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OAS Inter-American Council for Integral Development Debates post-2015 Development Agenda

The Inter-American Council for Integral Development of the Organization of American States (OAS) today received a presentation on the post 2015 development agenda by the Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General on the agenda, Amina Mohammed, who called for "the highest possible ambition" in setting development goals.

Mohammed emphasized that, in moving from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which range from halving extreme poverty rates to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015, to the post-2015 agenda,"we will need to build on the progress that we’ve achieved while confronting the persistent inequalities and the new challenges that are faced by people and planet.” “The American states represent an important group where such a balance of people and planet will need to be achieved,” said Mohammed.

The Special Advisor highlighted a new report by the UN Secretary General, "A Life of Dignity for All," which outlines the vision of the UN leader for bold action to complete the MDGs, provide a transition and recommendations for a post 2015 agenda. "Moving from the poverty agenda to sustainable development will not happen overnight, but requires a transition," said Mohammed. As key elements of the new agenda, she pointed to universality; sustainable development; inclusive economic transformation; inclusion of the governance agenda; the formation a new global partnership for development; and the need for the international community to take on the necessary institutions and structures to face new challenges.

“The voice of the American states will need to be heard in this process," said Mohammed, "and so far the region has played a key role" in discussions of the subject. In conclusion, the Advisor to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed that, although some have suggested up to 150 challenges to the agenda, it will be important to avoid "a set of goals beyond what you can count on your two hands." The spirit, she said should be “the highest possible ambition” and not “the lowest common denominator.”

Speaking on behalf of the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, his Chief of Staff, Ambassador Hugo de Zela said, "this is an issue that is of very special interest to our Organization, not only as an organization but also our member countries have been closely following and participating in discussions at the global and regional level to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals as well as on the definition of the challenges that the global community will address from 2015 onward."

"What we want is to contribute to strengthened Inter-American institutions that are committed to the development of the peoples of the region," said Ambassador De Zela, who referred to the actions of the OAS to reduce extreme poverty, mitigate the effects of natural disasters and climate change, promote the use of renewable energy, and increase educational opportunities, among other contributions.

"We believe it is important for the post 2015 agenda to propose a more comprehensive view of development that involves, among other issues, democratic governance, transparency and respect for human rights, issues on which the Members of this organization have made fundamental contributions, as has our Organization as a whole," said the Chief of Staff of the Secretary General.

In addition, said De Zela "we are convinced that this visit will further deepen the partnership that we have with the United Nations, and I hope to hear some ideas that can enrich the global debates on the subject and that the support and proposals that we can contribute from the Americas can be useful for this global dialogue."

The Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the OAS, Sherry Tross, said the timing of the visit was fortuitous, as the Organization is in the process of defining its own strategic vision for the future. She said that, over time, the OAS "has managed to create a certain degree of focus which we sometimes forget." "This Organization is probably the only international one that has, under one single roof working together, the areas of sustainable development, economic development, human and social development,” said the Executive Secretary, “which does allow for the kind of integrated programming that Dr. Mohammed was speaking about.”

“The voice of the OAS plays, and must continue to play, a crucial role on these development issues," said Tross, who cited the "substantive engagement” of the Organization in the discussions of the post-2015 development agenda. As an example, she recalled the recent participation of Secretary General Insulza in high-level dialogue on the issue within the framework of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Finally, she noted a growing "alignment" between the ways the two organizations are approaching many broad issues of development.

For his part, the Chair of CIDI and Permanent Representative of Belize to the OAS, Ambassador Nestor Mendez, called on participants to take the opportunity to raise the profile of the Americas "to ensure that the post 2015 vision is relevant to the challenges we face in the region." He said that the OAS "is key in the construction of such a vision with the specific and unique role to strengthen the capacity of our local and national governments and the Inter-American system so we can accomplish the goals that result from this debate.”

A gallery of photos of the event will be available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-379/13