In the context of the UN Summit to adopt the post-2015 development agenda in September 2015, this side event to the 29th session of the HRC discussed the importance of human rights principles in informing the debates on accountability for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Social Watch coordinator Roberto Bissio said that “I think that the SDGs with all their imperfections is an agenda that it is really compatible and reinforces the human rights agenda and it goes even beyond by opening up the areas of environment, planetary boundaries, even though the term is not there, it is implicit which is aspects that are not yet in the human rights agenda so in some things it goes beyond. So that is the beauty of that agenda. We really have to look at ways where the review, accountability and the further discussion that it is needed on how this is going to be implemented really can take form.” The meeting addressed issues of claims and standards for accountability, as per existing international human rights law, as well as considerations how the Universal Periodic Review mechanism currently in place at the HRC could best serve as a model for a future SDG accountability mechanism.

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