all levels, including the global, regional, national and local, with efforts to realize social justice. As such it is imperative to reiterate this link in the post 2015 agenda as a key element of its conceptual framework and adopt the necessary themes, goals and plans for implementation.
- The post 2015 development agenda should include a clear goal with regards to the "right to self-determination" and the end to occupation that includes a time bound agenda and targets for its achievement.
- While all national governments clearly need to do more for the realisation of human rights and social justice, the panel report should recognise that the capacity of governments to deliver is constrained by three main global barriers:
a. Climate change that threatens livelihoods and survival, especially of the most vulnerable who had nothing to do with creating the problem.
b. Deregulated global finance that creates volatility, promotes capital flight and tax evasion and threatens real economies with repeated, devastating crisis.
c. Unfair global trade regime that discriminates against developing countries and abusive investment agreements that give corporations the privilege to sue governments in international tribunals when health, environment or human rights regulations affect their profits.
- For the Post 2015 framework to succeed accountability mechanisms must be universal, rights-based, and provide full and timely remedies to affected communities. Governments, international financial institutions, development actors and corporations should be held to account through multilateral, legally binding mechanisms.
As all of these issues are based on existing international agreements and commitments, to not take them into account would be a scandal and would be detrimental to development and social justice goals. We would therefore expect that you would not associate yourself with an outcome that does not include them.
To sign please send emails to the following accounts:
Sarah Boukhari (sarah.boukhari@annd.org),
Hanan younis (hanan.younis@annd.org)
Social Watch (socwatch@socialwatch.org)
Download the letter in English, Spanish, French and/or Arabic.
See the list of signatories here.
