Last week in the UN???s New York headquarters, the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) got to grips with one of the most critical and contentious issues at stake in negotiations over the post-2015 development agenda; accountability.
Past experience has shown that development commitments mean little if they are not backed up with effective accountability mechanisms. CESR???s Luke Holland, speaking at a special morning meeting hosted by the President of the Economic and Social Council, told delegates in attendance that human rights norms and standards must be at the core of a ???ecosystem of accountability??? if the new development framework is to achieve its objectives.
The success or failure of future development efforts hinges on whether governments are held accountable to the commitments they make, both to their own citizens and to each other. And it???s not just governments who must be brought to book; with the private sector playing an ever-increasing role in development processes, it is likewise essential that corporations meet their human rights obligations, as set out in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Moreover, if the HLPF is to become an effective catalyst for just and transformative development, it should be at the center of a multi-layered ecosystem of accountability in which a broad spectrum of accountability mechanisms, spanning the global, regional, national and local levels, work in synergy.
Real accountability must also be people-centered, which means creating enabling conditions of citizens??? participation, both in the HLPF itself and in all other development processes. At a time when freedom of expression, association and information are under attack in many countries, this issue is more pressing than ever.
Similarly, the fact that reporting to the HLPF will be voluntary makes it all the more important that review processes are rigorous, interrogating policy efforts, resource allocations and international commitments, and ensuring corrective action where necessary.
Taken together, these elements represent the difference between an accountability system that is merely ceremonial, and one that is genuinely transformative. They are also fundamental building blocks in the kind of human rights-based approach to development that can deliver a just and sustainable world.
The HLPF, a new body established under the Rio+20 outcome document, has been set up to provide leadership and carry out follow-up and review processes on the implementation of sustainable development commitments. While the question of accountability is just one of a number of difficult challenges it must address between now and July 9, when its second round of meetings draws to a close, the extent to which it meets this challenge will have dramatic ramifications in the lives of ordinary people for many years to come.