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The Millennium Development Goals have helped rally political support for global efforts to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable human development. The Asia-Pacific region has achieved remarkable progress on the MDGs, particularly on reducing income poverty; however, it still has a significant ‘unfinished agenda’. People in the region continue to face major deprivation, along with many new and unaddressed development challenges. As the finishing line for the MDGs approaches, this report articulates Asia-Pacific aspirations for a post-2015 development framework. It calls for concerted and accelerated action on 11 measurable goal areas. Countries will need to bring together the three pillars of sustainable development – economic prosperity, social equity and environmental sensitivity – and replace short-term horizons with longer-term sustained benefits. Likewise, they will need to address issues of social justice, human rights and equity. Building on the MDGs, a post-2015 global agenda that is applicable to all will need to take into account huge variations in country circumstances. Learning from the MDG experience of the Asia-Pacific region, the new development framework should allow for customization of targets and indicators, along with flexibility for additional national goals. It should make clear who is responsible for achieving the goals and for ensuring the means of implementation of the new development agenda, at global, regional and national levels. The report has been produced by ESCAP, ADB and UNDP. Other UN organizations, funds and programmes participating in the Regional Coordination Mechanism have also contributed significantly. Members of the ESCAP Advisory Committee of the Permanent Representatives provided valuable feedback.

The Millennium Development Goals have helped rally political support for global efforts to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable human development. The Asia-Pacific region has achieved remarkable progress on the MDGs, particularly on reducing income poverty; however, it still has a significant ‘unfinished agenda’. People in the region continue to face major deprivation, along with many new and unaddressed development challenges. As the finishing line for the MDGs approaches, this report articulates Asia-Pacific aspirations for a post-2015 development framework. It calls for concerted and accelerated action on 11 measurable goal areas. Countries will need to bring together the three pillars of sustainable development – economic prosperity, social equity and environmental sensitivity – and replace short-term horizons with longer-term sustained benefits. Likewise, they will need to address issues of social justice, human rights and equity. Building on the MDGs, a post-2015 global agenda that is applicable to all will need to take into account huge variations in country circumstances. Learning from the MDG experience of the Asia-Pacific region, the new development framework should allow for customization of targets and indicators, along with flexibility for additional national goals. It should make clear who is responsible for achieving the goals and for ensuring the means of implementation of the new development agenda, at global, regional and national levels. The report has been produced by ESCAP, ADB and UNDP. Other UN organizations, funds and programmes participating in the Regional Coordination Mechanism have also contributed significantly. Members of the ESCAP Advisory Committee of the Permanent Representatives provided valuable feedback.

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Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division +66 2 288-1234 [email protected]