The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) announced the nomination of the Director of the Diplomatic Academy, Ambassador Juan Somavia, and Klaus Töpfer, former Minister of Environment of Germany, as co-chairs of the "independent team of advisors" to support the development of an integrated strategy of the United Nations system in favor of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
The Agenda, with 17 key objectives for the future development of the world, was approved by the General Assembly in September 2015. Its text has become the main platform of goals linked to the new challenges posed by the economic, social and environmental reality in our contemporary world.
The team of independent advisers will propose adjustments and changes in the United Nations system so as to move forward with better answers to the demands for sustainable development included in the 2030 Agenda. In particular, they must promote coherent links between functions, funding, organizational guidelines, capacity and impact, and collaborative approaches the United Nations system; all within the context of the necessary integration of economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. To do this, the advisory group will carry out a broad consultation process.
The team, led by Somavia and Töpfer, is composed of twelve other people with experience in economic and social development. The team includes, among others, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, former President of Latvia; Ibrahim Mayaki, former Prime Minister of Nigeria; Chen Dongxiao, President of the Shanghai Institute of International Studies; and Hanaa El Hilaly, Director General of the Egypt Social Fund for Development. Joining the team as a special adviser is Sarah Cliffe, Director of the New York University Center on International Cooperation.
The team members come from Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Mozambique and Niger.