Intergovernmental Negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda
Follow-up and review: General views
18 May 2015
Statement by Mr. Takeshi Osuga, Ambassador,
Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation and Global Issues
At the outset, I would like to thank the distinguished Co-facilitators for producing a thought-provoking discussion paper on follow-up and review.
In my intervention, I would like to focus on general principles that should guide our discussions on the follow-up and review framework. I hope I will have the opportunity to come back later to share Japan’s view on the details regarding the concrete modalities at the national, regional and global levels.
In order for the international community to be able to follow-up and review the progress on the universal achievement of the SDGs, as well as the means of implementation and the global partnership that support this endeavor, the modalities should be at the same time simple, robust and flexible enough to accommodate the comprehensiveness of the agenda. It should be multi-layered, multi-faceted and build on networks.
Japan would like to emphasize four points that should guide our discussion towards designing such framework.
First, we should start from recognizing that it is impossible to build a highly centralized structure whereby one single authority would take charge of following up the wide and interlinked agenda. We should not hope to establish a new organization dedicated to this task but make full use of the existing ones.
Secondly, at the global level, with HLPF at the top of the framework, the entire UN system should be fully mobilized. At the same time, other existing non-UN frameworks and partnerships should be included in the network for the follow-up and review in an open and flexible manner. Regional-level frameworks should also be flexible and inclusive, taking fully into account the diversity of situations by regions. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to regions and countries.
Thirdly, the follow-up and review framework for the post-2015 development agenda should also be tasked to follow-up and review the implementation of the outcome of the third FfD, since the latter will be clearly supporting the achievement of the former. Follow-up and review of the targets should go hand in hand with those of the means of implementation, in particular the financing.
Fourthly, the outcome our Heads of States and Governments are expected to adopt in September should concentrate on defining the principles guiding the follow-up and review processes and the outline of the modality at the global level. Discussions regarding the modalities for the regional- and country- level should be left to the stakeholders at the respective levels in a decentralized manner and owned by them. Such decentralized discussion should take place after the summit, taking into account the principles adopted in September, and feed into the GA and ECOSOC for further discussion on the vertical linkages.
Turning now to the items listed in the discussion paper as the “overarching set of principles” for the framework, Japan agrees to most of them. I wish to rephrase and reinterpret them into four, in accordance with the importance we place on them. One, country ownership, two, focus on people-centered results, three, inclusive partnerships and four, transparency and accountability.
With regard to the eighth principle in the discussion paper, regarding “some form of a standardized process and criteria” to encourage the comparability, Japan would like to stress that such standardized format could only be useful if it is owned by and applicable to all countries and gives incentives to countries and other stakeholders to report on their efforts and achievements.
In conclusion, in Japan’s view, the follow-up and review framework could only be effective if it incentivizes and promotes, in and bottom-up manner, the voluntary sharing of country-level efforts without imposing excessive burdens on them.
Thank you very much.
