[Irtalk] Fwd: [IFLA-L] What has happened with the UN post-2015 Development Agenda and how is access to information progressing?

[Hilton Gibson]

FYI.

*Hilton Gibson*
Ubuntu Linux Systems Administrator
Stellenbosch University Library
http://staff.lib.sun.ac.za/~hgibson/docs/cv/cv.html


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Julia Brungs <Julia.Brungs at ifla.org>
Date: 15 June 2015 at 14:44
Subject: [IFLA-L] What has happened with the UN post-2015 Development
Agenda and how is access to information progressing?
To: "ifla-l at infoserv.inist.fr" <ifla-l at infoserv.inist.fr>, "
lyondcl at infoserv.inist.fr" <lyondcl at infoserv.inist.fr>, "
pal-dc at lists.apc.org" <pal-dc at lists.apc.org>


 Dear all,



With the negotiations over the UN post-2015 development agenda reaching
their final phases in New York, it is an appropriate moment to share an
overview of what is happening at the United Nations.

At IFLA we have continued our active engagement in the post-2015 process
and we have further worked on bringing the issues of the Lyon Declaration
<http://www.lyondeclaration.org/signatories/> to the attention of Member
States and the United Nations.



*What's been going on?*

The United Nations have continued to finalise the results presented to them
by the Open Working Group (OWG
<https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/owg.html>) at the end of 2014.

At the beginning of June a Zero draft of the outcome document for the UN
Summit to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda
<https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/7261Post-2015%20Summit%20-%202%20June%202015.pdf>
was
released. Based on this draft, and our knowledge of the negotiations, seems
highly unlikely that the Goals and Targets will be re-opened before the
summit in September 2015, although there is still some discussion on the
wording of certain targets. This is good news for IFLA and all the
signatories of the Lyon Declaration as the target on access to
information: 16:10 ensure public access to information and protect
fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and
international agreements remains firmly within the final 17 goals and
targets.

Furthermore it has been our consistent position that access to information
is essential in achieving all 17 targets and IFLA, in cooperation with
other civil society groups, is actively working on communicating this to
the UN with help of Member State representatives.



The UN is now working on several processes at the same time in order to
finalise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs
<https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/focussdgs.html>) by September. In
order to make this happen Member States are currently discussion on how to
finance <http://www.ifla.org/node/9533?og=7409> the new Development Agenda
and how to measure the success of it. IFLA is represented and engaged in
the discussion on measurements as several statistics are already in place
which would enable the measurement of access to information. In addition,
we are working on the Development and Access to Information report called
for in 6d) of the Lyon Declaration <http://www.lyondeclaration.org/>.



Connected to this, IFLA took the Lyon Declaration and the voice of all its
signatories to the UN meeting in February
<http://www.ifla.org/node/9427?og=7409> and highlighted to Member States
and the UN in general the importance of access to information for a long
lasting sustainable development. For this, we also provided a background
paper
<http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/hq/topics/libraries-development/documents/libraries-post-2015-development-agenda.pdf>
addressing
the main elements of where libraries can provide guidance and leadership in
implementing the SDGs.

In April, the UN held a special session on ‘Strengthening Science,
Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development
<http://www.ifla.org/node/9532?og=7409>’. This clearly relates to many of
the core aims of libraries who provide access to science, technology and
foster innovation. In order to communicate this to Member States, IFLA
provided a brief which outlined how libraries are key partners
<http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/hq/topics/libraries-development/documents/stregthening-scitech-and-innovation-for-sustainable-development.pdf>for
these issues.

In May, IFLA joined the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS
<http://www.itu.int/wsis/index.html>) Forum and presented a high level
policy statement <http://www.ifla.org/node/9606> which stressed the
importance of access to information for all of the SDGs. Prior to the
event, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) released an analysis
<http://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/sdg/Content/wsis-sdg_matrix_document.pdf> of
the WSIS action lines in relation to the SDGs and clearly stated that
access to information (WSIS action line 3) is essential and spans across
all of the 17 proposed SDGs.



*What's next?*

See our just released call to action on Targeting your National Development
Plans <http://www.ifla.org/node/9615> for how you can effect change by
engaging with national ministries and policymakers.

IFLA will continue to engage with the process currently taking place, but
as the goals and targets are now almost certain it has become ever more
crucial to work directly with Member States to get our message heard at the
UN. Therefore, any help you can provide to raise awareness on a national
level for access to information, or the role that libraries have in
enabling sustainable development will ultimately help the negotiations at
the UN.

IFLA will continue to attend the essential meetings held at the UN in New
York and represent Lyon Declaration signatories. In June and July two
intergovernmental negotiations will be held which will further address the
goals, targets and indicators of the SDGs, and the text for the Declaration
on Sustainable Development to be launched in September.

Between now and the Summit in September, we will actively work with other
civil society organisations and NGOs to ensure the right indicators are
used to measure access to information and to stress the point that
libraries are essential agents in sustainable development. The Lyon
Declaration underlines all these points and your signature helps to put
weight onto a document which will facilitate long term change for access to
information.



Please also see the webversion <http://www.ifla.org/node/9616>.



Julia Brungs

Policy and Projects Officer

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

P.O. Box 95312
2509 CH The Hague
Netherlands

Phone: 0031703140884

Email: Julia.brungs at ifla.org
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