Localized indicators will be essential to the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Local Authorities Major Group, of which the Global Taskforce forms part, has signed a letter to the Co-chairs of the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda requesting formal mechanisms for the participation of Major Groups and other stakeholders in the Inter-agency Expert Group on SDG indicators.
The letter to Permanent Representative of Kenya, Macharia Kamau, and Permanent Representative of Ireland, David Donoghue, has been supported by over 150 groups and organizations that have been involved in the Post-2015 process to date, including the Major Groups.
Participation in the discussions on indicators is of vital importance to local and regional governments. We have been highlighting the necessity of localized indicators to the successful implementation and monitoring of the SDGs, and developing concrete proposals in this regard.
Disaggregated data at subnational level will allow inequalities in the achievement of the goals to be identified and resources targeted accordingly. Localized indicators will be vital to measure progress in urban areas, both in the achievement of SDG11 on sustainable cities and human settlements, but also many other goals which have a strong urban dimension, such as those on poverty eradication, water and sanitation, infrastructure, economic growth, reducing inequalities and tackling climate change.
The letter to the Co-chairs calls for seats on the IAEG-SDG to be allocated to representatives of Major Groups and other Stakeholders to ensure the coordination and facilitation of expert input by civil society, including the selection of individual experts from Major Groups and other stakeholders as needed. It also recommends that mechanisms are established to allow the participation of Major Groups in the decision-making processes of the IAEG-SDG and the UN Statistical Commission, and requests a transparent process that allows Major Groups and Stakeholders access to information on the development of the SDG indicators.
For more information on the work of the Global Taskforce on the localization of the Post-2015 Agenda,
More info: How to Localize the Targets and Indicators of the Post-2015 Agenda.
Source: Global Taskforce