08-03-2013
++ SERIES: BUILDING THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK++
Views from African consultations on the post-2015 development agenda
As the date of 2015 approaches, the international community is analysing the results of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were omnipresent in the development debate since 2000.
But many are already looking further, beyond the magic date of 2015.
Multi-stakeholder consultations are taking place in almost 100 countries worldwide with a view to shape the new development agenda beyond 2015. The information that will be generated through this consultative process should influence the proceedings of the UN International High-Level Panel on post-2015.
This Panel, that is co-chaired by the UK Prime Minister David Cameron, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from Liberia and President Susilo Yudhoyono from Indonesia, is composed of 27 eminent persons from all parts of the world. Over the past months the Panel has met three times and it will meet again at the end of March in exotic Bali before presenting its conclusions to UN Secretary general Ban Ki-Moon in May in New York.
Traditionally, debates on new development agendas are largely dominated by multilateral agencies and “Northern” OECD member states. As the largest “donor” of development cooperation, the EU plays an active role in these debates.
Last week the European Commission released a Communication outlining a proposal for an EU position on the post-2015 agenda – click here to read our short analysis and reaction to it. In early April the EU will launch its comprehensive 2013 European Report on Development that exclusively focuses on the post-2015 Global Agenda.
Just a week ago the Pan-African Parliament, in cooperation with UNDP, hosted over several days an African thematic consultation on Governance and the post-2015 Development Agenda in Midrand, South Africa. It was a lively African driven debate, highlighting key African concerns and expectations for a new and more inclusive and sustainable global development framework.
Some highlights from the discussions include:
Clearly, the African continent does not any longer want to undergo agendas that are designed elsewhere. Many Africans seem to be committed more than ever to reduce aid dependency and to build alliances for change with all types of new partners on their own terms. Definitively the African post-2015 agenda holds potential for a change of attitudes and a development agenda of structural transformation beyond aid. But getting rid of years-long addiction is always a very painful process that requires time, lots of courage and … a conducive national and international governance context.
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Geert Laporte is ECDPM’s Deputy Director.
This blog post features the author’s personal views and does not represent the view of ECDPM.
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