In 2015, there will be several landmark events for the international community – the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the General Assembly, and the Climate Conference in Paris. In the run-up to these crucial events, the UN system in Europe and Central Asia advanced its dialogue on how to deepen cooperation between different parts of the UN family in the region. Discussions were held at the meeting of the UN Regional Coordination Mechanism for Europe and Central Asia (RCM), which is chaired by UNECE and brings together the Heads of all regional and sub-regional UN offices. The meeting was hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva on 7 May, back-to-back and partially jointly with the meeting of the Regional UN Development Group (UNDG).
Particular focus was on working together to implement the SDGs and to provide appropriate support to governments. In addition, consideration was given to the potential role of the national and regional levels in monitoring and follow-up of the SDGs. The discussion will be continued at the next RCM meeting, which is scheduled to take place after the adoption of the SDGs. Regional Directors also enhanced cooperation in a number of cross-cutting areas that relate to the mandates of several UN entities, in particular gender equality and women’s empowerment, health, green economy and social protection. In these areas, information exchange, pooling of expertise and joint activities will be strengthened, including through regional working groups.