26 May 2016: The blog series coordinated by the UN Secretariat in the lead-up to the 2016 session of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) features recent posts from the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). CESR suggests that ‘Ensuring that no one is left behind,’ the theme of the 2016 HLPF, risks becoming a “meaningless rhetorical flourish” if it is not linked explicitly to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10 (Reduce inequality within and among countries) and human rights, and if levels of economic inequality are not tackled. UNICEF’s post suggests involving children in monitoring progress, and collecting, analyzing and using disaggregated data in this regard.

The CESR blog post argues for taking immediate, proactive steps towards achieving SDG 10 and its targets, particularly addressing discrimination, social exclusion and economic inequality and their contributing factors. It also stresses the need to reduce inequalities between countries, in particular by dismantling systemic and institutional barriers that constrain the policy and fiscal space of the poorest countries.

UNICEF also calls for complementing official data with qualitative data, including people’s perception of progress. Among the participatory techniques being employed by UNICEF and other organizations is ‘U-Report,’ a mobile phone-based social messaging tool, which has allowed young reporters in more than 20 countries to identify and report service gaps on issues such as Ebola in Liberia, HIV in Brazil and sexual violence in Uganda. UNICEF also highlights the ‘Participate’ initiative, a global network of participatory research organizations that uses participatory approaches to give marginalized communities a voice in the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs.

The blog is available on the UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, and features weekly contributions from UN Member States, the UN system and Major Groups and other stakeholders on how to ensure that no one is left behind as the SDGs are implemented. [HLPF Blog] [IISD RS Story on Blog Launch and First Contributions]