Wednesday 29 November 2017, 18:30 – 20:30
Titanic Deluxe Hotel, Antalya Turkey

 

Concept Note

The past two decades have witnessed rapid growth in South-South cooperation, in terms of scale, geographic reach and intensity. South-South cooperation has been recognized as a modality not only for financing global and regional development, but also as a hub of knowledge and experience on critical development challenges confronting developing countries. Southern collaborations in social, economic, political and humanitarian spheres have contributed significantly to the improvement of national-wellbeing and enhanced the capacity of developing countries to attain their national development priorities and other internationally agreed development goals.

With the adoption of major agendas such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate change, the international community is now accountable to a global development agenda that recognizes the important catalytic role of South-South and triangular cooperation towards the implementation of these global agendas. The 2030 Agenda places particular emphasis on the necessity for a revitalized global partnership for sustainable development, bringing together a variety of actors, including developing countries and other non-state actors working together towards achieving concrete development outcomes.

The United Nations system continues to bolster its support to South-South and triangular cooperation by mainstreaming South-South cooperation into its policy frameworks and corporate strategies towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations agencies, funds and programmes are also developing policies and programmatic instruments and are increasingly allocating dedicated funds and recruiting specialists to boost their South-South cooperation initiatives not only at headquarters but also at the regional and country levels.

The Secretary General in his 2017 report on the state of South-South cooperation acknowledged the expansion of the substantive focus of South-South cooperation beyond technical and economic cooperation to areas at the nexus of peace and development. These include significant Southern partnerships in peacebuilding, mediation, humanitarian support, governance, disaster risk reduction and climate change, amongst others.

In light of the expanded substantive focus of South-South cooperation across the three pillars of the UN system (Human Rights, Peace and Security, Development) and in an effort to achieve a more coherent and coordinated support of South-South cooperation by the United Nations system, the Secretary General has requested the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation to coordinate, in consultation with the United Nations agencies, the preparation of a United Nations system-wide South-South cooperation strategy.

In its resolution 71/244, the United Nations General Assembly noted the marking in 2018 of the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, and recognizing the need to strengthen and further invigorate South-South cooperation, decided to convene a high-level United Nations conference on South-South cooperation. In accordance with the resolution on the modalities for the Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (A/RES/71/318) to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 20-22 March 2019, the General Assembly decided that the intergovernmental High-level Conference and its preparatory processes shall be open to participation by all Member States, specialized agencies that have observer status with the General Assembly, and encourages the participation of intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions and non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector and philanthropic organizations.

The General Assembly also encourages Member States and their partners, including non-governmental organizations, to consider preparing reports on South-South and triangular cooperation for the purpose of the High-level Conference, on a voluntary basis, taking into account the themes of the Conference and the outcomes of regional, subregional or sectoral United Nations meetings prior to the Conference.

In this regard, UNOSSC is organizing a United Nations multi-stakeholders meeting on South-South cooperation in conjunction with the 2017 Global South-South Development EXPO on the 30th November 2017 to, among other things, initiate consultations on the development of a United Nations system-wide South-South cooperation strategy, and a coordinated United Nations system support towards the preparations of the Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South cooperation (BAPA+40).

 

Agenda

Participants will discuss:

a) The framework of a United Nations system-wide South-South and triangular cooperation strategy and the establishment of an interagency working group;

b) Opportunities for interagency collaboration in convening thematic events on South-South and triangular cooperation as part of the preparatory process for the Second United Nations conference on South-South cooperation;

c) Collaborative preparation of regular interagency policy briefs on South-South and triangular cooperation for publication online and in print;

d) Interagency collaboration towards the identification, documentation and sharing of successful national policies, development solutions, technologies and technical expertise.