ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the cast of characters participating in the Open Working Group (OWG) and explains how their interests evolved during the stocktaking phase to better understand the negotiations that followed. Although government delegates were the "official" members of the OWG—as the United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization—they were not the only ones in the room. It looks at nonstate actors, including the UN Secretary-General, the Secretariat, UN agencies, other international organizations, civil society, and the business community. Eventually evolving positions solidify, but until then the situation can be challenging. It was essential for the OWG co-chairs to understand the diversity of positions and interests that can affect the creation of any package agreement such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Co-chairs Csaba Korosi and Macharia Kamau also recognized that the members of the OWG entered into the SDG negotiations with incomplete and imperfect information and with tentative and vague preferences for different parts of the agenda.
