This week in Dili, Timor-Leste, The Pacific Institute of Public Policy is facilitating a major global conference, bringing together representatives from the Pacific and 18 of the world’s most vulnerable countries, grouped together in a new body known as the “g7 Plus”.
The conference theme is ‘Development for All: Stop conflict, build states and eradicate poverty’.
It will seek to build consensus from a gathering of government policy-makers and global thinkers in shaping a “post-MDG world”. This is a reference to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) established by the UN as the core roadmap for poorer nations to achieve benchmarks in a wide range of social and economic areas. It was intended that by 2015 all nations would have achieved their “goals”.
However there has been some criticism that the original MDG concept was driven by unrealistic expectations and did not to take into account the views of the most vulnerable countries themselves.
The original concept, agreed to in 1999, put the onus on poor countries and did not take into account climate change, nations emerging from conflict and the need for the developed world to end its own conspicuous consumption.
Now it may be time to put the onus on rich nations to learn from the rest of the world how to live more simply and sustainably; to focus less on economic growth and “measuring poverty” and more on cutting greenhouse emissions and providing these 18 nations with more opportunities in trade, migration and environmental protection.
Derek Brien, Executive Director of PiPP, says
“PiPP is honoured to have been asked to help facilitate this important gathering of Pacific and international leaders to help envision a post 2015 development framework so that these most vulnerable countries, and those partners assisting them, can have a more realistic and inclusive approach to building a sustainable future.”
“It is an opportunity to now include the voices of the previously voiceless to help end conflict, tackle extreme poverty, build confidence in state institutions and manage climate change. The Pacific region has much to offer the rest of the world in terms of sustainable living for the future”.
Attending the meeting is Timor-Leste President H.E. Taur Matan Ruak and Prime Minister H.E. Xanana Gusmão, Kiribati President, Te Beretitenti H.E. Anote Tong, Solomon Island Prime Minister Hon. Gordon Darcy Lilo together with ministers from around the Pacific and the g7 Plus countries.
The Dili Consensus will be announced by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Hon. Gordon Darcy Lilo on the 28th February, and will feed into the UN High Level Panel’s deliberations on the Post-2015 development agenda.
A press conference will be held by H.E. Emilia Pires, Timor-Leste Minister of Finance and Dr Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP at 12.30PM on Thursday 28 February 2013.
The Dili International Conference is supported by PiPP, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Australia Government Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the g7 Plus Secretariat.
The g7 Plus countries are Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Union of the Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Timor-Leste (Chair) and Togo.
The conference runs from February 26-28.
For any media enquiries, please contact Dulciana Somare-Brash on +670 78091660 or email dsomare-brash@pacificpolicy.org
