Beyond 2015 suggests civil society representatives to UN High Level Panel
Published on Tue, 2012-04-10 15:07
Beyond 2015, a global civil society campaign pushing for a strong and legitimate successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals, recommended to the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, five civil society representatives onto the UN High Level Panel on a post-2015 development framework when it is established. The suggested representatives are Kumi Naidoo (Greenpeace International), Justin Kilcullen (Trocaire and Concord), Graca Machel (The Elders and Africa Progress Panels), Leymah Gbowee (Women, Peace and Security Network Africa and Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa) and Roberto Bissio (Social Watch). Following conversations with colleagues in the UN Secretary General’s office suggesting we proactively participate in the process to create a UN High Level Panel on a post-2015 development framework, Beyond 2015 established a process to collectively recommend civil society representatives to participate in the UN High Level Panel. The Executive Committee sent a letter last week to the Secretary General of the United Nations, detailing these recommendations. Over 30 nominations were received from around the world. Some 48 organizations from 23 countries ranked the nominees on three criteria: high level experience and expertise; track record of championing the interests of people living in poverty, well-recognised achievements on tackling poverty, injustice and environment, human rights, health and gender equality with real depth and insight on these issues; and genuine engagement with Beyond 2015, and commitment to listen to, reflect and represent the positions of the campaign. Beyond 2015 thus recommended to the Secretary General that he invites the following civil society representatives onto the UN High Level Panel when it is established: ■ Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International, The Netherlands (originally from South Africa) ■ Justin Kilcullen, Trocaire and Concord, Ireland ■ Graca Machel, The Elders and Africa Progress Panels, Mozambique ■ Leymah Gbowee, Women, Peace and Security Network Africa and Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, Liberia ■ Roberto Bissio, Social Watch, Uruguay This was not an official process, and the fact that the Beyond 2015 campaign have suggested specific representatives is in no way a guarantee that these individuals will be selected. The campaign has been unofficially encouraged to make these suggestions, not officially requested. The next step is to ensure that these recommendations are acted on. Beyond 2015 asks its member organizations to do this, promoting the nominations and highlighting them to governments and UN contacts. Beyond 2015 is built on a diverse, global base. It ranges from small community based organizations to international NGOs, academics and trade unions. A founding principle of the campaign is that it is a partnership between civil society organizations from the North and the South – bringing together more than 280 groups from developing, emerging and developed economies. They have presence in 22 African countries, 22 from Europe, 11 from America and 11 from the Asia-Pacific region. The current Executive Committee is made up of the following organizations: Bond, CAFOD-CIDSE, Centre for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits (ECOWEB), Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Save the Children UK, Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities, Sightsavers, The Seed Institute, VOICE and WWF More information Source |
