23 September 2013: A summary of the 20th and final session of the UN Commission of Sustainable Development (CSD 20), which convened on 20 September 2013, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, has been released as an official document of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

An annex to the summary includes a Chair’s summary of the high-level dialogue on ‘Lessons Learned from the Commission on Sustainable Development, and the way forward.’ Statements during the Session praised the work of the Commission over the past 20 years and looked to the UN High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF) to build on lessons learned. The summary reports a unanimous sense that the multi-stakeholder approach of the CSD was one of its main added values, along with its ability to set the agenda on sustainable development. Shortcomings of the Commission also were discussed, with participants calling for more flexibility and a better integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development.

The HLPF held its inaugural meeting on 24 September 2013. [Report on the twentieth session] [CSD 20 Webpage] [IISD RS Meeting Coverage]