Update on July High Level Political Forum

Information from Gwilym Roberts-Harry, UN Intergovernmental Policy and Review Branch, Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development

High Level Political Forum 

HLPF 2021 will be held from Tuesday, 6 July, to Thursday, 15 July 2021, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. This includes the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from Tuesday, 13 July, to Thursday, 15 July 2021 as part of the high-level segment of the Council. The theme and SDGs under review can be found on the 2021 HLPF website, please track the ‘Latest’ column on the right-hand side of the home-page. 

Preparation 

A Concept Note on the HLPF has been released by the President of ECOSOC. You can find this on the 2021 HLPF website under Programme. 

The blue navigation bar on the 2021 HLPF website includes a Stakeholders segment. All information contained in these update emails will be available there. The vast majority of advocacy opportunities at the HLPF involve nomination processes which commence with the Major Groups and other Stakeholders. Please see the sub-section dedicated to How to Participate. 

If you would like to join one of the Major Groups and other Stakeholders, you can find contact details in the same Stakeholders section of the website under Introduction. 

Registration 

The 2021 HLPF will be hosted virtually. All official sessions of the 2021 HLPF will be available to watch via UN Web TV. MGoS colleagues will not need to register via Indico, as was required when the HLPF was hosted in-person. In a similar format to last year’s HLPF, access to the virtual platform will only be provided to MGoS colleagues who have formal, active roles in the official sessions of the HLPF i.e. as MGoS Lead Discussants, Resource Persons, Intervenors. 

Funding 

Given the virtual nature of this year’s HLPF, funding will not be available to bring MGoS colleagues to New York. 

Ministerial Declaration [update] 

The HLPF 2021 under the auspices of ECOSOC shall result in a negotiated ministerial declaration for inclusion in the report of the Council to the General Assembly. The President of the ECOSOC Mr. Munir Akram has appointed H.E. Ambassador Jukka Salovaara, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Finland to the United Nations, and H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Hussein Bahr Aluloom, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations, as co-facilitators of the 2021 ECOSOC High Level forum and HLPF Ministerial Declaration. 

In the Outcome section of the 2021 HLPF website, you will be able to locate the
proposed timeline for the upcoming negotiations and the latest revised drafts
of the Ministerial Declaration, along with the latest letters from the
co-facilitators. 

Letter from the co-facilitators for the Ministerial Declaration of 2021 High-level segment f ECOSOC and 2021 HLPF on sharing the third revised draft of the Ministerial Declaration ( 15 June 2021) 

Third revised draft of the Ministerial Declaration of the High-level Segment of the 2021 ECOSOC and the HLPF (15 June 2021) 

Understanding Stakeholders

The consultations on the Ministerial Declaration are closed and not therefore available on UN Web TV. One representative from each of the Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS) can however, participate as observers in the negotiations. Furthermore, there will be two oral interventions from the MGoS-Coordination Mechanism as a whole. Please contact your Major Group or Stakeholder Group to find out about the nomination process.  

Official Thematic Sessions 

MGoS Lead Discussants 

There are 13 thematic official sessions in this year’s HLPF programme. UN DESA has invited the MGoS-Coordination Mechanism to nominate one MGoS representative to participate as a Lead Discussant in each of these dialogues. There will be a slate of 13 Lead Discussants in total.  

In previous years, each Major Group or Stakeholder Group conducted its own process to nominate Lead Discussants. These nominations have then been reviewed by the MGoS-Coordination Mechanism based on thematic expertise, gender, geographic location, age, and other factors, in order to determine the final slate of nominations. The slate of nominations is then reviewed by the President of ECOSOC. 

The MGoS nomination process for Lead Discussants has now closed. 

MGoS Interventions 

In addition to the formal roles as MGoS Lead Discussants, MGoS representatives also have the opportunity to contribute interventions to the official thematic sessions of the HLPF once the debate is ‘opened to the floor’. The number of interventions entirely depends on the amount of time available at the end of the session. These are typically 1 to 2-minute interventions, used by MGoS representatives to ask questions or raise points with members of the panel.  

Please contact your Major Group and other Stakeholder constituency for further information on the nomination process. 

Stakeholder Perspectives Session 

The MGoS Official Session is scheduled to take place on 9 July 2021 from 3 - 5pm ET (New York time). It is titled: “Vision and priorities of civil society, the private sector and other major groups and stakeholders: realizing the SDGs during the COVID-19 recovery”. As an official session, this will be available to watch via UN Web TV. 

UN DESA will be working with the MGoS-Coordination Mechanism to identify Moderators, Panellists, and Lead Discussants for this session. Please contact your Major Group and other Stakeholder constituency for further information on the nomination process. 

Voluntary National Reviews 

MGoS Interventions & Questions  

The usual practice of Major Groups and other Stakeholders having an opportunity to ask a question of VNR countries following their presentations will continue this year. UN DESA will be working closely with the MGoS VNR Task Group in preparation for these official sessions. The MGoS VNR Task Group recently shared details about the nomination and collaboration process but all will be outlined further as part of the webinar series below.  

UN DESA in collaboration with the MGoS-Coordination Mechanism hosted  three webinars (English, French, and Spanish) to introduce new representatives of the MGoS to the Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) at the HLPF. The webinar covered key characteristics and objectives of the VNRs, as well as opportunities and best practices for stakeholder engagement in preparation for the HLPF.  

The video recordings and PowerPoint presentations can be found below.

Français: Lundi 7 juin @ 9h – 10.30h EDT (New York) 

Webinar [EN] - A brief overview of the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the HLPF 2021 

Présentation PowerPoint par UNDESA et les Grands groupes et les autres parties prenantes (GGPP)

Español: Martes, 8 de junio @ 2.30 – 4.00pm (Nueva York) 

Seminario [ES] - Examenes Nacionales Voluntarios (EVN) 

Presentación de PowerPoint par UN DESA et los Grupos principales y otras partes interesadas 

English: Wednesday, 9 June @ 9am – 10.30am EDT (New York) 

Webinar [EN] - A brief overview of the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the HLPF 2021 

PowerPoint Presentation by UN DESA and the Major Groups and other Stakeholders 

The MGoS VNR Task Group have put out a call for expressions of interest from all stakeholders active in the country via online questionnaire. The deadline to complete the questionnaire has now closed. 

Voluntary Nation Reviews Labs  

Registration is open! A series of VNR Labs will be convened on the margins of the 2021 HLPF, to provide an informal platform for experience sharing and reflection on the Voluntary National Review process. As always, the Labs will be held under the Chatham House rule and will be open to Member States, the UN system and representatives of Major Groups and other Stakeholders. You may register directly for the VNR Labs, more information will be available on the website later this month. 

Written Contributions

Executive Summaries 

Discussion papers on the theme of the high-level political forum on sustainable development (final), submitted by major groups and other stakeholders can be found on Documentation & Inputs section of the HLPF website: [ العربية | 中文 | English | Français | Pусский | Español ] 

Sectoral Position Papers 

The deadline for submission of Sectoral Position Papers has closed.  

Each MGoS constituency was invited to submit a paper. The focus of the Sectoral Position Papers was the theme of the 2021 HLPF. The deadline for submission of these papers has passed. The papers will be reviewed and uploaded as inputs to the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. 

Other Events 

Side Events [update] 

The deadline for submission of applications for Side Events has closed.  

DESA has started to contact Side Event applicants to confirm the details of applications which have been approved. There have been hundreds of applications, thank you for your patience with this process. 

Information, including application guidelines, can be found on the HLPF website under Other Events. All side events will be held virtually. One slot will be allocated to each of the MGoS constituencies. ECOSOC accredited organisations and Organisations on the CSD Roster may also submit applications to host side events. UN DESA will not be responsible for hosting the digital platform for each side event, this will be the responsibility of the side event’s host organisation.   

Exhibitions [update] 

The deadline for submission of applications for Exhibitions has closed.  

DESA has started to contact Exhibition applicants to confirm the details of applications which have been approved. There have been hundreds of applications, thank you for your patience with this process. 

UN DESA will now review the applications and contact the applicants with the next steps soon. All information on Exhibitions can be found on the HLPF website, please note that UN DESA will not be responsible for hosting the digital platform for each exhibition, this will be the responsibility of the host organisation. 

Special Events 

Please also take an opportunity to explore the Special Events that the UN DESA and its partner agencies and organisations will organise virtually, on the margins of the HLPF this year. ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021’ and the ‘2021 SDGs Learning, Training, and Practice’ can be found under Other Events. 

ECOSOC/ HLPF Review  [update] 

All information concerning the 'Review process of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 67/290 and 70/299 on the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level and resolution 72/305 on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council' can be found on the general HLPF website. There is a section in the blue navigation bar dedicated to ECOSOC & HLPF Reviews. 

You may also go directly to the website of the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations: 

Letter from the co-facilitators for the intergovernmental negotiations for the review process of the ECOSOC and the HLPF, regarding the successful conclusion of the silence procedure for the revised draft resolutions (15 June 2021) 

 If you want to know how the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda with negotiated read: 

Negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals: A transformational agenda for an insecure world with Ambassador David Donoghue and Jimena Leiva Roesch