MDGs, or as part of the post-MSG framework also appears to be an important process to monitor. While the g7+ proposal is not yet fully articulated, the ability of the group to rapidly build support in other international fora, and the support they have received in doing so, suggests that any g7+ bid for the post-MDG agenda will likely find an audience. The armed violence and g7+ proposals are also seem to be those that have found greatest traction to date within the international community, with the OECD, UNDP and Secretary-General, as well as a number of international think tanks and NGOs backing variations on this theme.
However, even with some potentially solid options for inclusion on the table, it is important to consider the challenges of security-related themes and their translation into goals, targets and indicators. These challenges relate to understandings of what is meant by security, the difficulty of measuring and collecting data on agreed understandings, the political sensitivities around security and the value added of global level targets. The ultimate decision on whether or not security-related themes should be included within the post-MDG agenda should be based on whether doing so will lead to improved outcomes.
That being said, if efforts to include security in the post-MDG development framework is less about ensuring that appropriate policy actions are formulated to sustainably (and appropriately) address insecurity, and more about putting security-related issues on the political agenda in order to begin a dialogue, then the post-MDGs might be a useful vehicle for doing so. The UN System Task Team notes the ‘historic contribution of the MDG framework in providing a common worldwide cause to address poverty and putting human progress at the forefront of the global development agenda’ (2012: 6). It is true that the MDGs have been successful in marshaling significant publicity and support for areas such as maternal health, and it may be the case that something similar could be achieved in relation to security. Nonetheless, the feasibility concerns would remain, as would the challenge of ensuring that any security-related goal or target in fact led to improved policy actions.