I write this introduction at the end of my third month at CIVICUS.

Citizens always know better than the government or the market what works for them.

A vibrant and independent civil society is an essential ingredient of effective and stable democracy.

Johannesburg.

English | Portuguese | Spanish     Conectas Human Rights, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, CIVICUS: Worldwide Alliance for Citizen Participation and Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development invite scholars and practitioners to submit articles for Sur Journal’s Issue No.

Highlights in this issue include: World Bank: Commit to Rights in 2030 Vision Wrap-up by the Bretton Woods Project of 2013 World Bank-IMF spring meetings now online Joint Civil Society Submission on Sri Lanka to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) Transparency International Letter to the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals Afghanistan: The world’s most dangerous place for aid workers Indonesia: Civil society groups flourish in Indonesia, but threatened by ‘ormas’ bill Ukraine: Civil society needs peaceful assembly law Zambia: CSOs demand referendum on constitution Corporate transparency - time for G20 finance ministers to lead reforms Guide to European Funding for the Non Profit Sector 2013-2014  Read this issue online or subscribe to receive all future issues

Sri Lanka currently faces widespread criticism for shocking human rights abuses, past and ongoing.

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative would like to draw the attention of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Swaziland.

The post-2015 framework must bring equal development as new research shows inequality holding back education, nutrition, alleviating poverty, and food security.

Is good governance the key to post-2015 growth? Craig Fagan, senior policy coordinator at Transparency International, certainly thinks so.

As we approach the target date of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, discussions on what will replace them are gaining momentum.

In the United Nations’ first wave of global consultations, three priorities have emerged as post-2015 development goals.

Belarus participates actively in the discussions of the global development agenda post 2015, Mr.

The United Nations recently released a report entitled “The Global Conversation Begins,” which serves to illustrate progress towards universal understanding of and support for the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

On World Water Day, UN Women is calling attention to the urgent need to increase access to clean water and basic sanitation and to support the initiative of UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson to enhance progress on sanitation ahead of the 2015 target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

A new development framework needs new strategies for eradicating poverty.

The United Nations presented today the first findings from an unprecedented global conversation through which people from all over the world have been invited to help Member States shape the future development agenda that will build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after their target date at the end of 2015.

The Government of Liberia with support from the United Nations in Liberia will on March 18, 2013, hold nation-wide consultations on the Post 2015 Development Agenda.

Restless Development Zambia convened approximately 50 young people from around Zambia to provide a youth consultation supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on their vision for the Post-2015 Development Goals.

This week the United Nations is bringing experts and world leaders to Indonesia to debate development priorities beyond 2015, when the Millennium Development Goals expire.

Post-2015 goals must satisfy several conditions.

Post-2015 goals must satisfy several conditions.

Eradicate extreme poverty, achieve universal primary education and combat HIV.

The United Nations in Rwanda with support from the Government of Rwanda will hold national consultations on the Post 2015 Development Agenda called “The Future we want”.

Taxation must be central to discussions on how to finance any new development goals, ActionAid said today ahead of a meeting of the high-level panel on the post-2015 development agenda next week in Bali.

Taxation must be central to discussions on how to finance any new development goals, ActionAid said today ahead of a meeting of the high-level panel on the post-2015 development agenda next week in Bali.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf held talks with Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima of the Netherlands on the eve of a Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Water in the Post-2015 Agenda and Discussion of the Results of the Global Thematic Consultation on Water.

As many as 30 civil society organizations under the banner of the newly established Indonesian People’s Alliance (IPA) plan to voice the unsung-aspirations of Indonesian grassroot communities at the numerous international high-level conferences in Bali this year.

Indonesia in cooperation with the United Nations will hold a High Level Panel of Eminent Persons meeting on the Post-2015 Development Agenda in Bali to discuss global partnership, Indonesia's Antara reported.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will on Monday, 25 March launch two Flag Ship Reports and validate the national consultations held on the Global Development Agenda Post 2015, dubbed "Our voices and aspirations for the world we want after 2015.

Next week, the High-level Panel on the post-2015 development agenda meets for the fourth time.

People want the United Nations to address challenges such as environmental degradation, unemployment and violence, according to initial findings released today from a global multi-media survey aimed at bringing the concerns of regular people to policymakers as they shape the development agenda for after 2015, the deadline to reach the Millennium Development Goals.

On the invitation extended by the Government of Bangladesh, Neomal Perera, Deputy Minister of External Affairs visited Dhaka to attend “Global Leadership Meeting on Population Dynamics in the context of Post 2015 UN Development Goals” 12-13 March 2013.

The United Nations presented today the first findings from an unprecedented global conversation through which people from all over the world have been invited to help Member States shape the future development agenda that will build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after their target date at the end of 2015.

Access to education and lifelong learning must be at the heart of the development agenda, global experts stressed at a United Nations-backed conference in Dakar, Senegal.

Representatives of UN agencies and the governments of France and Costa Rica held a meeting this week to look for ways to include environmental sustainability in the global development agenda from 2015.

The UK-based agency Progressio wants to see sustainability and stewardship of scarce natural resources placed at the heart of a future vision for development, when the High Level Panel (HLP) on the Post-2015 Development Agenda meet next week in Bali.

Ms Ruby Sandhu-Rojon, UN Resident Coordinator yesterday commended Ghana for tracking the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which has helped prioritise development interventions such as child mortality, maternal health and basic sanitation.

When the General Assembly unanimously adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) back in 2000, water and sanitation were reduced to a subtext - never a stand-alone goal compared with poverty and hunger alleviation.

Advancing the Business and Human Rights Agenda: Key to Reform Financial Sector The faltering dreams of Tunisian girls CIVICUS releases an open letter requesting the Indonesian Parliament to reject the proposed ORMAS law and create an enabling environment for civil society MDGs: The case for collective global action Experts provide input on HLPF Africa: WACSI Holds Policy Influence Conference European Union: Citizens’ initiatives flounder one year after launch World Bank Group: Access to land is critical for the poor Leveraging private finance with public money: Positive innovation? Corporate welfare? Citizen participation and accountability  Read this issue online or subscribe to receive all future issues.

African Ministers, parliamentarians and policymakers met in Hammamet, Tunisia, to ensure that Africa plays a proactive role in shaping the future global development agenda.

The year 2015 was set by the members of the United Nations in 2001 as the target for fulfilling the targets agreed to in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for eliminating extreme poverty.

A conference on Vietnam's national consultations for the post-2015 development agenda was jointly held by the United Nations (UN) in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment here on Wednesday, the state- run Vietnam News Agency reported.

The Global Thematic Consultation on Conflict, Violence and Disaster in the Post-2015 Development Agenda has culminated with final, high-level meeting, which recognized that conflict, violence and disasters mutually reinforce each other, and recommended addressing them simultaneously within the post-2015 agenda.

GWP Southern Africa has participated in national and international dialogues focusing on water in the post 2015 development agenda.

A widely-acknowledged limitation of the Millennium Development Goals is a neglect of inequality – it is argued that the targets encouraged a focus on ‘low hanging fruit’, those people that were easiest to reach.

As debates about the post-2015 development framework rumble on, there appears to be considerable agreement that in education a refocusing from access to learning will be needed.

On the 17 of March 2013, Commissioners at the 7th Meeting of the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development adopted a gender target on access to information and communication technologies (ICT).

The ongoing process to shape the post-2015 framework includes an interesting angle whereby citizens around the world are asked to rank their top priorities for what development goals will come after 2015.

Last month I joined a team of 13 VSO employees, partners and volunteers at the Asia Pacific Regional Thematic  Consultation on Education in the Post 2015 Development Agenda in Bangkok.