Caricom
Statement delivered by H.E. Mrs. Janine Coye Felson, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent
Representative of the Permanent Mission of Belize to the United Nations to the
informal meetings of the plenary on stocktaking in the process of intergovernmental
negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, pursuant to resolution 69/244
and decision 69/550
21 January 2015
Review and follow-up
Co-Facilitators,
CARICOM Member States believe that a robust review and follow-up mechanism must
be created as a means of supporting Member States in their efforts to gauge and make
progress in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda, and the SDGs in
particular.
We are open to exploring a range of ideas on what that mechanism could look like.
Presently, we have only a few elements that we wish to share for your consideration
and will elaborate further during future sessions on this issue.
The matter of review and follow-up is inextricably tied to the core question of what is
being measured. As such, it will be essential that we are clear from the outset on the
matter of what aspects of the agenda will be reviewed, at what level and in what time
frame. We anticipate that, given the universal nature of the agenda, as well as its
breadth, we may wish to explore some sort of multi-speed or multi-track approach.
Naturally, the focus of discussions on review and follow-up will likely be on the extent to
which Member States are moving towards the implementation of the goals, targets and
indicators that will together comprise the set of SDGs at the heart of the post-2015
development agenda.
However, we would wish to signal here that, mindful of the experience that we had with
the fulfillment of the commitments in relation to Goal 8 under the MDGs framework,
particular attention will have to be paid to reviewing the extent to which the necessary
resources are being mobilised to support the effective implementation of the SDGs.
For there to be effective review and follow up, it will be necessary to create a coherent
and synergistic mechanism that links the bodies tasked with oversight of
implementation at the national level, with those at the regional and international levels.
In his regard, support for national statistical offices as well as Ministries and Agencies
responsible for national development planning will be crucial. So too will be the
involvement of the Regional Commissions. In the case of our region, the ECLAC and its
sub-regional office in Port-of-Spain, and regional institutions such as CARICOM, would
be particularly relevant. We have taken note of the range of views on peer review
mechanisms at the regional level and will address such proposals directly upon further
consideration of their appropriateness for our particular circumstances.
At the international level the ECOSOC and the HLPF under the auspices of ECOSOC will
have vital roles to play.We anticipate that the process at this level will be voluntary.
Co-Facilitators,
As Small Island Developing States (SIDS), our efforts to implement the post-2015
development agenda will be undertaken at the same time as we endeavor to implement
the Samoa Pathway, which the international community agreed at the Third
International Conference on SIDS in Apia, Samoa, last September. Given our limited
resource base, it would be wrong-headed to regard the implementation of the
respective outcomes of the two processes as independent endeavors.
Indeed, as we've maintained throughout the various phases of the overlapping
processes underway, the goals are inextricably linked and there will be significant areas
of overlap between them. It will therefore be necessary that support be provided to
SIDS to develop indicators that will enable them to fulfill the goals, both broad and
specific, in the Samoa Pathway and the post-2015 development agenda. Similarly,
review and follow-up for SIDS will have to entail an assessment of, and the provision of
support for, progress on both fronts.
In closing, Co-facilitators, let me leave you with the main asks that CARICOM would have
at this stage:-
1. Consideration has to be given to the challenges that will be borne by SIDS that already
face tremendous challenges in relation to data collection and whose statistical systems
will need to be significantly enhanced if their progress in the implementation of the
post-2015 development agenda is to be effectively assessed.
2. The creation of a review and follow-up mechanism that allows for the monitoring of
commitments (including those in relation to the provision of resources) and goals made
in relation to other region-specific or issue-specific framework such as the Samoa
Pathway" is necessary.
Representative of the Permanent Mission of Belize to the United Nations to the
informal meetings of the plenary on stocktaking in the process of intergovernmental
negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, pursuant to resolution 69/244
and decision 69/550
21 January 2015
Review and follow-up
Co-Facilitators,
CARICOM Member States believe that a robust review and follow-up mechanism must
be created as a means of supporting Member States in their efforts to gauge and make
progress in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda, and the SDGs in
particular.
We are open to exploring a range of ideas on what that mechanism could look like.
Presently, we have only a few elements that we wish to share for your consideration
and will elaborate further during future sessions on this issue.
The matter of review and follow-up is inextricably tied to the core question of what is
being measured. As such, it will be essential that we are clear from the outset on the
matter of what aspects of the agenda will be reviewed, at what level and in what time
frame. We anticipate that, given the universal nature of the agenda, as well as its
breadth, we may wish to explore some sort of multi-speed or multi-track approach.
Naturally, the focus of discussions on review and follow-up will likely be on the extent to
which Member States are moving towards the implementation of the goals, targets and
indicators that will together comprise the set of SDGs at the heart of the post-2015
development agenda.
However, we would wish to signal here that, mindful of the experience that we had with
the fulfillment of the commitments in relation to Goal 8 under the MDGs framework,
particular attention will have to be paid to reviewing the extent to which the necessary
resources are being mobilised to support the effective implementation of the SDGs.
For there to be effective review and follow up, it will be necessary to create a coherent
and synergistic mechanism that links the bodies tasked with oversight of
implementation at the national level, with those at the regional and international levels.
In his regard, support for national statistical offices as well as Ministries and Agencies
responsible for national development planning will be crucial. So too will be the
involvement of the Regional Commissions. In the case of our region, the ECLAC and its
sub-regional office in Port-of-Spain, and regional institutions such as CARICOM, would
be particularly relevant. We have taken note of the range of views on peer review
mechanisms at the regional level and will address such proposals directly upon further
consideration of their appropriateness for our particular circumstances.
At the international level the ECOSOC and the HLPF under the auspices of ECOSOC will
have vital roles to play.We anticipate that the process at this level will be voluntary.
Co-Facilitators,
As Small Island Developing States (SIDS), our efforts to implement the post-2015
development agenda will be undertaken at the same time as we endeavor to implement
the Samoa Pathway, which the international community agreed at the Third
International Conference on SIDS in Apia, Samoa, last September. Given our limited
resource base, it would be wrong-headed to regard the implementation of the
respective outcomes of the two processes as independent endeavors.
Indeed, as we've maintained throughout the various phases of the overlapping
processes underway, the goals are inextricably linked and there will be significant areas
of overlap between them. It will therefore be necessary that support be provided to
SIDS to develop indicators that will enable them to fulfill the goals, both broad and
specific, in the Samoa Pathway and the post-2015 development agenda. Similarly,
review and follow-up for SIDS will have to entail an assessment of, and the provision of
support for, progress on both fronts.
In closing, Co-facilitators, let me leave you with the main asks that CARICOM would have
at this stage:-
1. Consideration has to be given to the challenges that will be borne by SIDS that already
face tremendous challenges in relation to data collection and whose statistical systems
will need to be significantly enhanced if their progress in the implementation of the
post-2015 development agenda is to be effectively assessed.
2. The creation of a review and follow-up mechanism that allows for the monitoring of
commitments (including those in relation to the provision of resources) and goals made
in relation to other region-specific or issue-specific framework such as the Samoa
Pathway" is necessary.
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