Economic and Social Council Sets Themes, Dates in April for Annual Development Financing Session, Next Forum on Forests Meeting
The Economic and Social Council adopted, without a vote, five draft decisions on dates and themes of upcoming high-level meetings.
The Council adopted a text, deciding that its annual financing for development forum would take place from 18 to 22 April (document E/2016/L.9). The five-day session included a one-day special high-level meeting of the Council with the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Adopting a related text (document E/2016/L.10), the Council decided the forum’s theme would be “Financing for sustainable development: follow-up to the Addis Ababa Action Agenda”.
“Ensuring that no one is left behind” would be the theme of the 2016 high-level political forum on sustainable development, the Council decided as it adopted draft document E/2016/L.11.
The body decided, by adopting draft text E/2016/L.12, that the theme of its 2016 thematic discussion, to be held during its high-level segment, will be “Infrastructure for sustainable development for all”. By the text, the Council stressed the importance of further alignment of the future themes of the thematic discussion and of the high-level political forum on sustainable development, convened under the auspices of the Council, in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 67/290 of 9 July 2013 and 68/1 of 20 September 2013.
Thailand’s representative, speaking for the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, supported the above decisions. With regard to the financing for development forum, the Group deemed that the full period of five days was appropriate. However, due to the upcoming schedule that included a high-level debate on 21 April and the signing of the Paris Agreement on 22 April, he supported shortening the forum in 2016 to three days. To ensure a successful 2016 forum, he requested the Council’s efforts to provide Member States with the proposed modalities at its earliest opportunity. Since there was no mandate to decide on a theme, the 2016 meeting should deliberate to do so for 2017.
Welcoming the decisions, Australia’s delegate, also speaking for Canada, said the Council could now prepare for those important gatherings. However, themes should be aligned across all meetings and segments, which could, together, play an important role in follow-up and review while providing input to the high-level political forum. He was willing to discuss options for such alignment in future years.
The Council then adopted a text on the United Nations Forum on Forests (document E/2016/L.13), recalling its resolution 2015/33 of 22 July 2015, by which it decided, inter alia, to extend the international arrangement on forests beyond 2015 and to request the United Nations Forum on Forests to hold its twelfth regular session in 2017. By the “L.13” text, it decided to authorize the holding of the first meeting of the twelfth session of the Forum in New York on 25 April 2016, for the sole purpose of electing the officers of the session in accordance with rule 15 of the rules of procedures of the functional commissions of the Council.