Togo and Uruguay will become the first countries to conduct four national reviews of SDG progress when they present Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the 2022 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). A total of 39 countries are expected to conduct VNRs and share the results during the 2022 HLPF session.
On 4 October 2021, Collen Vixen Kelapile, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), announced the final list of countries that will present VNRs. The 39 governments represent a mix of all five UN regions (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe and Others), and include six small island developing States (SIDS) – Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Jamaica, São Tomé and Príncipe, Suriname, and Tuvalu.
The VNR countries for 2022 also vary in terms of their previous VNR experience. The list includes eight first-time presenters (Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Suriname, and Tuvalu), 26 second-time presenters (Andorra, Belarus, Botswana, Cameroon, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mali, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates), three third-time presenters (Argentina, Philippines, and Switzerland), and two fourth-time presenters (Togo and Uruguay). The 2022 session will be the first time a country has presented a fourth VNR.
In his letter to Member States, Kelapile reiterates his intention to “maximize the value of the VNR process” by scheduling sufficient time for interactive discussions. He writes that this aims to ensure:
- Adequate feedback to the presenting countries,
- Enhanced sharing of experiences, and
- Peer learning among countries.
The 2022 HLPF will take place from 5-15 July. In addition to the 39 VNRs, the 2022 session of the HLPF will review in-depth the following five SDGs: 4 (quality education), 5 (gender equality), 14 (life below water), 15 (life on land), and 17 (partnerships for the Goals). [Letter to UN Member States]