The year 2015 was truly pivotal for international diplomacy: the beginning of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (hereinafter referred to as the 2030 Agenda) and the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era. It was also a year in which several ground-breaking international agreements were reached after years of negotiations.<p>
The process to develop a Post-2015 Development Agenda began in 2010 at the Millennium Summit in New York, when United Nations Member States requested the United Nations Secretary-General to initiate the process of a follow-up to the MDGs. In 2012, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro (Rio+20), the commitment to formulate a number of goals on sustainable development was clear, along with an acknowledgement of the central role that water and sanitation play in sustainable development.