OAS Member States discuss the Post-2015 Development Agenda

As the established deadline of 2015 for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) gets closer, countries around the world are engaging in a discussion on what the post-2015 Development Agenda will look like.  On October 8, 2013, OAS member States welcomed Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General on the post 2015 development agenda, Dr. Amina Mohammed, who participated in a meeting of the OAS Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI).

Dr. Mohammed acknowledged that in spite of persistent challenges towards the attainment of the MDGs and of uneven progress throughout the world “the MDGs have been the most successful global anti-poverty push in history” and stressed that they “have contributed and achieved substantial progress in many of the poverty agendas around the world”, noting that by providing a common foundation, the millennium goals proved that “focused global development efforts can make a difference.”  

Dr. Mohammed explained that the post 2015 process builds on the MDGs but shifts from a poverty to a sustainable development 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 Dr. Mohammed.  

The post 2015 development agenda addresses the eradication of poverty within the context of sustainable development, with its three core dimensions: economic, social and environmental. The OAS development agenda is aligned with this paradigm shift as it brings under one single roof the areas of sustainable, economic, social and human development "which allows for the kind of integrated programming that Dr. Mohammed spoke about,” said Sherry Tross, Executive Secretary for Integral Development.

In addressing OAS member States, Mohammed recognized the Americas as “a region of huge potential and great challenges”. She noted that while the region witnessed considerable development in the last decade, it continues to face critical challenges that require special attention. “Experience shows that economic growth fails to achieve sustainability when it leaves out one of the two other dimensions - social justice and environmental sustainability.” She exemplified this by saying that with one of the highest rates of inequality in the world, it is essential that countries in the region adopt targeted social policies to reduce vulnerability and disrupt the inter-generational transmission of social exclusion and inequality. “Reductions in extreme poverty rates are of limited value if the threat of falling back into poverty persists and if inequalities based on gender, ethnicity and territorial factors remain.” To this end, she acknowledged that “the strengthening of institutions and the rule of law at all levels together with human security are essential to address the new agenda.”

In defining and attaining goals moving forward, the Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General also opined that “more partnerships are needed to engage with this agenda, which will be much bigger than the poverty agenda that we have to date …The voice of the American States will need to be heard in this process." She acknowledged that the process has already benefited from “eminent voices within the region” making special mention of the contributions made by Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and the USA.  

For his part, the Chair of CIDI and Permanent Representative of Belize to the OAS, Ambassador Nestor Mendez, called on delegations to further reflect on the presentation and to “keep in mind the direction that the new global agenda is taking.” 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.”  

Speaking on behalf of the General Secretariat, Chief of Staff, Ambassador Hugo De Zela highlighted the importance of this issue to the organization and its member States, noting joint actions undertaken to reduce extreme poverty, mitigate the effects of natural disasters and climate change, promote the use of renewable energy, and increase educational opportunities. Ambassador De Zela emphasized that the organization supports a post 2015 agenda with "a more comprehensive view of development that involves, among other issues, democratic governance, transparency and respect for human rights -- issues in which the members of this organization have made fundamental contributions, as has our Organization as a whole”.  

Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Sherry Tross, pointed out that the OAS has a comparative advantage in being able to support Member States in the post-2015 debate as they engage with global counterparts on the issues that will emerge as priority, and work to encapsulate all of these issues into a coherent and effective development agenda”. Ms. Tross went on to cite the substantive engagement of the Organization in the discussions of the post-2015 development agenda, recalling the recent participation of Secretary General José Miguel Insulza in a high-level dialogue on the issue.  

During the next two years and as the global debate on the subject matures, the OAS-SEDI and other areas of the Secretariat will continue working with the UN and member countries to contribute to and strengthen this process.

DR. AMINA J. MOHAMMED was appointed Special Advisor on Post-2015 Development Planning in July 2012 by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Ms. Mohammed brings to the position more than 30 years of experience as a development practitioner in the public, private, social and academic sectors both in her native Nigeria and internationally. Among Ms. Mohammed’s many accomplishments are serving as a Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria for over six years, establishing and acting as CEO of the Center for Development Policy Solutions think tank and joining the Columbia University in New York as Adjunct Professor. She has also served on numerous international advisory panels and boards to prominent development institutions and foundations and in 2007 was inducted in the Nigerian Women’s Hall of Fame.  *For more on the UN’s recommendations for the post 2015 agenda visit the new report "A Life of Dignity for All".

 

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