Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

     Background: The NGO Branch, at the Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development in UN DESA, is pleased to invite interested NGOs to a briefing session on applying for ECOSOC consultative status. The session will be conducted on 6 May 2025 from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm (NYT). The session will provide information on the process of applying for consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.   Register here: https://events.te...

Last week the Secretary General presented his report on Re-positioning  the UN Development System to Deliver the 2030 Agenda.  This is happening at a time when President Trump has told the State Department to reduce US funding by more than 50% to UN programs. and as he is cutting State and US AID budgets by 37%. There will be a second Secretary General Report in December. This is in accordance with the request of the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR). That document will provide further clarity on the measures and ideas mentioned in the present report, in particular regarding proposals for the improvement of the Resident Coordinator system. That report will also respond to the QCPR call for a system-wide strategic document, and will provide recommendations on how funding efforts can better align with the work required from the United Nations in response to the 2030 Agenda. So, what are the highlights of the first report? The report identifies three gu...