6 June 2018: The co-facilitators on aligning UN intergovernmental bodies with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development have proposed continuing the consultation process in the UNGA’s 73rd session, noting that it should ensure that intergovernmental bodies adequately cover the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Goals and targets. The ideas were outlined in a second “food for thought” paper, issued ahead of the next informal consultations on 3 July 2018.

The consultations are taking place in the context of UNGA resolution 71/323 on ‘Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly’ of September 2017, in which the Assembly requests the president of UNGA 72 to identify proposals aimed at addressing gaps and duplication in the agenda of the UNGA as they relate to the 2030 Agenda. In December 2017, UNGA President Miroslav Lajcak appointed Inga Rhonda King, Permanent Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, Permanent Representative of Belgium, to serve as co-facilitators. They held consultations on 3 May 2018, and then issued a first “food for thought” paper, which was discussed on 31 May.

There remains a strong need for UN Member States to agree on a framework to address gaps and duplications in the agendas of UN bodies.

The second food for thought paper, issued on 6 June, consists of ‘Draft elements for the way forward.’ It notes that there “remains a strong need” for UN Member States to agree on a framework to address gaps and duplication in the agendas of UN bodies. They propose a series of options to be considered by the UNGA to continue consultations during UNGA 73. Among the options, they note that the UNGA could: request the UN Secretary-General to prepare a “comprehensive and substantive analysis” and mapping to provide information for formulating positions and making informative decisions; request the UN Secretary-General to conduct a survey of UN Member States views on addressing gaps and duplications to inform subsequent work on agenda alignment; and recommend that the UNGA President consider the feasibility of completing the alignment process by 2019.

Prior to the 72nd session, the UNGA’s work on this issue included the issuance of a “mapping assessment” for reducing overlap between the UNGA agenda and the 2030 Agenda, and enhancing their synergy and coherence (UNGA 70), and of a report containing recommendations on enhancing synergies and coherence and reducing overlaps in the agendas of the UNGA, ECOSOC and their subsidiary bodies, in light of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda (UNGA 71). [Second food for thought paper] [Co-facilitators’ letter announcing 3 July consultations] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on first food for thought paper]