6 June 2016: The co-facilitators for consultations on the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level have issued a “final draft resolution,” which is under silence procedure until 9 June 2016 at noon. The initial deadline for the silence procedure was 8 June 2016 at noon, but the co-facilitators later announced an extension. The issuance of the draft follows an informal brainstorming on 31 March and a series of informal and informal-informal consultations with Member States and other stakeholders held in April, May and June 2016.

In an accompanying letter, UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Mogens Lykketoft thanks co-facilitators Lois Young, Permanent Representative of Belize, and Ib Petersen, Permanent Representative of Denmark, for “their active participation in and valuable contribution to the consultations.”

On themes and sets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the remainder of the current cycle of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the draft resolution decides that: ‘Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world’ will be discussed in 2017; ‘Transformation toward sustainable and resilient societies’ will be discussed in 2018; and ‘Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality’ will be discussed in 2019. It notes that the SDGs to be reviewed are: 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 14 (2017); 6, 7, 11, 12, 15 (2018); and 4, 8, 10, 13, 16 (2019). The text notes that the HLPF will discuss a set of Goals and their interlinkages with a view to facilitating an in-depth review on progress of all Goals over the course of a four-year cycle, “with means of implementation, including goal 17, reviewed annually.”

On voluntary national reviews and countries in special situations, the draft requests the ECOSOC President to encourage voluntary national reviews from all countries, “including countries in special situations.” It reaffirms UNGA resolution 67/290 paragraph 11 on providing adequate time to discussing the sustainable development challenges facing developing countries, including the most vulnerable countries, during the meetings of the HLPF, and recognizes the challenges facing countries in conflict and post-conflict situations.

On participation and inclusiveness, the final draft encourages that web-based interfaces should be considered in the organization of the HLPF meetings “as an additional means” of supporting the effective, broad and balanced participation by region and by type of organization, in accordance with the modalities on participation of stakeholders in UNGA resolution 67/290, and reiterates the call to Major Groups and Stakeholders to report on their contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

On documentation, the draft reaffirms that HLPF meetings will be informed by an annual SDG progress report and the quadrennial Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), “as well as all other relevant inputs,” and underscores that all inputs to the HLPF shall be made available and easily accessible utilizing existing web-based platforms.

The draft resolution encourages coherence of the UNGA and its main committees, ECOSOC and its specialized agencies and functional commissions, and other intergovernmental bodies and fora with the work of the HLPF toward follow-up and review. It encourages that the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) take into account the 2030 Agenda, and takes note of the ongoing work of the UNGA, ECOSOC and other intergovernmental bodies and fora on review of their working methods and agendas. It also requests the UN Secretary-General to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, accountability, and internal coordination of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), “considering the need for avoiding overlap of its work, and ensuring that the work of the Department is organized in an integrated, cohesive, coordinated and collaborative manner.”