Implications of UN Conference on Sustainable Development for Africa

1. Main outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development: Implications for Africa An ECA Presentation at the Eighth Session of the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development and the Africa Regional Implementation Meeting for the Twentieth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 19 November 2012

2. Outline of the presentation • Scope and objectives of the report • The Africa Regional Preparatory Process • The main outcomes of Rio+20 and their implications for Africa • Conclusion and way forward

3. Scope of the report • Focus: • High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development • Sustainable Development Goals • Means of Implementation • Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States • Programme of work on broader measures to complement GDP • Green Economy • Thematic and cross-sectoral issues

4. Objectives of the report • Analyse the main outcomes of Rio+20 and their implications for Africa • Identify possible areas of intervention by regional partners and organizations • Inform the deliberations of the Africa RIM for CSD-20 • Elicit inputs on regional priorities and concerns in the implementation of the Rio+20 outcomes

5. Africa’s preparations for Rio+20… Preparations spearheaded by ECA jointly with the AUC and AfDB, in partnership with RECs, UNEP, and UNDP (OSAA, UNDESA) Objectives: • Support African countries to collectively articulate their concerns and priorities at the Conference • Ensure these priorities are adequately reflected in the Conference outcomes • Strengthen regional consultative mechanism to support implementation of Conference outcomes Africa Consensus Statement to Rio+20- Common Position Website address: http://www.uneca.org/rio20

6. Rio+20 outcomes: The Future we Want • Largely reflects Africa’s priorities and concerns as contained in its Common Position for Rio+20 • UNGA at its 67th Session was to take decisions on a number of important issues: • Identifying the format and organizational aspects of the Universal, Intergovernmental High-Level Forum • Strengthening the United Nations Environment Programme • Constituting a working group to develop global Sustainable Development Goals to be agreed by UNGA • Establishing an intergovernmental process to prepare a report proposing options on an effective SD financing strategy • Considering a set of recommendations from the Secretary-General for a facilitation mechanism that promotes the development, transfer and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound technologies • Launch of a programme of work on broader measures of progress to complement GDP • Designating a member State body to operationalize the 10-YFP-SCP

7. Our common vision and renewing political commitments • Touches on all aspects of sustainable development, including the governance dimension • Reaffirms principles contained in all relevant UN documents (CBDR), including the UN Charter • Reaffirms commitment to all IADGs • Recognizes poverty eradication as a global challenge and overriding objective of sustainable development • Other important elements: • Advancing integration, implementation and coherence • Engaging major groups and other stakeholders

8. Institutional framework: global level • Establish a universal intergovernmental high-level political forum, subsequently replacing CSD • Launch an intergovernmental negotiation process under the GA - first meeting 68th GA • To respond to Africa’s needs, the forum should: • Foster the balanced integration of the three dimensions, including through its membership • Vertical linkages- global to local based on the priciple of subsidiarity

9. Institutional framework: regional level • Regional and sub-regional institutions, including RCs - key role in sustainable development • Enhance the RCs and their SROs in their respective capacities to support Member States • Suggested Actions: • Africa- RIM to be strengthened to Africa SD Forum • RCM-Africa to coordinate UN support for Rio+20 outcomes • Support for African LDCs participation in regional and global platforms • ECA to be strengthened to support countries on sustainable development, including integration of the three dimensions

10. Institutional framework: national level • Countries to strengthen institutions or relevant multi-stakeholder bodies and processes dealing with SD to enable effective integration • Suggested actions: • Decentralized structures at the local level • Be linked vertically – with sub-national, sub-regional and regional levels – as well as horizontally • Coordinate the development and implementation of policies and strategies • Tools and approaches to promote the balanced integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development • Identify innovative sources of funding to implement sustainable development

11. Sustainable development goals • Recognize the importance and utility of a set of SDGs, taking into account national specificities • Establish an intergvt process to develop global SDGs • Request relevant UN system bodies to support Regional Commissions to collect and compile national inputs • Suggested actions: • Ensure effective bottom-up consultations to inform global SDG process • Build on the Post-2015 Development Agenda consultations and promote the convergence of the two processes • Sustainable development report on Africa – regional chapter of the proposed Global Sustainable Development Report

12. Financing • Establish an intergovernmental process under the GA, with technical support from the UN system and in open and broad consultation with relevant stakeholders • Suggested actions: • ECA, with AUC and AfDB, to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the financing requirements and provide a platform for broad-based consultations • Enhance mobilization of domestic resources; consider innovative finance, channel FDI to SD • Accelerate progress towards putting in place a regional financial architecture to deal with crises • Consolidating existing SD-related funds, towards creating an Africa Sustainable Development Fund

13. Financing - Voluntary commitments • More than 700 voluntary commitments amounting to more than 170m USD specific to Africa, and “global” • Suggested actions: • ECA to serve as a broker between UNDESA, committing organizations, and African member States • Requesting ECA and other partners to promote platforms to share experiences and foster knowledge • Advocate for inclusion of African countries not yet targeted

14. Technology development and transfer • Technology: Request UN agencies to identify options for a facilitation mechanism that promotes the development, transfer and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound technologies • Suggested actions: • The UN to establish of an independent advisory board on technology–UN Cluster on Science and Technology of RCM Africa and the African cluster on S&T could constitute regional chapter • Strategies to promote and strengthen technology institutions at all levels • Establishment of regional and sub-regional networks of centres of excellence and hubs, leveraging on existing networks • Establishment of regional funding mechanisms to support developing countries (taking into account the proposed regional SD fund) • Establishing of a steering committee to focus on development, dissemination and use of clean technologies

15. Capacity development • Capacity development: Invite all relevant actors to support developing countries in capacity-building for developing resource-efficient and inclusive economies • Suggested actions: • ECA and partners to support the revision of the AU-NEPAD Capacity Development Strategic Framework, informed by regional priorities and Rio+20 • The coordination of various capacity development initiatives at all levels • The elaboration of national capacity development strategies • School curricula to incorporate knowledge and skills for sustainable development

16. Small Island Developing States • Third International Conference on SIDS to be held in 2014 • Five SIDS in Africa: Cape Verde, Comoros, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles • Suggested actions: • Call for bold and ambitious outcomes • Reiterate the importance of the consolidating and scaling-up of the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy • Support for national and regional preparations for the Conference & coordination of support to be provided • African SIDS to provide guidance on the kind of support required

17. Programme of work on broader measures to complement GDP • Establish a programme of work on measures to complement GDP, to be led by the UN Statistical Commission • Provides opportunity for more accurate and comprehensive assessment of the state of the economy • Suggested actions: • ECA, AUC, AfDB and others to provide required support • Participation in the process- meeting early 2013 • The Statistical Commission for Africa to provide platform to discuss and inform Africa’s position – 2014 next session • African countries to ratify the African Charter on Statistics

18. Green Economy • Recognizes GE as one of the important tools, bearing in mind the need to: respect national sovereignty; strengthen international cooperation, including MoI; avoid unwarranted conditionalities on ODA, finance and trade; and promote sustainable consumption and production • Suggested actions: • Seek better understanding of green economy paradigm • Adopt step-wise approach, considering different stages of development and country specificities • Case studies that allow for lesson learning to inform policies • Ensure inclusive job-creating growth that is resource efficient • Key requirements are technology, capacity and appropriate investments • Need to strengthen existing partnerships and build new ones

19. Thematic and cross-sectoral issues • Identified a number of thematic and cross-sectoral issues and highlighted key actions for implementation, supported by adequate means of implementation: • Poverty eradication • SIDS; LDCs; Landlocked developing countries; and Africa • Water and sanitation; sustainable transport; energy; mining • Education; human health and population; gender equality/women empowerment; employment, decent work & social protection • Sustainable cities/human settlements; oceans & seas; DRR; climate change; forests; biodiversity; desertification; land degradation & drought; mountains; chemicals and wastes; sustainable consumption and production • Food security & nutrition; and sustainable agriculture • Sustainable tourism

20. Thematic and cross-sectoral issues • Important to implement the Rio+20 thematic and cross-sectoral outcomes within the framework of existing regional, subregional and national frameworks and ensure coordinated support by UN and other partners: • Africa has already clearly identified programmes of action in several of the areas (e.g. ClimDev programme, AUC/ECA/AfDB Land Policy Initiative, NEPAD framework, such as e.g. CAADP, PIDA, CPA, DRR, EAP) • RCM-Africa – coordinated institutional arrangement for UN Agencies’ support to NEPAD programme and the strategic plans of the AU and RECs • SRCMs to ensure effective linkages between RCM-Africa and UNDAF processes at national level

21. Africa • Rio+20 called on the international community to enhance support and fulfill commitments to advance Africa’s sustainable development • Welcomed the efforts by development partners to strengthen cooperation with NEPAD • Welcomed the progress made by African countries in deepening democracy, human rights, good governance and sound economic management • APRM could promote accountability of governments and their institutions • Invited Africa’s development partners to: • Support African countries to strengthen human capacities and democratic institutions • Facilitate the transfer to technology (as mutually agreed) • Increase the flow of new and additional resources for development

22. Africa • Suggested actions: • Renew political commitment to sustainable development • Strengthen the NEPAD programme as a framework for SD in the region – integrating the outcomes of Rio+20 in its review • Ensure that national and regional development strategies are informed by sustainable development frameworks • Enhance awareness of SD and encourage participation of all stakeholders • Support the creation of an African Sustainable Development Fund (see financing SD)

23. Conclusion and way forward • Africa needs to effectively engage in the intergovernmental processes set out in the Rio+20 outcome document • In this regard, the continued involvement of Africa’s political leadership critical: • The Outcome Document of Africa-RIM to feed into CSD-20 and other relevant processes under the GA • Draft decision to be presented at AU Summit in January 2012 (MS to sponsor) • Tabled at the Sixth Joint Meetings of the Joint AUC/ECA Conference of Ministers (March 2013) • Inform the business plans of RCM-Africa

24. Thank You