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The Millennium Development Goals: Who actually created them?

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Guest blog: Lenni Montiel: Senior UN Development Leader (Ret.) | Former UN Assistant Secretary-General |UNDP Resident Representative | Governance, Public Policy & Multilateral Diplomacy | Leadership Advisor & Trainer | Chevening Scholar. Lenni writes on LinkedIn about the UN and international development. Originally published here. The Millennium Development Goals changed international development. But there is an interesting question behind them: Who actually created the MDGs? In September 2000, 189 Member States adopted the Millennium Declaration, General Assembly resolution 55/2. It was a broad political declaration: peace and security, development and poverty, human rights, democracy and good governance, vulnerable people, Africa, and the environment. The Declaration did not contain the familiar list of eight Millennium Development Goals as we later knew them. That framework emerged afterwards. In 1996, the OECD Development Assistance Committee published Shaping the 21st Ce...
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Financing development for a beyond 2030 agenda: Road-to-2030 series

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 B odo Ellmers The debate over a global development agenda beyond 2030 has begun. One lesson should shape it from the outset: Ambitious goals are meaningless without the means to achieve them.  The 2030 Agenda was underfunded from the beginning: The financial framework the international community could agree on were never sufficient to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achievable. The promised "billions to trillions" model - assuming that a few billion in public finance would mobilise trillions in private investment - never mobilised private capital at anywhere near the scale required.  Ten years on, less than half of SDG targets with available trend data are on track or showing moderate progress and the annual financing gap has grown to more than US$4 trillion.  In this new paper for the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bodo Ellmers outlines the current state of reform proposals on taxation and innovative finance, draws on good practice in international fiscal ...
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High-level Meetings of the United Nations General Assembly 81st Session -- Provisional Schedule

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       Opening of the 81st session : 8 September 2026 | A/INF/81/1   Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Moment : 18 September 2026 | A/RES/74/4 General debate : from 22 September to 26 September, and on 28 September 2026 High-level meeting to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development : 23 September 2026 | A/RES/80/207 High-level meeting on climate action and the just transition : 23 September 2026 High-level meeting to address the existential threats posed by sea level rise : 24 September 2026 | A/78/L.101 High-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response : 25 September 2026 | A/RES/79/333 High-level meeting to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action : 28 September 2026 | A/RES/80/193 and A/RES/80/299 High-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons : 29 Septembe...
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Dr. Sena Alouka may he be remembered for his contribution to sustainable development and mentoring the next generation

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From the Togo Times   "It is with deep sorrow and a heavy heart that we regret to announce the passing of our Executive Director, Dr. Sena Alouka," reads the statement signed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of JVE. Mr. Alouka passed away in Crรฉteil, France, on August 31, 2026. In its statement, the PCA says that "this sudden loss plunges our entire organization into immense sadness," and offers sincere condolences to his family, loved ones, and colleagues. Felix Dodds: My memories of Sena go back to a workshop the Stakeholder Forum organized for West African stakeholders in Togo in 2001.  It was, I think, the only workshop in the region, and the Togo team, which included Sena, did an amazing job working with the government and stakeholders coming from the region to facilitate the workshop.  He and I attended many meetings in the 2000s leading up to Rio+20; he was always positive, trying to persuade not just his government, but others to make the extra ef...
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Going to Climate Week - you need a copy of Environmental Lobbying at the United Nations

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This book, Environmental Lobbying at the United Nations  by Felix Dodds and Chris Spence,  provides a step-by-step insider’s guide to lobbying and engaging successfully at the United Nations. It reveals how the United Nations, which plays such a key role on issues from climate change to pollution of our air, land and sea, really works. In a world of rapid climate change, a flood of forever chemicals and plastic pollution, and the extinction of so much wildlife around the world, we need the convening power of the United Nations now more than ever. What’s more, we need individuals and organisations dedicated to making sure the United Nations has the most positive impact it can. And yet, global diplomacy can be dauntingly challenging and complex. Drawing on the authors' combined 60 years of professional experience with the United Nations system, this book contains essential information for individuals and organisations seeking to engage in this complex and confusing world.  ...
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