| | | | | In a briefing to the 193-Member Assembly, the UN chief presented his synthesis report, alongside the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Sam Kutesa. The report is to set the stage for agreement on the new framework at a September 2015 summit. | | The Secretary-General also welcomed the outcome produced by the Open Working Group, saying its 17 proposed sustainable development goals and 169 associated targets clearly expressed an agenda aiming at ending poverty, achieving shared prosperity, protecting the planet and leaving no one behind. Water is proposed as the sixth goal of seventeen. | | UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY AGREES ON POST-2015 SUMMIT AND NEGOTATIONS MODALITIES | | | After several weeks of discussions, the UN General Assembly informally agreed on the modalities for the post-2015 process and the organization of the Summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda. | | | The Summit will be held from 25-27 September in New York and convened as a High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly (GA). According to the GA, the outcome document to be prepared for adoption at the Summit in September 2015 may include the following main components: Declaration; Sustainable Development Goals and targets; Means of Implementation and Global Partnership for Sustainable Development; and follow-up and review. Member States also agreed on a provisional roadmap, which lists eight negotiation session between January and July 2015 and specifying their focus. | According to this roadmap, the Sustainable Development Goals and targets are expected to be discussed in the third session on 23-27 March 2015. The initial draft of the outcome document on the Post-2015 Development Agenda shall be prepared by the Co-facilitators based on discussions held and shall be presented to Member States by May 2015 for the intergovernmental negotiations. The Co-facilitators are now transmitting the informally agreed draft resolution to the President of the General Assembly for further action.
| | US CONGRESS PASSES WATER FOR WORLD ACT | | | On 16 December, the United States Senate passed the Water for the World Act and received applauds from global and national NGOs and civil society. The bill will help to ensure US support is going to places in need. | | | Water for the World will help to address the needs of the 2.5 billion people who do not have access to improved sanitation and the 750 million people who still live without improved drinking water. Improving the pre-investment analysis undertaken by USAID and safeguarding existing capacity and coordination across the Federal government is key for the bill. | "Today is monumental for those of us dedicated to providing safe drinking water, toilets and hygiene promotion to the world's poorest people, and even more important for the billions of people who are currently waiting for those services," said Sarina Prabasi, CEO of WaterAid America. Read more
| | ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN ZARAGOZA | | | 2015 is a seminal year with the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. In the light of water's role in this agenda, the focus for World Water Day and the year-long campaign is water and sustainable development. | | | The UN-Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference will kick off the 2015 campaign under the theme: Water and Sustainable Development: From Vision to Action. The three day conference in Zaragoza, Spain will provide a space for dialogue around selected topics relevant to the implementation of the international agenda on water. This is also the last year of the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' and the conference will touch upon stock taking and lessons learnt. | | The focus for the conference is on a practical examination of what the necessary transformations are and how institutional change, technology, capacity development and financing can help develop appropriate joint responses. Participants will look at the essential similarities - learning from each other - and critical regional and country differences. It will draw from practical experience of Member States and stakeholder groups. More information | | - POST-2015: UN General Assembly President H.E. Mr. Sam Kutesa has announced the preliminary organisational arrangements for a series of High-Level Thematic Debates and a High-Level Event to be convened in the first half of 2015, and finalized dates for several of them.
- RESOLUTIONS: UN General Assembly adopts resolution to further efforts to achieve the sustainable development of water resources and invites the President of the General Assembly to convene a high-level interactive dialogue on a comprehensive review of the progress achieved in the implementation of the Water for Life Decade 2005-2015. The High level interactive dialogue is now scheduled for 31 March 2015.
- APPOINTMENT: Leo Heller is second Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation to be appointed by the Human Rights Council. Mr. Heller succeeds Catarina de Albuquerque whose mandate ended in 2014.
| | | RICHARD CURTIS : Making the SDGs Famous and Popular - The Film Director and Founder of Charity Comic Relief on getting the communication around the SDGs right: "I know how hard sequels can be. Get it right, and you establish a brilliant brand, get even better results; you make Godfather 2, make Terminator 2 – great movies. Get it wrong, misunderstand or undervalue the original, and the legacy swiftly dies." | | THE HUFFINGTON POST: What Do Ebola, ISIS, the Empire State Building, Skipping School, and $260 Billion All Have in Common? - Water.org's Matt Damon and Gary White and Representative Earl Blumenauer on why water is the answer. | | ON THE RADIO Tune in on BBC 4 World at One on 2 January 13:00 (GMT) to listen to an interview with the Chair of UN-Water, Michel Jarraud, on the MDG sanitation target and the way forward. | | |  | | Best wishes for an important year for water
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