NGO Alliance Stresses Civil Society's Role at UN Sustainability Summit

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- From September 25-27, more than 150 world leaders will gather at a special United Nations summit to formally adopt the UN's new sustainable development agenda. The 16 new goals will guide the global community's work in ending extreme poverty, inequality and injustice over the next 15 years. Speaking from the summit in New York, InterAction Executive Vice President Lindsay Coates said:

"Our world has changed dramatically over the past 15 years. Self-determination and local ownership are now central in policy discussions around ending extreme poverty and economic inequality. The new UN Sustainable Development Goals rightfully rely on active individual citizens and civil society organizations to help build resilient societies and effective institutions around the globe. 

"Civil society organizations play a vital role in providing basic services to communities that governments and the private sector are unable to reach. The Sustainable Development Goals will help civil society groups hold governments and businesses accountable to the people they serve.

"To achieve the UN's ambitious goals over the next 15 years, civil society organizations must also be allowed an active role in selecting success indicators."

BACKGROUND
In 2015 the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which have guided global development since 2000, will expire. To sustain the momentum of the MDGs, InterAction and its members are collaborating with civil society organizations to ensure the advancement of a new sustainable development framework. As an executive member of Beyond2015, InterAction is also engaging with the campaign to open processes and strengthen the framework.

ONLINE RESOURCES

• Read more from Lindsay Coates on civil society's role in implementing the SDGs.
• See a list of InterAction member activities around the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Read the InterAction Post-2015 Task Force policy brief, "Overarching Principles for a Post-2015 Framework."
• View the UN's Sustainable Development Goals Fact Sheet.

MORE ABOUT INTERACTION
InterAction is the largest alliance of international NGOs and partners in the United States focused on the world's poor and most vulnerable.

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SOURCE InterAction