AMMAN -- Her Majesty Queen Rania, along with other members of the UN High Level Panel on the post-2015 development agenda, on Wednesday attended the second leg of its meetings in London.
Her Majesty will be one of three lead speakers during a session on human development on Thursday, where panellists will discuss the importance of human development goals, what is missing from the current development agenda and how best to reach the poorest and most marginalised around the world.
The 26-member panel was appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in July this year to develop "a bold vision" to advise on the global development agenda after 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
The three-day London meetings, which end on Friday, are a follow-up to the inaugural gathering that Her Majesty attended in New York in September, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
During Wednesday's meeting, being held at London's Marlborough House, Her Majesty participated in interactive panel sessions, during which panellists discussed issues such as accountability and transparency, personal security, freedom from violence and access to justice, as well as how these topics may be part of the post-2015 MDGs framework.
According to a statement released by Britain's Department for International Development, the London meetings are the first of three substantive discussions on poverty eradication to be hosted in the countries of the panel's three co-chairs -- British Prime Minister David Cameron, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The panel is due to submit a report to the UN secretary general in the second quarter of 2013.
Following the September meeting in New York, the three co-chairs had said they agreed that the goal of the post-2015 framework should be to eradicate global poverty, paying special attention the poorest countries and those farthest from achieving the MDGs.
This week in London, the panel members will have the opportunity to engage with international experts on development to consider how key development issues like justice, transparency and accountability could be addressed in a new international framework, the statement said.
"The High Level Panel's work will be vitally important to shape the future of development," said Justine Greening, Britain's international development secretary, who opened the meetings on Wednesday.
"The focus of those meeting in London will be the individual and household poverty," Greening noted. "It is only right that we put this at the heart of any new development agenda so we can shape a better future for everyone, wherever they are born."
The London meetings include a plenary session headed by Cameron, as well as a one on jobs and livelihood chaired by Sirleaf; Her Majesty will participate in both sessions.
In other meetings at the Royal Society, the Queen will attend a civil society roundtable discussion with two other High Level Panel members: Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin and Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas, as well as Amina Mohammed, ex-officio panel member, and five civil society representatives.
The roundtable will focus on how to ensure that all people, especially the poorest and most marginalised, have the food, water, energy, healthcare and education they need.
Queen Rania, together with other panel members, will also attend roundtable discussions addressing the challenges that youths are facing globally. Young people will attend the session to give their perspective on issues such as health, education and employment -- identifying issues that could be included in the post-2015 agenda.
© Jordan Times 2012
