21 June 2017
Stakeholders and Officials Highlight Priorities for HLPF
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In advance of the 2017 session of the HLPF, officials and stakeholders share their views on the Forum, on the zero draft of its Ministerial Declaration, and on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Weeks 11 to 14 of a blog series issued in preparation for the HLPF 2017 feature contributions from CIVICUS, Kenya, ILO and the UN Foundation.

Together 2030 has issued a document outlining its reaction on the zero draft of the 2017 Ministerial Declaration of the ECOSOC High-Level Segment and the HLPF.

The UN Secretariat has released a note compiling the executive summaries of position papers submitted by Major Groups and Other Stakeholders on the theme of the HLPF 2017 ‘Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world’.

20 June 2017: The UN Secretariat issued a compilation of the executive summaries of the position papers submitted by Major Groups and Other Stakeholders (MGOS) on the theme of the 2017 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), ‘Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world.’ Also ahead of the HLPF, representatives of MGOS, UN entities and Member States shared views on the Forum, the zero draft of its Ministerial Declaration, and the 2030 Agenda.

The compilation note (E/HLPF/2017/2) includes contributions from: the Women’s Major Group; Children and Youth; Indigenous Peoples; NGOs; Local Authorities; Workers and Trade Unions; Business and Industry; the Scientific and Technological Community; the Education and Academia Stakeholder Group; Persons with Disabilities; Volunteer Groups; the Older Persons; Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism; and Together 2030. The document notes that these are the groups and stakeholders that have “autonomously established and maintained effective coordination mechanisms for participation” in the HLPF, in accordance with UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 67/290.

Writing in an HLPF blog series managed by the UN Division for Sustainable Development (DSD), Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, CIVICUS Secretary-General, stresses the importance of introducing an universal basic income to address economic inequality, provide social and political stability, and enable citizens to emancipate themselves. He also calls for bringing the 2030 Agenda “more forcefully” into current debates about inequality, insecurity and social protection, and for ensuring that opportunities such as the HLPF attract leading experts and practitioners working at the cutting edge of social and economic policies.

In another blog post, Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya, describes science, technology and innovation (STI) as game changers for the SDGs, noting their “unrivalled” scope and impact a time when the rate of change in science and technology is seen to be exponential, and when innovation is happening across the world. He also recalls that outcomes and recommendations of the Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum) are linked to the annual review of the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development (AAAA) at the HLPF.

Christophe Perrin, International Labour Organization (ILO), reports that: in 2016, three out of ten working women and men in emerging and developing countries were unable to earn enough to lift themselves and their families above the moderate poverty threshold of US$3.10 per day; the largest numbers of working poor were in South Asia (335 million people) and sub-Saharan Africa, (231 million people); and 73% of the world population does not have adequate social security, including universal health care. Perrin outlines the importance of: industrial policies to achieve structural transformations and increase decent work; reducing inequality in all of its forms; formalizing the informal economy, including in the rural economy; and extending social protection floors.

Calvin called for holding governments and other actors accountable for achieving the “leave no one behind” agenda.

Kathy Calvin, Chief Executive Officer, UN Foundation, calls for the HLPF’s review of progress on the SDGs to pay attention to whether marginalized populations are being reached. She outlines ways to put the furthest behind first, including: enacting targeted policies and budgets that promote equality and opportunity in governments; increasing resources of international donors to countries and people most in need, including by leveraging innovative financing models such as impact investing and green bonds; deepening private sector engagement through new public-private partnerships (PPPs); and holding governments and other actors accountable for “leaving no one behind.” She also calls for robust, accurate, disaggregated and inclusive data, adding that the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and Data2X, both hosted at the UN Foundation, convene partners to help make sure the data revolution leaves no one behind.

Also in advance of the HLPF, Together 2030, a self-organized civil society initiative to promote national implementation and track progress toward the 2030 Agenda, issued a reaction on the zero draft of the joint ministerial declaration of the 2017 HLPF and UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High-Level Segment. The document welcomes the draft’s recognition that the pace of implementation of the 2030 Agenda needs to be accelerated, and notes that the Ministerial Declaration should reinforce political will for SDG implementation. According to the reaction document, the zero draft does not adequately recognize the importance of the environmental dimension of sustainable development, including biodiversity and a healthy environment for poverty eradication, and does not properly refer to the role of civil society and stakeholders as partners in implementation nor their contributions to the follow-up, review and implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Negotiations on the zero draft are underway by UN Member States, who are expected to adopt the Ministerial Declaration on 19 July at the HLPF, followed by its adoption in the ECOSOC High-level Segment on 20 July. The HLPF will convene from 10-19 July 2017 in New York, US. [Note by the UN Secretariat: Discussion Papers on the Theme of the HLPF, Submitted by Major Groups and Other Stakeholders] [HLPF 2017 Website] [Together 2030 Reaction to the Ministerial Declaration Zero Draft] [SDG Knowledge Hub on Ministerial Declaration Zero Draft] [SDG Knowledge Hub Policy Brief on What to Expect at HLPF]


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