UN post-2015 agenda to focus on security, development, human rights

The UN post-2015 agenda will focus on common security, development and human rights, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the headquaters of the United Nations on Monday.

The new universal compact will be people-centered and also planet-sensitive, Ban said at the opening ceremony of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) informal session on the sidelines of intergovernmental negotiations on the future agenda.

"Member states want an ambitious agenda that can end poverty, achieve shared prosperity and peace, allow us to live in harmony with our environment and leave no one behind," he stressed.

The three-day session is underway for countries to exchange views on the components that the post-2015 agenda should contain.

At the opening ceremony, UNGA President Sam Kutesa urged the international community to spare no effort to support countries in their final push to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), or come as close as possible to doing so.

"Building on the foundation and valuable legacy of the MDGs, the new development agenda will provide a framework for development and international cooperation for the next 15 years," he said.

The MDGs, a set of anti-poverty goals, was adopted as a UNGA resolution in September 2000, with a deadline of 2015. The goals include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, combating HIV/AIDS, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

According to the UN schedule, the post-2015 agenda is to be approved in September this year.