Intergovernmental Negotiations on the Post-2015 Agenda
22. - 25. June 2015, New York
German Statement on Follow-up and Review
by Mr. Stephan Contius,
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation,
Building and Nuclear Safety
Mr. Co-Facilitator, distinguished delegates, dear colleagues,
Germany aligns itself with the statement delivered by the EU and I would now like to
add the following points in my national capacity.
My delegation very much welcomes the chapter of the zero draft dealing with the followup
and review of the post 2015 agenda. You, Co-Facilitators, have done an excellent job
outlining the basic tenets of the follow-up and review architecture which we will
need to agree on in September while leaving enough flexibility for states and regions
to flesh out the details according to their own requirements and preferences.
Let me take the opportunity to also acknowledge the important work and deliberations
of those UN member states especially dedicated to this issue.
We welcome the three-tiered approach taken with the HLPF as the apex of a global
network of review processes. As we have said before, we strongly feel that the review
exercise should not only inform us on how we are doing – at national, regional and
global levels – towards the achievement of the post-2015 agenda, but will also enable
participating states to showcase best practices, lessons learnt and challenges in
implementation as well as allow states to clearly define their needs.
We would therefore like to see language on the benefits of mutual learning through
review included in the principles of review as well as the paragraphs on all three levels
of review.
Concerning the national level, building on existing reporting and planning instruments,
such as national sustainable development strategies, makes perfect sense. As states are
accountable first and foremost to their citizens, it will be paramount that the reviews
of progress towards the achievement of the post-2015 agenda at national level will be
inclusive and involve civil society, academia, the private sector and parliaments, among
others, as set out in paragraph 5 of this chapter of the zero draft.
My delegation would like to see a link between the national and global levels of
review, however, and believes that the outcome of the national-level reviews should be
submitted to the HLPF for this purpose. Civil society and the UN system should also be
able to submit reports on national and regional implementation of the post-2015 agenda
directly to the HLPF.
Concerning the regional level, we welcome the flexibility given to regions to choose the
regional forum most suitable for mutual learning, rather than being too prescriptive.
We look forward to discussing progress in establishing regional reviews at next year’s
HLPF, as you suggested in paragraph 7.
Turning to the global level, we believe that the approach taken in paragraphs 8-16 sets
us on the right path. In particular, we welcome the approach taken in paragraph 10 to
include thematic reviews of progress at the HLPF in line with the cycle and work of the
HLPF, as included in paragraph 10.
The Global Sustainable Development Report should also have a thematic focus on
issues which should be brought to the attention of our heads of state and government at
the HLPF under the auspices of the GA. The annual SDG Progress Report will help us
assess where we stand globally on all goals.
While participation of states in the review at global level should be voluntary, we feel
that all states should participate in the review at global level at least twice until
2030 in order to reap the maximum benefits from the exercise.
The involvement of Major Groups and civil society, the private sector, the scientific
community and the UN system at all levels of the review architecture will be crucial for
us to be able to get the full picture and truly know whether we are on track towards
achievement of the goals. Therefore we very much welcome that this is clearly stated in
the zero draft.
Co-Facilitators, we believe that the zero draft gives us the nuts and bolts for a review
architecture that will be truly beneficial to all states. We can discuss and agree on the
details of the review processes, particularly at regional and global level, after the
September 2015 summit.
In this regard, we welcome the zero draft’s approach to request to the Secretary General
to prepare guidelines for national reports and review processes as well as to provide
recommendations on the organizational arrangements for state-led reviews at the HLPF
under ECOSOC. We look forward to discussing the Secretary General’s suggestions
with Member States at next year’s HLPF.
