Nation-wide consultations on the Post 2015 Development Agenda begin next week

15 Mar 2013

Nation-wide consultations on the Post 2015 Development Agenda begin next week

Monrovia, Liberia: The Government of Liberia with support from the United Nations in Liberia will on March 18, 2013, hold nation-wide consultations on the Post 2015 Development Agenda.

The objective of these consultations is to ensure a bottom up approach to the development of the next Global Development Agenda, so that the plan is informed by the aspirations, perspectives and voices of the people who will be affected by the Agenda, making an improvement over the previous MDGs in order to facilitate an inclusive, nationally led process.

These consultations are expected to stimulate inclusive discussions amongst national stakeholders which include government representatives, NGOs, civil society, community-based organizations (CBOs), indigenous peoples, women’s and social movements, youth and children, as well as the private sector among others, to build a shared global vision on the “Future we Want” with clear recommendations for governments, civil society and broad stakeholders on the Post 2015 Development Framework.

Liberia is among 50 countries selected to conduct national consultations given that its President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was appointed as one of the Co-chairs on the High Level Panel of the Post 2015 Development Frame Work by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki Moon.

The Post-2015 Development Framework is likely to have the best development impact if it emerges from an inclusive, open and transparent process with multi-stakeholders’ participation” says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon in a report “Accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals; options for sustained and inclusive growth and issues for advancing the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015”.

The simultaneous national consultations which take place on 18, March 2013 in all 15 political sub-divisions of the Country will be followed by a one-day validation on March 25, 2013.

“Liberia is one of a selected few countries where national consultations are informing the process to develop a post-2015 MDG Development Agenda. It is a great opportunity for Liberians from all walks of life to engage in this process, and make sure their visions for a better world are articulated in these goals. I encourage all Liberians to take part in these national consultations and make their voice heard,” says Aeneas Chuma, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Consolidation of Democratic Governance)/Resident Coordinator of the UN in Liberia.

It is expected that at the end of these consultations, inputs from all sectors of the Liberian society would have been consolidated to form part of the Global Agenda on the way forward for the Post 2015 MDGs Development Framework.