UN forum affirms stronger commitment to achieve sustainable development

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) has concluded at United Nations Headquarters in New York following a week-and-a-half of substantive discussion between Member States, civil society representatives and UN agencies.   

At the end of the conference on Wednesday, Member States adopted a Ministerial Declaration by a vote of 154-2-2, with the United States and Israel voting against the document and Paraguay and Iran abstaining.  

“We strongly reaffirm our commitment to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda [which]… remains our overarching roadmap for achieving sustainable development and overcoming the multiple crises we face,” the text said.  

Junhua Li, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, commended Member States for adopting this Declaration as a “powerful reaffirmation of multilateral resolve.”

“Let us leave this HLPF with a renewed resolve, shared sense of possibility, and a reinvigorated sense of responsibility to lead the way forward,” he said.  

15 years of HLPF

The HLPF has happened on an annual basis since 2010 and is convened by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to discuss the progress, or lack thereof, on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda and aspire to create a more equitable and inclusive world.

This year, the forum focused on five of these goals: good health and wellbeing, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, life below water and partnerships.

Negotiations regarding the ministerial document were led by representatives from Czechia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who highlighted the significance of the proceedings.  

“This year’s deliberations have held particular significance. Ten years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, a range of interlinked and persistent challenges continues to jeopardise the full realisation of the SDGs,” said Jakub Kulhánek, permanent representative of Czechia and one of the two lead facilitators of the declaration.  

The clock is ticking

In the ministerial declaration, Member States said that time is running out to achieve the SDGs, which remain severely off track.  

According to the Secretary-General’s report on the Goals, which was released on the first day of the HLPF, only 18 per cent of the SDGs are on track to be achieved by 2030, with over half making progress that is too slow.  

While the ministerial declaration addressed each of the five SDGs in the spotlight at the forum, Member States particularly emphasised the role of poverty in impeding sustainable development and the worsening climate crisis that is threatening all aspects of the development agenda.  

The declaration called both of these issues some of the “greatest global challenges” that the world faces.

In keeping with SDG 16, which underlines the role that institutions like governments must play in promoting peace, Member States also affirmed that strong governance and partnership is essential to realising peace as a prerequisite for development.

“We recognise that sustainable development cannot be realised without peace and security, and peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development,” it stated.

Plan of Action

In the midst of challenges to multilateralism, Member States said that the declaration was an affirmation of the UN’s commitment to multilateralism, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year.

“At a time when serious doubts about the future of multilateralism persist, your steadfast commitment has been both reassuring and inspiring,” said Mr. Kulhánek.

Member States, in the declaration, affirmed a commitment to urgently working towards the SDGs in order to achieve a better world.  

“We will act with urgency to realise its vision as a plan of action for people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership, leaving no one behind.” 

ECOSOC High-Level Segment

The Declaration also was adopted a day later during the closing of the ECOSOC High-Level Segment, which included the three-day HLPF ministerial segment.

Mr. Li noted that the proceedings took place at a time of profound global uncertainty, but also immense possibility.

He praised the Council’s efforts to respond to global challenges “not with despair, but with determination and decisive action, highlighting how it has brought together governments, the UN system, and other stakeholders to advance dialogue on issues such as financing for development, artificial intelligence, displacement, and the empowerment of women and girls.

Differences, dialogue and solutions

ECOSOC President Bob Rae acknowledged that the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration was achieved after much hard work, and the differences of opinion expressed must not be ignored.

“Let’s be clear,” he said.  “Equality among all of us – regardless of gender, race, colour or creed – is foundational to sustainable development, to human rights and to the credibility of our multilateral system.”

Mr. Rae stressed the urgent need for renewed dialogue, which requires courage and leadership.  He pointed to the UN Charter, saying it “strikes a balance between the rights of sovereign states and the universality of other freedoms and rights, and that is the balance that we must continue to strike.”

This is why ECOSOC must lead, he said, not just as a platform for dialogue but “as a driver of solutions, of implementation and results,” especially for those members of the global community who are the furthest behind.

“There are so many who today are living in stress, on the edge of poverty and in the midst of starvation,” he said.  “We need to understand that our task, and our hearts and our minds, must always be those who are living on the margins.”