ADA Monthly Newsletter- January 2018
Dear ADA members and Friends,
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year2018 !!
2017 has been great, yet challenging for all of us and we sincerely hope for even greater 2018 with intensive civil actions on agenda 2030 in terms of monitoring, review, and interventions. We also hope to many joint actions with more country-level plans in partnership, therefore, working more closely on SDG 17 which is one of the highlighted goals for High-Level Political Forum, 2018. We urge all of you to get in touch with us if you would like to share any news/updates with us related to the development and human right!
In solidarity,
ADA Secretariat
Table of Contents
ADA and Members Activities
National Activities
Global Activities
Busan Democracy Forum (BuDF) 2018: UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Democracy “Promoting Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in Asia and beyond“Grand Hotel, Busan, Republic of Korea, 22-24 Jan. 2018 (Mon.-Tue.) 4
ADA AGM – 24th January, Busan, 2018
APSD Steering Committee meeting - 24th June
Development indicators trending downward for world’s poorest countries, UN warns.
For your Action
Call for Application: Preparatory meeting for the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development: the Asia-Pacific People’s Forum on Sustainable Development 2018, Bangkok, deadline 18 February 2018
Global SDG 7 Conference, 21-23 February 2018, Bangkok
High-Level Political Forum 2018
Voluntary National Review (VNR)
Registration for the HLPF 2018
Regional Preparatory Meetings
ADA and Members Activities
National Activities
Brief Report: Nepal SDGs Forum Coordination Meeting: 8 January 2018, Kathmandu
NGO Federation of Nepal (NFN) the secretariat of Nepal SDGs Forum called a coordination meeting of Nepal SDGs Forum at its office premises on January 8, 2018. Representatives from thematic focal organizations and constituency focal organizations including CSOs' Networks, Alliances, Federation and CSOs were present at the meeting. There were altogether 45 representatives present in the meeting including NFN executive members.
The agenda of coordination meeting was to share the information of activities performed in 2017 and formulate a strategic direction for 2018, to discuss on the localization of SDGs and role of CSOs in changing political context. Mr. Gopal Lamsal, Chairperson of NFN welcomed to the participants and highlighted the objectives. Focusing on the agenda he said, sharing of information is most important, it helps to reduce duplication, and work in a synchronized way.
The event was accomplished in an interactive model since the participants were asked to share information about their works, experiences, plans, and opinions focusing their sectoral works. Dr. Netra Prasad Timsina, formal President and Advisor of NFN, Mr. Bhakta Bishwokarma, Senior Vice President and Mr. Sushil BK Vice President of DNF, Mr. Himal Mahat, President of AYON, Mr. Narendra Khatiwada, President of YAN, Mr. Bhim Pariyar, PD Advisor of JuRI-Nepal, Dr. Padam P. Khatiwada, Secretary General-Human Right Alliance, Mr. Noor Jung Shah, Executive Director- NACC Nepal, Ms. Parbata Gautam, FECOFUN-Executive member, Mr. Durga Rai Programme coordinator-LAHURNIP, Mr. Bishnu Timsina, Programme Director of Consumer Protection Forum /DiMaNN, Mr. Rishi Ojha, Executive Director-Nepal Health Society, Ms. Salina Gurung, Programme officer-BBC-Nepal, Mr. Narayan Gyanwali, Chairperson of NACEUN, Mr. Raju Basnet, Secretary General of NFDN, Mr. Min Bahadur Shahi, President of Human Rights Alliance and Executive Director of KIRDAC and Mr. Krishna Neupane, shared about activities, experiences, views and recommendations to Nepal SDGs Forum.
In the meeting, Mr. Daya Sagar Shrestha, Executive Director of NFN shared about the activities done by NFN in 2017 and presented on fundamental ideas for localization of SDGs. He also shared the proposed logos for Nepal SDGs Forum and asked suggestion/inputs on the logo. 3 logos designed would be shared to the CSOs through the mail for comments and inputs.
The meeting was closed by the president of NFN Mr. Gopal Lamsal with the short concluding remark. He summarized the outcomes of the meeting and concluded it with respect to all the suggestion/recommendations and information. He said enhancement of CSOs capacity on SDGs is our responsibility, we have to make CSOs ready for advocacy and campaign at all level and compel the government to implement SDGs. Ms. Bhawana Bhatta, Central Executive Committee Member of NFN was the moderator for the whole session.
Full Report
Global Activities
Busan Democracy Forum (BuDF) 2018: UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Democracy “Promoting Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in Asia and beyond“Grand Hotel, Busan, Republic of Korea, 22-24 Jan. 2018 (Mon.-Tue.)
The Busan Democracy Forum (BuDF) 2018 is a joint initiative of the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies (PSCD), Asia Democracy Network (ADN), Asia Development Alliance (ADA), the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of Busan and in cooperation with the government of the Republic of Korea and the Metropolitan City of Busan.
The Forum, under the theme “Promoting Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in Asia and beyond”, took place at the Haeundae Grand Hotel, Busan, South Korea from 22 to 24 January 2018.
The Forum’s aimed at promoting Goal 16 of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as the enabler of all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discuss the inter-linkages with other Goals and Targets.
More specifically, the Forum witnessed almost 250civil society participants from all over the globe especially from Asia who shared their experiences on advocacy initiatives, implementation, national level reporting and available tools for measuring progress towards SDG 16 which is one of the global priorities at the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2019. Furthermore, the Forum also deliberated diverse experiences of democratization and democratic governance in Asia and beyond, highlighting the importance of democracy for sustainable development.
The workshop solicited collective worldwide effort, in which governments, private sector, civil society, and people in general to work together to ensure a sustainable future for the planet. The meeting also deliberated ways to achieve the agenda 2030. Goal 16 and complimentary indicators (developed by CoD and later by ADA) was another important highlight during of the meeting, useful for states providing inspiration in their effort to develop complimentary national indicators that consider their national contexts; and the wider democratic community, including civil society, in strengthening their monitoring processes, facilitating synergies and helping assess progress toward the achievement of Goal 16. One of the important output of the two days deliberation was SDG 16 national level indicators developed by ADA apart from draft VNR guidelines. The Civil society also came up with the statement, which shall be shared soon.
ADA AGM and steering Committee Meeting – 24th January, Busan, 2018
ADA organized its Annual Meeting with its members and few observers on 24thJanuary to review 2017 and strategic actions for 2018-2020. The meeting also reviewed the governance structure of ADA. Detailed SC Meeting Decisions here
Office Bearers for ADA 2018-2019
| Position |
Name |
NGO |
Sub-region |
| Co-Conveners |
Mr. Gopal Lamsal |
NFN |
South Asia |
| Mr. Saroeun Soeung (Focal Point) |
CCC |
South East Asia |
| Mr. Hideki Wakabayashi |
JANIC |
North East Asia |
| Steering Committee Members |
Primary Member |
Alternate Member |
Org. |
Sub-region |
| Mr. Gopal Lamsal |
Ms. Bhawana Bhatta |
NFN |
South Asia |
| Mr. Zia Ur Rahman |
Ms. Maryam Amjad |
PDA |
| Mr. Saroeun Soeung |
Ms. El Sotheary |
CCC |
South Asia |
| Mr. Sugeng Bahagijo |
Mr. Hamong Santono |
INFID |
| Mr. Hideki Wakabayashi |
Mr. Aoi Horiuchi |
JANIC |
North East Asia |
| Hyunbong Yoon |
Ms. Minyoung KIM |
KCOC |
| Senior Adviser |
Harsh Jaitli, India / Anselmo Lee, Korea |
| Secretariat |
Dr. Jyotsna Mohan, India |
APSD Steering Committee meeting - 24th June
Asia Civil Society Partnership on Sustainable Development (APSD) members also met in Busan for the annual steering committee meting on 24th January, 2018. Read the detailed report here.
Useful Documents
Voluntary common reporting guidelines for voluntary national reviews at the HLPF can be found here. They are an update to the annex of the 2015 Secretary-General’s Report on critical milestones towards coherent, efficient and inclusive follow-up and review at the global level, A/70/684.
Link: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/17346Updated_Voluntary_Guidelines.pdf
More information on the 2018 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2018
Development indicators trending downward for world’s poorest countries, UN warns
The least developed countries (LDCs) – nations categorized as requiring special attention from the international community – will fall short of goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development unless urgent action is taken, new United Nations analysis has revealed.
The analysis by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) also highlights that LDC growth averaged 5 per cent in 2017 and will reach 5.4 per cent in 2018, below the 7 per cent growth envisaged by target 1 of Sustainable Development Goal 8 on promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
In 2017, only five LDCs achieved economic growth of 7 per cent or higher: Ethiopia at 8.5 per cent, Nepal at 7.5 per cent, Myanmar at 7.2 per cent, Bangladesh at 7.1 per cent, and Djibouti at 7 per cent.
“The international community should strengthen its support to LDCs in line with the commitment to leave no one behind,” Paul Akiwumi, Director of UNCTAD’s Division for Africa, Least Developed Countries and Special Programmes, Mr. Akiwumi said.
“With the global economic recovery remaining tepid, development partners face constraints in extending support to LDCs to help them meet the Sustainable Development Goals. Inequalities between the LDCs and other developing countries risk widening,” he said.
Relying on commodities
The analysis contends that too many LDCs remain dependent on primary commodity exports.
While international prices for most primary commodity categories have trended upwards since late 2016, this modest recovery barely made a dent to the significant drop experienced since 2011, particularly in the cases of crude petroleum and minerals, ores and metals.
In 2017, LDCs as a group were projected to register a current account deficit of $50 billion, the second-highest deficit posted so far, at least in nominal terms.
In contrast, non-LDC developing countries registered current account surpluses, so did developing countries as a whole and developed countries.
Projections for 2018 suggest that the current account deficits of the LDCs are expected to grow further, making worse possible balance-of-payments weaknesses.
Aid levels
Special foreign aid commitments for LDCs amounted to $43.2 billion, representing only an estimated 27 per cent of net aid to all developing countries – a 0.5 per cent increase in aid in real terms year-on-year.
This trend supports fears of a levelling-off of aid to LDCs in the wake of the global recession. In 2016, only a handful of donor countries appear to have met the commitments under target 2 of Sustainable Development Goal 17.
Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom provided more than 0.20 per cent of their own gross national income to LDCs, while the Netherlands met the 0.15 per cent threshold.
“This analysis signals a clarion call for action,” said Mr. Akiwumi. “The international community needs to pay increased attention to their commitments toward LDCs.”
The analysis was presented to UNCTAD member States at a meeting of its governing body in Geneva, Switzerland, on 5 February.
Democracy in Crisis: Read full report here
For your Action
Call for Application: Preparatory meeting for the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development: the Asia-Pacific People’s Forum on Sustainable Development 2018, Bangkok, deadline 18 February 2018
The Asia-Pacific People’s Forum on Sustainable Development will be held on 25-27 March 2018 as a preparatory meeting for the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development 2018 (APFSD 2018) to be held on 28-30 March 2018in Bangkok, Thailand.
If your organization is interested in being represented at these events, please carefully review the call for participation at
http://www.unescap.org/events/apcsfsd5 and apply to participate online via the indicated link by 18 February 2018 (12 midnight Bangkok Thailand time).
See http://www.unescap.org/events/apfsd5 for more information on the APFSD.
UN Updates
1. Dates and locations for HLPF Prep Meetings here!
Please don't forget to check the sustainabledevelopment.un.org site for updates regarding HLPF!
2. Special Rapporteur on the right to development-Regional Consultation for Africa
It is in relation to the upcoming activities of the Special Rapporteur on the right to development Mr. Saad Al Farargi.
The Special Rapporteur has been mandated by the Human Rights Council to conduct a series of regional Consultations. The first Consultation is scheduled to take place in Africa in March 2018.
The consultation will aim at bringing together representatives of Member States, intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organisations and civil society. The meetings will provide opportunities to exchange with development practitioners, whose experiences will help define a methodology to design, implement, monitor and assess policies and programs that could lead to the realisation of the right to development. It will also provide an opportunity to discuss to what extent successful initiatives could be adapted in different local settings. Please find enclosed a detailed Concept Note for the consultations.
In this regard, the Special Rapporteur would be grateful to receive suggestions on relevant experts, development specialists as well as civil society organisations and community leaders from the Region that we could add to a list of possible invitees. We would be grateful to receive contact details of dedicated organisations and individuals that have been active in development work in Africa and that can positively contribute to a discussion on the various ways of operationalising the right to development on the continent.
For additional information on the mandate on the right to development and the Special Rapporteur kindly visit the below link:
http://ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/SRDevelopment/Pages/SRDevelopmentIndex.aspx
3. Online Foundational Course on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
This course is developed by the UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development in partnership with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).
The foundational course equips participants with a sound understanding of the concept of sustainable development as well as the vision and principles of the 2030 Agenda. The course combines tutored components with synchronous and asynchronous activities, comprising approximately two hours of knowledge acquisition, two hours of knowledge application to real-life and training scenarios, as well as group work and collaboration with peers. In addition to engaging in self-paced learning, participants of UNSSC online courses also benefit from live webinars with renowned experts on sustainable development, allowing real-time virtual interaction between the instructors and participants.
The course offers the participants an exclusive unlimited access to our online learning platform which contains training and supporting background materials, plus the opportunity to stay connected with colleagues!
Registrations are now open!
For more information and to register, please go to http://bit.ly/FC2018-1. Deadline for enrolment is 02 March 2018.
Please share among your networks who might be interested in this online course. Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact sustainable-development@unssc.org.
4. Call for Exhibition: HLPF 2018
Guidelines for submissions can be found here.
The submission form can be found here.
More information on the HLPF 2018 can be retrieved at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2018
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5. Call for inputs: 2018 HLPF Blog series
In order to promote the 2018 HLPF session, the DESA Division for Sustainable Development is launching an online blog series to capture the views of experts, Member States, the UN system, Major Groups and other stakeholders on this year’s theme and/or the 6 SDGs that will be reviewed in-depth by the HLPF, from 9 to 18 July 2018.
This is an open call for Major Groups and other stakeholders to suggest original blog posts to feature in this series, which will be posted on sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2018
Please use this form to suggest blog entries.
The blog entries are envisioned to be succinct and to the point, a maximum 700 words in length, with new entries published regularly and promoted widely through DSD’s social media channels. DSD will select which of the blog entries received through this form will be published.
Guiding questions for authors
The blog entries could address one or several of the following questions:
• How can we create sustainable and resilient societies?
• How can we spur implementation of SDGs 6, 7, 11, 12, 15, and 17?
• How are SDGs 6, 7, 11, 12, 15, and 17 interlinked?
• What are some of the challenges in implementing these goals and how can they be addressed?
Other guidelines: http://bit.ly/2z8faxA
Collaborative blog entries are encouraged.
Link to the form:
https://goo.gl/forms/afb6Wz97rVcVU14I3
Other NGO Updates
1. Global Policy Watch Briefing #20: The 2030 Agenda, donor priorities and UN mandates
The 2030 Agenda, donor priorities and UN mandates
Lessons from the WHO experience
By Barbara Adams and Karen Judd
Download this briefing (pdf version).
As he concluded the first year of his term, the UN Secretary-General reiterated his call for a new Funding Compact, an agreement by Member States and the United Nations development system. In his 20 December advance report on Repositioning the UN Development System, he stated: “Ultimately, the Funding Compact is about increasing the likelihood of universal achievement of the SDGs and eradicating poverty from the face of the earth. In other words, it is about determining whether we can deliver on our ambition to make the world a more prosperous, peaceful and sustainable place by 2030.” (https://www.un.org/ecosoc/sites/www.un.org.ecosoc/).
The report did not mince words on the strategic importance of the Compact to uphold the UN’s neutrality and multilateral nature.
| "Providing the system with more predictable and flexible resources is not only about reaffirming trust in the United Nations. It is about investing in results for the people we serve. It would strengthen the system’s ability to address critical global challenges like climate change, human trafficking and displacement and extreme weather shocks, while ensuring greater impact on issues that matter to citizens such as better health systems, better jobs for young people, eradicating poverty and sustainably managing urban areas. It would enable critical, underfunded functions of the system, including policy advice and support to financing for development. Ultimately, the Funding Compact is about increasing the likelihood of universal achievement of the SDGs and eradicating poverty from the face of the earth. In other words, it is about determining whether we can deliver on our ambition to make the world a more prosperous, peaceful and sustainable place by 2030." |
The inadequacy of the quantity and quality of funding for the UN has featured centrally in the Secretary-General’s commitments to reposition the UN development system. Speaking to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC )in July 2017 he made it clear that such a Compact is central to any reform package, promising that the UN system would commit to “greater efficiency, value-for-money and reporting on results against the prospect of more robust core funding support for individual agencies and improved joint funding practices.” https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2017-07-05/secretary-generals-remarks-economic-and-social-council-repositioning.
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Global SDG 7 Conference, 21-23 February 2018, Bangkok
Recognizing the importance of energy for sustainable development, the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has devoted Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) to energy - the first-ever universal goal on energy, with five targets on access, efficiency, renewables and means of implementation. SDG 7 is inextricably interlinked to other SDGs and related targets, including those relating to poverty eradication, food security, clean water and sanitation, health, education, infrastructure, innovation, job creation, and the empowerment of youth and women. Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is fundamental to realizing the vision of the 2030 Agenda. A shift toward sustainable energy solutions is also essential to the achievement of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The ambition of the 2030 Agenda calls for equally ambitious means of implementation, including enabling environments, effective institutions, technology cooperation, capacity building, scaled-up financing and multi-stakeholder partnerships to achieve sustainable development.
In this context, the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), serving as the central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, will undertake the first global review of SDG7 in July 2018, under the auspices of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). To help provide a solid substantive foundation for the review of SDG7, a global preparatory meeting in support of the review of SDG7 at the 2018 High-Level Political Forum, jointly organized by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), will be held on 21-23 February 2018 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. The global preparatory meeting will help facilitate exchange of lessons, insights and experiences among Member States, UN entities and other international organizations and all stakeholders, and consider challenges and opportunities for accelerating progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. This conference is supported by the Governments of Norway, the Republic of Korea (through DESA’s UN Office on Sustainable Development), the People’s Republic of China (through the UN Peace and Development Fund), Germany, The Netherlands, and the European Commission, among others.
The registration for the Global SDG 7 Conference is now open to participation from all stakeholders.
More information about the conference can be found at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/EnergyConference.
Registration to the Conference (deadline: 15th January 2018) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/EnergyConference/registration
Side Event and Exhibits Application (deadline: 31st December 2017) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/EnergyConference/sideevents
We look forward to your participation in the conference and working with all of you in preparing for a successful 2018 meeting of the HLPF, under the auspices of ECOSOC
Call for proposals of exhibitions sponsored by Member
Please note that DSD has launched a call for proposals of exhibitions sponsored by Member States, UN system and other Inter-Governmental Organizations as well as accredited Major Groups and other stakeholders, which will be welcomed at the UN Headquarters in New York, on the margins of the High-Level Political Forum 2018 (HLPF 2018).
Any entity interested in participating in the exhibition must submit a proposal using the online exhibition request form and provide a detailed description of the proposed exhibition, including an explanation of how its thematic focus relates to the exhibition theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”, and the six goals that would be the focus of HLPF 2018, namely;
- Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
- Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
- Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
- Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
- Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
- Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
The deadline to submit proposals is 28 February 2018.
Guidelines for submissions can be found here.
The submission form can be found here.
More information on the HLPF 2018 can be retrieved at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2018
High-Level Political Forum 2018
The meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development in 2018 convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council will be held from
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