7 January 2014: A theme has been announced for the next meeting of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development, to be held under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in June and July 2014. The annual theme, called for in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution establishing the HLPF, was discussed in informal consultations with Member States in December 2013 and January 2014.

At an informal meeting on 7 January 2014, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, ECOSOC President Néstor Osorio (Colombia) said the HLPF theme will be: ‘The MDGs and Charting the Way for an Ambitious Post-2015 Development Agenda, Including the SDGs.’ He said the theme will take into account both the mandate of ECOSOC to evaluate achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the mandate of the HLPF to implement the sustainable development agenda. Osorio also emphasized the inter-connectedness between ECOSOC and the HLPF under its auspices, as “central.”

Agreement was reached on meeting dates for the HLPF session under the auspices of ECOSOC. Five days of non-ministerial meetings will be held from 30 June-3 July 2014, and the high-level aspect of the Forum will be held from 7-9 July 2014.

Still under discussion is how the HLPF theme will interact with the annual theme of ECOSOC, and whether the two will have joint ministerial meetings and release one or two ministerial declarations. Some delegations suggested that two separate declarations are necessary to give greater visibility to the work of the HLPF, while others felt that a single declaration would give greater coherence to the discussion.

There will be another informal meeting to discuss these issues with Member States on 14 January 2014. [IISD RS Sources] [HLPF Website]