17 March 2017: The President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, updated UN Member States and other stakeholders on preparations for several ECOSOC meetings and segments taking place from April to July 2017. Shava said he will make an announcement soon on the nomination of two co-facilitators to lead informal consultations on a draft text for the Joint Ministerial Declaration of the 2017 sessions of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and ECOSOC High-level Segment.

Many of the meetings convening in the coming months will feed into the HLPF, which plays a “central role in overseeing a network of follow-up and review processes” of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs at the global level, according to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2017 session of the HLPF will convene from 10-19 July, in New York, US.

The first week of the HLPF will address this year’s theme and the SDGs to be reviewed in depth, while the second week will consider the VNRs by 44 countries.

In his briefing on 17 March, Shava said the programme for the HLPF 2017 currently is being considered, and will be “shared for feedback through the ECOSOC Bureau.” Shava announced that the first week of the HLPF (10-14 July) will address the theme of the session, ‘Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world’ and the sub-set of SDGs to be reviewed in depth this year, which are: SDG 1 (no poverty); SDG 2 (zero hunger); SDG 3 (good health and well-being); SDG 5 (gender equality); SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure); and SDG 14 (life below water). They are in addition to SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals), which is to be reviewed annually.

The HLPF’s three-day ministerial segment will take place from 17-19 July, as part of the High-level Segment of ECOSOC. Shava said this segment will consider the voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of SDG implementation by 44 volunteering countries. The High-Level Segment of ECOSOC (17-20 July) also will seek to effectively assess progress in eradicating poverty, and provide further policy guidance on SDG 1 and related Goals so as to advance the international poverty eradication agenda.

Shava said the documentation being prepared for the HLPF includes: the UN Secretary-General’s SDG progress report; the VNR reports; reports from the UN regional commissions; reports from Major Groups and other stakeholders, and inputs from the UN system and other relevant organizations and stakeholders on the theme and SDGs under consideration; contributions from ECOSOC functional commissions and other intergovernmental bodies on the theme and SDGs under consideration; a report of the Ten-Year Framework of Programmes (10YFP) on sustainable consumption and production (SCP); the UN Secretary-General’s report on mainstreaming sustainable development into the UN system; and outcomes of the UN Ocean Conference, which will convene from 5-9 June 2017.

On the Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum), which will convene from 15-16 May, the ECOSOC President said the co-chairs, Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya, and Vaughan Turekian, Science and Technology Advisor to the US Secretary of State, are working closely with the UN Inter-agency Task Team and the 10-Member Group that supports the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) to prepare for the Forum. He reported that an invitation has been sent to all UN Member States, and that information on the Forum including the concept note, programme, side event and registration note is available on the STI website. The Forum is a component of the TFM, which was mandated by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During a briefing on the STI Forum on 12 January 2017, Turekian explained that the 2017 Forum will seek to connect scientists and innovators with those seeking solutions, and it will focus on how STI can help to solve current development challenges. He added that the Forum will be action-oriented, will highlight emerging technologies, and will feature side events and other networking opportunities.

On the Second ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development follow-up (FfD Forum), convening from 22-25 May, Shava reported that the programme of the meeting has been released. He said the report of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF), which constitutes a “major substantive input to the FfD Forum,” is expected to be issued two months before the FfD Forum. In preparation for the Forum’s adoption of intergovernmentally agreed conclusions and recommendations, Shava said he has consulted with delegations on the appointment of two co-facilitators to lead consultations among UN Member States, and a decision will be taken in the coming weeks. The FfD Forum was established following paragraph 132 of the AAAA, and addresses the follow-up and review of FfD outcomes and the means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

ECOSOC also will convene: the 2017 Partnership Forum, on 5 April; a Special Meeting on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, on 7 April, following the 14th session of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, which convenes from 3-6 April; the Integration Segment, from 8-10 May; a Special Meeting on Innovations for Infrastructure Development and Promoting Sustainable Industrialization, on 31 May; the Humanitarian Affairs Segment, to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 21-23 June; and the series of ECOSOC Coordination and Management Meetings.

The theme of the 2017 session of ECOSOC is ‘Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions through promoting sustainable development, expanding opportunities and addressing related challenges.’ The ECOSOC 2017 cycle will culminate in July with the ECOSOC High-level Segment and the adoption of the Joint HLPF-ECOSOC High-level Segment Ministerial Declaration. [ECOSOC Meetings Webpage] [HLPF 2017 Website] [STI Forum Website] [SDG Knowledge Platform Story on STI Forum Briefing] [FfD Forum Website] [IISD Sources]