Skip to main content

A regional perspective on the post-2015 United Nations development agenda

Symbol: 
E/ESCWA/OES/2013/2
Issued in: 
2013

As the world approaches the deadline for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the five regional commissions have come together to propose a joint regional perspective on the post-2015 United Nations development agenda. This report, which has been coordinated by ESCWA in close cooperation with the other four regional commissions, identifies key priority areas that address regional specificities to be incorporated within the global development agenda.

The report analyses the political and socioeconomic context in which the current MDG agenda was formulated and the challenges and opportunities it presented. Assessing the progress achieved in the implementation of MDGs, the report concludes that greater regional cooperation is needed to effectively address economic, social and environmental challenges. It stresses that, in this endeavour, the United Nations regional commissions play an important intermediary role as institutional conduits between the national and global levels. Generating employment, tackling inequality, adopting a more comprehensive approach to environmental sustainability and promoting democratic governance are among the main recommendations of the report.