The Post-2015 development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals: African CSOs Forum

We are glad to have taken part in African CSOs forum on Post 2015/SDGs and MDGs.

The event was orgnaised by UNEP and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung on 6 and 7 June 2013 at Nairobi Safari Club in Nairobi.

The theme was  “The Post-2015 development agenda and Sustainable Development Goals: What roadmap beyond the Millennium Development Goals and Rio+20?” 

The aim of the  meeting was to  influence ongoing consultation on the SDGs and related to this process, the post-2015 development agenda.

The participants went through the High level panel report and the African Common position on Post 2015, criqueeing the two documents.

The main pounts made were;
THE HLP REPORT: Most targets and measure focus on quantities just as MDG targets, we need to have quality and quantity measures. 
We could use the framework of  human rights and its universality in designing the goals, development should be rights based.
Africa Common Position ; it lacks major issues raised during consultations such as;

›Peace and security –will it include good governance

›Social protection –(many Africans go to West to seek social protection)

›Decent employment (though we have human development)-Arab revolution was about unemployment

Democracy and good governance

CSOs Concern : the unclear Process between June and September 2013

›There will be no consultations as inter-governmental bodies take over

›How will the CSOs take part?

›How will CSOs defend some of the good recommendations, that may be ‘removed’ by inter-governmental processes

›Eg The first meeting of AU after Rio had no CSO

›African governments will have technical experts to synthesis CSO recommendations, this is high level decision making process, but participation of CSOs is not clear

›This would a vague process since there is no provision for CSOs engagement or opportunity to defend some issues such as reproductive rights