The ECOSOC President just published the summary of the HLPF…this is the VNR stuff
Before listing the summary let me make a few comments. It seems to me that
- How many countries actually have a sustainable development strategy that has been developed with stakeholders AFTER the agreement on te 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement?
- No one has put together
an analysis of sustainable development strategies and what role they should and are taking. This is important because VNRs should be reporting based on their SD Strategies and MOST countries did not redo their strategies after 2015 and don’t have a coherent one. There are a few I know that do those being Germany and
Colombia. Germany having just completed its independent review under Helen Clark's chairship.
- Now is the time to look at the framework for reporting and come forward with ideas for improvement.
- Where there is no multistakeholder platform for all stakeholders to work with government on their strategies, their plans and their commitments they need to be set up. A new global alliance is being set up by Stakeholder Forum with support from some of the existing Councils. This could also help establish new ones based on the experience and knowledge of those that already exist.
- Ensure there is government funding to help stakeholders to participate in these national processes.
- Seek local and sub-national governments to set up similar processes and to report as well.
- All the work now should be focused on what can be achieved by the midterm review in 2023.
I've highlighted some interesting parts of the summary on VNRs which may interest people.
Four years of voluntary
national reviews: what has been learned in implementing the Goals?
80. The main issues addressed
included the following:
Multi-stakeholder involvement
will lead to more effective implementation. Governments should ensure that
stakeholder engagement concerning implementation of the 2030 Agenda is
inclusive, timely, transparent and institutionalized;
(b) Countries should do more
to ensure that no one is left behind. The root causes of inequality must be
addressed. Enhanced efforts with new, dynamic strategies should be in place
across all sectors to reach those furthest behind;
(c) The voluntary national
reviews should not be seen as an end point.
Continuous and inclusive
follow-up and review of implementation ought to take place, as a matter of
course, at the national level, including during years that countries are not
presenting the reviews at the high-level political forum.
81. Many of the countries that
had presented voluntary national reviews since 2016 outlined progress had made
towards achieving the Goals, including poverty alleviation programmes, climate
action plans and strategies for a low-carbon circular economy. They noted
changes and periodic reviews of their national sustainable development
strategies, awareness-raising activities on the Goals and efforts to
take complementary and simultaneous action in the social, economic and
environmental fields.
82. Most of the participants
agreed that the 2030 Agenda provides a strong impetus for policy
coherence, integration, coordination and the harmonization of different work
streams within the Government and beyond. Inclusive institutional
frameworks, including at the highest levels of government, address the
interrelated nature of the Goals and involve all agencies in cross-cutting
efforts. The transformative nature of the process arose not only from the Goals
but also from factors such as intergenerational equity, the
commitment to multi-stakeholder involvement and the human rights
perspective of the 2030 Agenda.
83. Challenges
include low levels of stakeholder awareness and engagement with the Goals; lack
of available data, particularly disaggregated data; diverse and parallel
international reporting systems; the limited capacity of Governments to
prepare voluntary national reviews requiring the use of consultants,
leading to weak ownership; lack of monitoring and accountability frameworks;
and political shifts within Governments.
84. Overall, the 2030 Agenda
provides a universal agenda common to all countries and, despite the challenges
mentioned above, has strengthened political will, generated opportunities
to increase cooperation between Governments and other stakeholders,
raised political and public awareness and created national ownership of the
Goals. The voluntary national review process has fostered peer-learning,
helped to establish inclusive institutions and legal frameworks and created
systems of integrated delivery to accelerate progress towards achieving the
Goals. It is important that the reviews lead to follow-up actions at the
country level.
Summary of voluntary national
reviews presented at the high-level political forum under the auspices of the
Economic and Social Council
85. The main issues addressed
included the following:
(a) Many countries have
mainstreamed the 2030 Agenda and integrated the Goals into national development
strategies, policies, plans and other relevant frameworks;
(b) Establishment of
high-level multisectoral coordination structures to lead and monitor
implementation of the Goals can ensure that the Goals are mainstreamed and
prioritized across different government ministries;
(c) Some countries have
implemented policies and programmes for human rights, access to justice, legal
reform, and improving governance;
(d) The impacts of conflict,
humanitarian crises and climate change prevent the achievement of the Goals,
notably in the areas of health, education and nutrition;
(e) Mobilizing resources for
climate change adaptation is a critical pillar of development finance;
(f) More efforts are required to
enhance adaptation and mitigation measures by countries and the transition of
countries to renewable energy;
(g) Working groups on statistics
and data can improve monitoring of Goal related indicators and create a
comprehensive analytical framework that incorporates social, cultural and
environmental measures;
(h) Countries have advanced a
wide range of measures to strengthen the engagement of all stakeholders in the
implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda, which is key to achieving
inclusive and sustainable development and ensuring that no one is left behind;
(i) Partnerships at
local, national, regional and global levels, including with the private sector,
are essential for implementing the Goals;
(j) Multilateralism and
international collaboration are also needed to achieve the Goals;
(k) Young people must be given a
voice in the implementation, follow-up and review of the Goals.
87. Many countries have been
actively pursuing the implementation of the Goals through various policies,
plans and institutional arrangements. Whole -of-government and whole-of-society
approaches must be anchored within national sustainable development strategies.
Strengthening coordination across government ministries are critical to ensure
integrated policymaking. Countries reported on institutional arrangements in
place for coordination and implementation of the Goals.
88. Some countries have
established multisectoral working groups with reporting frameworks for
each ministry or interdepartmental collaboration across a variety of
ministries and government agencies. Others work through multi-stakeholder
advisory arrangements.
89. Different approaches exist
to prioritize, monitor and evaluate the Goals, including adapted national
indicators, the creation of statistical portals and complementary reporting.
Country priorities often differ depending on their level of development.
90. Presentations also focused on
localizing the Goals through collaboration and partnerships among towns,
local municipalities, the business community and civil society
organizations; the role of parliaments; the importance of regional cooperation;
and the need to enhance capacity of subnational structures.
91. Countries discussed both the
importance and challenge of strengthening national statistical capacities
and the need for quality data collection, management, and analysis to
thoroughly assess and monitor of Goal implementation, as well as to ensure
adequate baseline data and the harmonization of data sources. Lack of
disaggregated data remains a challenge for many countries, which stressed the
importance of increasing capacity for data collection, filling data gaps,
encouraging the use of data, cooperating to collect administrative data at all
levels and strengthening the data ecosystem. Countries also emphasized the
importance of increasing the use of satellite data, anonymized call records and
citizen-generated data.
Engagement with the private
sector was also indicated as being important in generating awareness of
sustainable development and in breaking down silos.
93. Countries underscored their
efforts to promote economic growth and decent work for all. Some noted the high
rate of unemployment among youth and women as a challenge and stressed the role
of youth in enhancing inclusive and sustainable development. Several
initiatives focused on reducing inequalities, especially for the most
vulnerable sectors of the population, extending the scope of social safety
nets, progressively raising the guaranteed minimum wage and improving the
condition of workers. There was broad agreement that quality education is a key
factor for achieving all the Goals.
94. Many countries considered
climate change as the biggest challenge to the Goals and one of the major
sources of vulnerability. Policy and institutional frameworks at the national
level have been established to address climate change and build resilience, and
climate change is being mainstreamed into many national development plans.
Achieving the Paris Agreement will require not only technological progress but
also significant changes in consumption.
95. A range of initiatives
focused on reducing inequalities, particularly for countries lagging behind and
for vulnerable populations. Several countries announced progress towards gender
equality and women’s empowerment through gender-responsive budgeting, legal aid
programmes for victims of domestic and gender-based violence, strengthened
participation in parliaments, and legislation to ensure equal pay.
96. Financing the implementation
of the Goals remains an obstacle for many countries. Financing strategies were
presented, including budget planning, mobilizing income sources and internal
revenues, fighting corruption, tackling smuggling and tax evasion, establishing
a financing hub for public-private partnerships, and blended finance.
Investments in infrastructure, including transportation, the development of
road networks, electricity generation, better connectivity to improve trade and
investment, and clean energy development have been instrumental in supporting
progress towards the achievement of the Goals, especially for landlocked
developing countries.
98. Efforts towards achieving the
Goals need continued engagement and investment and must be aligned with other
United Nations frameworks such as the Paris Agreement, the Samoa Pathway and
the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on
Financing for Development.
Working on the SDGs you should read how they came about: Negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals: A
transformational agenda for an insecure world with Ambassador David Donoghue and
Jimena Leiva Roesch
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