June 2019: SDGs under review at the July 2019 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) are discussed in a series of articles from UN officials on the HLPF blog. The articles address: on SDG 4 (quality education), the importance of education to achieving gender equality; on SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), the importance of youth to realizing sustained economic growth, and the need for a circular economy; and on SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions), principles for good governance.

The blog series is coordinated by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Available on the UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, the series currently features contributions from representatives of the UN system.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director, notes that progress on SDG 5 (gender equality) has been made but remains too slow: every year, 12 million girls marry before the age of 18; one in three women and girls experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetimes; women hold only 24% of parliamentary seats globally; and the global gender pay gap is 23%. She writes about the link between SDG 5 and SDG 4 (on education), which will be reviewed during the July 2019 session of the HLPF. According to the post, a good education can open doors to decent work opportunities for women and provided needed life skills to know and claim their rights, become fully engaged citizens, and make decisions about health care, including their sexual and reproductive health.

Elliott Harris, UN Chief Economist, explores the importance of youth in achieving SDG 8 (on economic growth), which is another Goal under review during the 2019 HLPF. He highlights that youth employment remains a global policy challenge: since the global economic crisis in 2009, the number of young persons (aged 15-24) in employment has declined by more than 15%, and in 2018, 21.2% of young people were in neither employment, education nor training. He cites the International Labour Organization (ILO) when emphasizing that this trend has long-term implications for income prospects of individuals, cautioning that, over time, a high share of young people who are neither acquiring skills through education or employment will act as an obstacle to innovation and sustained economic growth. Harris notes that translating Africa’s “youth bulge” into a “demographic dividend” critically depends on the capacity to generate productive jobs. He adds that, globally, promoting youth capacity building and labor force participation with decent jobs, as well as swift school-to-work transitions, remain crucial.

We can no longer grow now and clean up later.

Also writing in relation to SDG 8, Joyce Msuya, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), highlights the need for a circular economy. She emphasizes that “we can no longer grow now and clean up later,” as we have reached the planet’s limits and “we simply cannot negotiate with nature.” She observes that when we see value in what we discard, everybody wins as we: protect nature; build livelihoods; and improve people’s health. Noting that in 2017 humanity used an estimated 90 billion tons of resources, of which more than 50% were dispersed or emitted as waste, while less than 10% were cycled back into the economy, she emphasized that if countries deliver on all that was agreed at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) 4 and implement the resolutions, we could take a big step towards a new world order where we no longer grow at the expense of nature.

Addressing SDG 16, Louis Meuleman, Rapporteur for the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), explains that has CEPA developed a set of principles of effective governance for sustainable development, which were endorsed by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in July 2018. He reports that the principles aim to tackle how to operationalize effective governance so that everyone can find common ground when talking about its scope and scale, and integrate it organically into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The 11 principles are related to effectiveness (competence, sound policy making and collaboration), to accountability (integrity, transparency and independent oversight), and to inclusiveness (leaving no one behind, non-discrimination, participation, subsidiarity and intergenerational equity).

The HLPF convening under ECOSOC auspices from 9-18 July 2019 will also include in-depth reviews of SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals). [HLPF Blog Series]