Development policy and international economic cooperation

In 2013, the world economy continued to expand at a subdued pace. Several new policy initiatives in major developed economies had reduced systemic risks and helped stabilize consumer, business and investor confidence, but with very limited impact on growth. Developing countries and economies in transition continued to register much stronger growth than developed economies, as many of them adopted more expansionary monetary and, to a lesser extent, fiscal policies to strengthen domestic demand. At the same time, more than 1 billion people were living in extreme poverty; income inequality within and among many countries was rising; and unsustainable consumption and production patterns had resulted in significant economic and social costs. At the United Nations, accelerating progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (mdgs), as well as steps for advancing the development agenda beyond 2015, were major focus areas in development policy and international economic cooperation. At a special event in September, the General Assembly expressed concern about the unevenness and gaps in the achievement of the mdgs; called upon developed countries to urgently fulfil their official development assistance commitments; and underlined the need for a coherent approach that integrated the three dimensions of sustainable development. With regard to implementation of the outcome document of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled “The future we want”, the Economic and Social Council abolished the Commission on Sustainable Development (csd), which concluded its work on 20 September. It was replaced by the high-level political forum on sustainable development. The Assembly set out the modalities for the functioning of the high-level political forum, which held its first meeting (24 September, New York) on the theme “Building the future we want: from Rio+20 to the post-2015 development agenda”. The Assembly also established the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing to propose options on an effective sustainable development financing strategy to facilitate the mobilization of resources and their effective use in achieving sustainable development objectives. On 25 September, the Assembly held a special event to follow up efforts made towards the achievement of the mdgs. In its outcome document, the Assembly decided to launch intergovernmental negotiations, which would lead to the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Partnerships for the Goals