The third International Conference on Financing for Development will take place in Addis Ababa July 13 to 16, 2015 It will be preceded by a two day Civil Society Forum on the same topic. In the You-Tube see and hear what world leaders are saying. Will the member states make it happen? Can they be ambitions for the people and the planet? Will this conference pave the way for transformative sustainable development ‘leaving no one behind?’ The Synthesis Report of the Secretary General called for 6 Essential Element: People, Dignity, Prosperity, Justice, Partnership and Planet. The Sustainable Development Agenda proposes 17 Goals … this document will be negotiated during July and August prior to the High Level Summit in September 2015
Currently the proposed document for Financing for Development is being negotiated in New York. NGO’s are following closely the negotiations. A zero draft was produced on March 17th and it was followed by a text dated May 6th Documents The next session is scheduled June 15 – 19th. An sample of what happens in negotiations is below. Paragraph 6 is on gender equality …. the bold print indicates changes – working, stronger concepts etc
- We reaffirm that achieving gender equality and [delete and] empowering all women and girls [are basic human rights, fundamental values and issues of social justice and are] [and the full realization of the human rights of women and girls] [delete empowering all women and girls and replace with ‘women’s human rights and empowerment’] is essential to achieve equitable [and inclusive] sustainable growth and development [delete sustainable growth and development, replace by ‘sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth’]. We reiterate the need for gender mainstreaming [and targeted actions] in the formulation and implementation of all financial, economic, [environmental] and social policies and [delete and, add ‘. Gender equality is also a means for financing sustainable development and we therefore’] agree to take concrete [transformative] [replace to take concrete with ‘implement transformative’] policy actions to ensure women’s equal rights, access and [equal] opportunities for participation and leadership in the economy. [Public and private allocations and spending must be responsive to women’s and girl’s conditions and priorities. We are concerned by evidence of under-investment in gender equality in key sectors, particularly the economic and productive sectors. We will all track allocations for gender equality and take actions to address areas of under-investment in order to close gender gaps.] [and their role as drivers and agents of development.]
6bis. We recognize that investing in children is critical to achieving inclusive, equitable and sustainable human development for present and future generations, and delivers benefits to society and the economy at large. We reaffirm that the general principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child provide the framework for all actions concerning children.
6bis. We emphasize the unparalleled development challenge posed by fragility and conflict, which not only impedes but can reverse decades of development gains and lock countries in a conflict and poverty trap. We recognize that if we are to meet our commitment to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 and to achieve our broader post-2015 development agenda, we will need to enhance our efforts to address the specific financing needs of fragile and conflict affected states, including by prioritizing peacebuilding and state-building goals in the aftermath of conflict, developing and sharing best-practices in operationalizing sustainable development strategies in these situations. We affirm our commitment to approach these situations in a more coordinated and deliberate manner, consistent with the broad scope and urgency of this development challenge.
Paragraph 11 references social protection floors …