Launch of the High Level Panel Report on the Post-2015 Development Agenda

• Dr. Edward Sambili, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Planning, Vision 2030 and National Development, Republic of Kenya Ms. Betty Maina, Member of the High-Level Panel and Executive Director of the Kenya Manufacturers’ Association, UN Colleagues, Members of the diplomatic corps,
• Dear Guests,
• Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to the United Nations Office at Nairobi for the launch of the Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

I am honoured to be with you today to participate in this important event. The launch of the report represents a key milestone in our collective efforts to end global poverty, improve the human condition, and create a better world for all.

After Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established the Panel in July 2012, he encouraged them to be bold yet practical.

On 30 May, President Yudhoyono of Indonesia, on behalf of the co-Chairs, formally submitted the Report to the Secretary-General, who immediately transmitted it to the President of the General Assembly, asking him to share it with all Member States.

In his remarks to the General Assembly, the Secretary-General said that the product of the Panel’s efforts offered much substance and guidance for our future work, adding that we were at the beginning of an historic journey.  He also commended the Panel members for their diligence and commitment. I would like to add my own voice of commendation to the Panel members for their hard work and insightful proposals. These ideas will help shape a transformative post-2015 agenda.

The report builds on the landmark experience of the Millennium Development Goals. It also takes into account the outcome of the Rio+20 Conference, as well as other emerging development thinking.

It proposes five big, transformational shifts.

First, it stresses that no person – regardless of their ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status – should be denied basic economic opportunities and human rights. We must leave no one behind.

Second, it puts sustainable development at the core of the post-2015 development agenda – by promoting economic prosperity and social well-being while protecting the environment and slowing down the pace of climate change. This will require structural changes in our economies and institutions in order to change unsustainable production and consumption patterns.
Third, the report recommends transforming economies for jobs and inclusive growth. More diversified economies, with equal opportunities for all, can drive social inclusion, especially for young people.

Fourth, the report recognizes that peace and good governance are a core element of well-being, not just an optional extra. Freedom from  fear and violence is essential for building peaceful and prosperous societies. This requires institutions that are honest, accountable and responsive to people’s needs.

Finally, the report calls for a new spirit of global solidarity, cooperation and mutual accountability to underpin the post-2015 agenda. The international community must work in new ways. Each priority area identified in the post-2015 agenda should be supported by dynamic partnerships among all stakeholders, based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Millennium Development Goals have been a truly historic undertaking that have helped millions of people, stressing primarily a number of critical social issues such as health and education. This report calls for a development agenda that goes much further than that.

Significantly, it recommends that the post-2015 development agenda be a single universal agenda, applying to developed and developing countries alike. The report calls for profound transformations in the ways economies work and societies are organized, both in the North and the South of the world.

From the distinguished speakers with us here today, including Kenya’s own Panel member Ms. Betty Maina, we will learn much more about these recommendations, and about the way forward.

Let me once again welcome all of you to UNON. I am pleased that Nairobi is one of four cities around the world that will take part in the global discussion on the report immediately following this launch event. As the only UN Headquarters in Africa, and indeed in the developing world, UNON is a very fitting venue for this global discussion.

Thank you.