After the UN’s 47th Session of the Statistical Commission — Where are the indicators now?
The UN’s 47th Session of the Statistical Commission ended earlier this month, on March 11th, and the proposed SDG indicator framework has now been agreed on as a “practical starting point” in need of more “technical refinement”. This refinement is taking place at the Third Meeting of the IAEG-SDGs on March 30-April 1, in Mexico City.
This early agreement on the indicator framework still has a long way to go, but it is a firm first step. The Statistical Commission approved the proposed work program for the IAEG-SDGs, discussing further needs of the framework. Countries also gave their personal take on the indicator framework and the different needs and concerns of various regions.
This decision to “agree” with the proposed indicator framework was made in place of a decision to “adopt” the framework, which would have led to the UN Economic and Social Council recommending the framework for adoption by the UN General Assembly. Many countries felt that there was more refinement to be done before the framework could be discussed by the UN General Assembly.
For more details about the comments on the proposed indicator framework, see the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Reporting Services write up. And you can find the agreed upon proposed indicator framework here.
Sources:
IISD News: “UN Statistical Commission Agrees on SDG Indicator Framework as ‘Practical Starting Point’ “
The Report of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators for the 47th Session of the Statistical Commission
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/47th-session/documents/2016-2-SDGs-Rev1-E.pdf
