UN General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals – OWG

At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012, Member States adopted the outcome document The Future We Want that launched a process to develop a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to build upon the Millennium Development Goals. The SDGs were intended both to be universal—in other words, an agenda that recognizes shared national and global challenges among all countries, not just developing countries. This paradigm shift moves away from outdated development assumptions of the past, and ensures no one is left behind.

In 2013, the General Assembly set up a 30-member Open Working Group to develop a proposal on the SDGs, which held thirteen meetings between March 2013 and July 2014. The Group was open to all governments and stakeholders, despite its 30-member mandate, and adopted a report containing 17 SDGs and 169 targets. The OWG submitted the proposal to the UNGA for consideration and action at its 68th session, which began in September 2014.