ABSTRACT
This chapter examines what happened after Rio+20, specifically at the establishment of the Open Working Group (OWG). It discusses some key elements of the pre-negotiation phase that transpired prior to the first official meeting of the OWG. The President of the General Assembly named Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil, representing the Rio+20 host country, to aid in the establishment of the OWG on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Some governments envisioned the OWG to be a group of thirty experts nominated by governments who would draft the SDGs and submit them to the General Assembly for adoption. Heading into the Christmas break, there was a certain sense of shock, fear, and disappointment that the OWG might not be established and the negotiation of the SDGs might not happen. The OWG agreed on a list of issues to be covered that were clustered into eight stock-taking sessions over twelve months.
