23 November 2016: The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has decided on the main themes for its next three sessions. During the 2017 session (from July 2016 to July 2017), its theme is “eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions through promoting sustainable development, expanding opportunities and addressing related challenges.”

As agreed in draft decision E/2017/L.9, on 23 November 2016, the subsequent themes will be “from global to local: supporting sustainable and resilient societies in urban and rural communities (2018 session, from July 2017 to July 2018), and “one world for all: empowering people to build equal and inclusive societies” (2019 session, from July 2018 to July 2019).

Earlier in 2016, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) set themes for the next three sessions of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which will take place under the auspices of ECOSOC, and will conduct thematic reviews of progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The themes for the HLPF reviews will be: eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world (2017); transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies (2018); and empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality (2019). The years 2017, 2018 and 2019 comprise the remainder of the current four-year cycle of the HLPF.

ECOSOC was established by the UN Charter in 1945 as one of the six main organs of the UN. Each year, the Council structures its work around an annual theme of global importance to sustainable development. [Draft Decision E/2017/L.9] [UN Press Release] [UNGA Resolution A/RES/70/299 on Follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the Global Level]