Wrap-up: October 2015 Discussion

In the October discussion facilitated by Kate Donald from the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), we looked into the question of how we as human rights activists and practitioners can improve the proposed indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and get involved in effective SDG monitoring. In that regard, Kate suggested three concrete actions that need our collective efforts: i) influence the indicator selection processes at both global and national levels; ii) engage with statisticians, particularly from National Statistical Offices, about how to measure human rights concerns; and iii) develop our own indicators and monitoring strategies.

The topic inspired several comments from the Working Group members. Among other things, the rounds of questions and feedback highlighted the need to ensure that the SDG monitoring frameworks include a set of indicators for promoting transparency in financing the SDGs and holding the private sector to greater account. It was also emphasized that many civil society organizations need significant support and capacity-building on the use of indicators, as well as for any kind of rigorous SDG monitoring, and that this should be on the radar of donors and funders. Given the very weak level of commitment from states in regard to the participatory processes and mechanisms for accountability, advocacy at the national level remains key, and we should keep pushing for regular reviews of implementation and progress of the SDGs at the national and international levels. Once again, we sincerely thank Kate for her facilitation and those who participated and commented on the blog for this lively conversation.