Whether the department has made any progress with regard to drawing in partners from the international community in order to work together towards achieving development goals

QUOTE

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO: 604  (CW751E)

PUBLISHED IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO: 38-2011 OF18 NOVEMBER 2011

MR SH PLAATJIE (COPE) TO ASK THE MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION:

1. Whether her department has made any progress with regard to drawing in partners from the international community in order to work together towards achieving development goals; if not, why not; if so, (a) what progress and (b) what are the further relevant details? CW751E

REPLY:

1. Yes.   
   
   (a) The country reporting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) falls within the competency and the mandate of the Statistician-General as the head of Statistics South Africa (StatsSA). 
   
   My Department participates in all initiatives with the Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in monitoring progress on the achievement of the MDGs.  We have also embarked on a number of activities to garner support from the international community in order to work towards the achievement of the MDGs. These activities include active engagement within the United Nations System advancing the imperative need for the achievement of the MDGs by 2015, and the need for a concerted global effort in this regard. We are also participating in a number of bilateral engagements, including the Japanese-led initiative called the Post-MDGs Contact Group, intended to accelerate the momentum for the achievement of the MDGs by 2015.  Furthermore, we have identified the Department of Social Development (DSD) as South Africa’s focal point for the Post-MDGs Contact Group.
   
   South Africa has also identified challenges with regard to meeting the health-related MDGs, especially MDG 5 on Improving Maternal Health. In this regard, my Department forms part of the MDGs Acceleration Framework (MAF) led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which is intended to assist African Governments to systematically identify and prioritize challenges on specific MDGs  targets that are off track and to solicit accelerated solutions to the challenges.    

(b) Furthermore, my Department has been at the forefront in ensuring the inclusion of African experience and perspectives in the development of the Draft Guiding Principles on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty.  To this end, we have facilitated South Africa’s support for Ms Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona, Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights in finalizing the Draft Guiding Principles on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty.  The project is intended to assist in the worldwide struggle against poverty, and thus contribute to the enjoyment of the rights of the people living in poverty.