Commonwealth Heads of Government have endorsed a Commonwealth Statement on the United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda
Commonwealth Heads of Government have endorsed a Commonwealth Statement on the United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda at a meeting in New York, which took place in the wings of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.
In it, Commonwealth leaders urged all stakeholders to work towards the successful conclusion of the UN process in an ambitious and collaborative spirit.
Releasing the document on behalf of Heads, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said: “This Statement reflects the shared values, breadth and diversity of the Commonwealth’s 53 member countries. It will be a key advocacy tool for governments as they seek to advance national positions in the intergovernmental negotiations, and in so doing, overcome their unique vulnerabilities and build resilience for the future.
“As such, it is a compelling contribution to the global process of securing an inclusive and meaningful set of development objectives to replace the Millennium Development Goals.”
Over 140 world leaders are gathering in New York for the annual United Nations summit which will seek consensus on the delivery and implementation of a Post-2015 framework.
This Commonwealth Statement will be submitted to the UN Secretary-General who is overseeing the process of formulating a global development framework after 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
It marks the culmination of an extended process of engagement by member governments and follows last year’s Heads of Government mandate to set up a high-level working group to develop a Commonwealth perspective on the development framework.
The Statement affirms that the Commonwealth would wish to see the successor of the MDGs strongly address: education; gender; youth; the role of sport in development; considerations of climate change; considerations of natural resources; infrastructure and infrastructure gaps; vulnerability and resilience with regards to small states; public service capacity to service new development goals and frameworks; accountability in delivery; the importance of local government; and the benefits of inclusive, sustainable, and rights respecting peace to the development process.