The Secretary General’s High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda

This note provides a brief overview of the first meeting of the Secretary General’s High Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and provides some information on plans for the second meeting, to be held on 1 November in London, UK.

The High Level Panel is committed to an open, transparent, and inclusive process. We are particularly keen that stakeholders are kept up to date with substance and process of the Panel’s work. To that end, we propose to send out regular updates in this form.

The first meeting of the High Level Panel on 25 September in New York was an opportunity to get a sense of how Panel members view the agenda, and to trade ideas. A number of areas of broad consensus emerged from that discussion:

We should not forget the current Millennium Development Goals framework. Efforts must be accelerated to reach the MDGs in the next three years. We cannot take our eyes off the ball now. Panel members around the table highlighted this point.

Even so, there will almost certainly be ‘unfinished business’ to take forward after 2015. We will not meet all the MDGs, The Panel felt that we needed to bring this unfinished business into the new framework. We could not simply forget it. Any new framework should be built on the on the foundation of the MDGs, learning lessons from the past 12 years.

The post 2015 agenda should be focused on poverty eradication and promote sustainable development. This should be the central anchor. Yet we know that poverty is different today than it was in the year 2000. The Panel noted the importance of reflecting the changed world in any new framework, taking on board the new challenges that have arisen. Some of those mentioned included: sustainability, the importance of inclusive growth and productive capacity, conflict, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and global partnerships.

The Panel also felt strongly that its work should be evidence-based, accountable, transparent, and be the product of an inclusive consultation process.

The legitimacy and success of the process will rest on the degree to which it meaningfully reflects and incorporates the voices of key stakeholders. There is a need for global, regional, and thematic consultations with a plurality of key stakeholders including: people directly affected by poverty and injustice; women; youth; business; and broader civil society.

The second meeting of the Panel will be in London and will focus on individual and household level poverty. While the Panel meeting itself will take place on 1 November, the complete schedule of events will cover three full days:

• 31 October will be a seminar for panel members to hear evidence and updates on key issues.

• 1 November will be a full day of discussion among Panel members of issues related to individual and household level poverty, including a particular focus on human development.

• 2 November will be a day of outreach to: civil society, private sector and youth, organized in partnership with these constituencies. These in-person events were preceded by online consultation at www.worldwewant2015.org/post2015hlp

Following the meeting in London, the Panel will meet in Monrovia and Bali in the first quarter of 2013. It will hold its final meeting in New York in May.

Following the London meeting, it is expected that co-chairs will request to hold a briefing for General Assembly members in plenary, to inform Member States about the meeting.

Online and offline outreach and consultations opportunities for stakeholders are being planned over the next few months to allow stakeholders to be informed about and provide input to the work of the Panel.

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please do not hesitate to contact the HLP Secretariat at se*********@po*********.org