Latin American Private Sector Contributes Views on UN Post-2015 Plans for a Sustainable Future
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Cartagena, Colombia
(Cartagena, 1 July 2014) – Global Compact Local Networks from Central and South American countries took a lead role in bringing the views of business to a United Nations framework to follow the 2000 – 2015 era of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
As discussions in the UN General Assembly in New York advance on the UN post-2015 development agenda and a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a UN-organized regional consultation on how to activate this agenda was carried out 30 June – 1 July in the Caribbean port city of Cartagena, Colombia.
In addition to the actions of individual businesses, the ability of the private and public sectors to consult and collaborate will be a key to successfully implement a new global development agenda, it was concluded. To carry out this coordination in an atmosphere of mutual trust will require detailed, objective and timely monitoring and measurement of all stakeholder results.
Another strategic objective for implementing the SDGs will be ownership and responsibility for global goals at the national and local levels. A logical consequence is that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will need to be actively involved, and both Governments and larger corporations have a role to play in supporting the growth of capabilities, competitiveness and sustainability of SMEs.
Over 200 participants were involved in the Cartagena talks, including representatives of Governments from Colombia and the region, UN officials, and development assistance coordinators from Spain and the United States.
More than half of the participants were from the Latin American business sector, and largely drawn from Global Compact Local Networks. Among the keynote speakers on the opening day was Sandra Stella Fonseca, President of the Energy Group of Bogota.
The Cartagena event was the second regional consultation on the role of the private sector in the implementation of the post-2015 agenda to be sponsored this year by the UN Development Group and the Post-2015 Secretariat, and co-organized by the UN Global Compact and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The first consultation was held in Europe in June in Bratislava, Slovakia. Results of both will be included in a report informing the UN Secretary-General on discussions on a broad range of post-2015 implementation issues. Companies can participate in an online consultation to contribute to this report by clicking here.
In addition, Global Compact Local Networks have organized their own consultations post-2015 implementation on a national basis in countries ranging from Indonesia to Austria and Kenya, and plans for more are underway. These discussions follow last year’s consultations on the proposed content of the post-2015 agenda, which took place in 43 Local Networks fed into a UN Global Compact report to the UN Secretary-General on the role of corporate sustainability in the post-2015 agenda.
- For companies that wish to participate in the World We Want 2015 Thematic Consultation: Engaging with the Private Sector, click here. The consultation will close on 25 July 2014.
Contacts
Marie Wibe
Government Relations
UN Global Compact
wibe@un.org
Javier Cortes
Regional Networks Manager – Americas
UN Global Compact
cortesj@un.org