Démocratie et gouvernance

本简报建议制定一项《全球数字契约》，为推进开放、自由、安全、以人为本的数字未来制定原则、目标和行动，这种未来以普遍人权为基础，使实现可持续发展目标成为可能。简报概述了迫切需要多利益攸关方数字合作的领域，并阐述了《全球数字契约》如何通过提供包容性的全球框架，促进实现纪念联合国成立七十五周年宣言（大会第75/1 号决议）中关于“勾画数字合作共同愿景” 的承诺。这样一个框架至关重要，以采取多利益攸关方行动来克服数字、数据和创新鸿沟，并实现可持续数字未来所需的治理。

La présente note porte sur l’établissement d’un Pacte numérique mondial qui définirait des prin¬cipes, des objectifs et des actions visant à promou¬voir un avenir numérique ouvert, libre, sûr et centré sur l’être humain, ancré dans les droits humains universels et permettant d’atteindre les objectifs de développement durable. Elle indique les domaines dans lesquels il importe d’établir une coopéra¬tion multipartite dans le domaine du numérique et expose en quoi un Pacte numérique mondial peut aider à concrétiser l’engagement pris dans la dé¬claration faite à l’occasion de la célébration du soixante-quinzième anniversaire de l’Organisation des Nations Unies (résolution 75/1 de l’Assemblée générale), à savoir élaborer « une vision commune en ce qui concerne la coopération numérique » au moyen d’un cadre mondial inclusif. Un tel cadre est essentiel pour que l’on puisse mener une action multipartite et combler les fossés existant dans les domaines du numérique, des données et de l’innovation, et mettre en place une gouvernance indispensable à un avenir numérique durable.

В Повестке дня в области устойчивого развития на период до 2030 года и в «Нашей общей повестке дня» отмечается, что в основе глобального формирования политики лежит вредный анахронизм, который заключается в том, что в наших экономических моделях и параметрах упускаются из виду многие аспекты, поддерживающие жизнь и способствующие обеспечению благосостояния людей, и в то же время придается аномально и несоразмерно высокая значимость деятельности, истощающей планету. Цель предложений, представленных в настоящей концептуальной записке, состоит не в том, чтобы заменить валовой внутренний продукт, а в том, чтобы наметить путь к разработке дополнительных показателей, которые в более полной мере учитывают то, что важно для людей, для планеты и для будущего.

“A World of Debt” aims to provide an accessible and comprehensive platform to understand the critical issues of public debt in developing countries. Public debt can be vital for development. Governments use it to finance their expenditures, to protect and invest in their people, and to pave their way to a better future. However, it can also be a heavy burden, when public debt grows too much or too fast. This is what is happening today across the developing world. Public debt has reached colossal levels, largely due to two factors; One - financing needs soared with countries’ efforts to fend off the impact of cascading crises on development. These include the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, and climate change; Two - an inequal international financial architecture makes developing countries’ access to financing inadequate and expensive. The weight of debt drags down development. Debt has been translating into a substantial burden for developing countries due to limited access to financing, rising borrowing costs, currency devaluations and sluggish growth. These factors compromise their ability to react to emergencies, tackle climate change and invest in their people and their future. Countries are facing the impossible choice of servicing their debt or serving their people. Today, 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on education or health. A world of debt disrupts prosperity for people and the planet. This must change.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the working methods of public institutions. The urgency to respond in real time loosened institutional constraints and forced public agencies to be more agile and to experiment with alternative ways to operate, accelerating innovation. Beyond the implementation of buffer measures to maintain essential public services, the crisis provided opportunities for transformations in public administration that would have been challenging to pursue in “normal” times. Although this urgency presented risks of weakening the checks and balances essential for accountability, it also led to the discovery of more efficient and effective ways to deliver public services, and many of these may become the “new normal”. Nevertheless, it is not clear that the agile decision-making, experimentation and innovation observed during the pandemic will persist. This raises the question of how to foster innovation in public institutions in the absence of crises. To retain public trust, governments must demonstrate they can effectively handle systemic shocks; they must demonstrate capacity to foresee problems and address them proactively before they become crises. Governments can tap into the innovations developed during the pandemic to better serve their constituents and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In a context marked by declining trust in public institutions and reduced fiscal space in many countries, supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play a key role in strengthening transparency and accountability in public institutions. The mandates of SAIs are generally aimed at promoting the transparency, efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of the public sector and improving the performance of government institutions. Initially focused on government compliance and financial auditing, SAIs’ mandates have been expanded to assess the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public spending and government performance. SAIs can use their mandate to assess government efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), complementing other accountability institutions and actors (such as parliaments, civil society and the media) and governments’ internal monitoring and evaluation systems. Before the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the engagement of SAIs with internationally agreed development goals was limited. Since 2016, this has changed significantly. Individual SAIs at the national level and groups of SAIs working under the umbrella of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) have engaged in supporting the implementation of the SDGs in various ways, including through conducting audits of progress on SDG targets or their national equivalents, as well as audits of national programmes supporting SDG implementation. This work has resulted in tangible impacts on national policies, programmes and institutional arrangements in support of the SDGs. This brief highlights how the work of SAIs is informing SDG implementation, follow up and review. It provides a brief overview of SAIs’ engagement with the SDGs. This is followed by a snapshot of the current work of SAIs on SDGs and of their impacts. Finally, it reflects on the role of SAIs in national SDG follow-up and review systems.

The 2024 war on Lebanon inflicted severe damage and left deep, long-lasting consequences. This report presents a comprehensive analysis of its immediate impacts, and is intended to outline a clear path for immediate recovery and guide medium- and long-term reform efforts. It examines the war’s direct impacts on infrastructure and economic systems, and exposes the heavy human and social toll it has taken. The report also assesses the macroeconomic implications, highlighting the worsening structural challenges and the resulting economic and social risks. It concludes with a set of public policy recommendations that serve as a solid foundation for comprehensive recovery and future-oriented reconstruction.

The post-electoral survey presents the most important facts and results about 2021 Parliamentary Elections. The main purpose of the survey was to measure the impact of civic education campaigns of voters aimed at changes in voters’ perception of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training (CCET) activity. The data are analyzed in comparison with three other poste-electoral surveys: Presidential Elections held in November 2020, Parliamentary Elections held in February 2019 and Local General Elections held in October 2019. The research was conducted on the basis of a nationally representative sample, covering both rural and urban areas. The target group included the population with the right to vote aged 18 years and over, residing in 314 localities across the country. 70% of questionnaires were developed in Romanian, and 30% in Russian. The sampling error is ± 2.6%. The data were collected in August – September 2021. The opinion survey has been conducted in the framework of the “Enhancing Democracy in Moldova through Inclusive and Transparent Elections” project implemented by UNDP Moldova, with the financial support from the American people provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The expressed points of view belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the UNDP, financing institution or Government of the Republic of Moldova.