May 2016: The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has established an online platform to compile inputs from countries participating in the national voluntary reviews of the 2016 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). So far, eight countries have submitted summaries of their national reports on implementation. The platform also includes inputs from intergovernmental bodies and fora, Major Groups and other stakeholders, and partnerships and voluntary commitments.

To date, eight governments have submitted a summary of their national review: Finland, Georgia, Montenegro, Sierra Leone and Turkey, available in English; and Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela, available in Spanish. The reports feature elements such as: early actions taken to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); good practices and lessons learned; approaches to follow-up on and review implementation; and opportunities and challenges.

Other UN Member States that have volunteered to participate in the 2016 national reviews are: China, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Madagascar, Morocco, Norway, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Switzerland, Togo and Uganda.

Paragraph 79 of the 2030 Agenda encourages Member States to “conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels which are country-led and country-driven.” A “proposal for voluntary common reporting guidelines” for countries to use at the HLPF was outlined in the UN Secretary-General’s January 2016 report on follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda, ‘Critical milestones towards coherent, efficient and inclusive follow-up and review at the global level’ (A/70/684). The UN Secretariat also issued, in February 2016, a Questions-and-Answers document about the reviews, which notes that each country being reviewed may present a focused report as background to a national presentation, to “facilitate the process of preparation of the national reviews, by crystallizing the efforts made to collect data and involve stakeholders.”

The DESA platform currently contains 16 contributions from intergovernmental bodies and fora, which were invited to share “relevant input and deliberations as they address goals and targets from the perspective of ‘Ensuring that no one is left behind.’ Inputs have been submitted by: functional commissions of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), such as the Commission on Population and Development, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), and the UN Statistical Commission; other intergovernmental fora and platforms, such as the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), the Montreal Protocol, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the World Trade Organziation (WTO); multistakeholder platforms such as Education for All; and the UN System, such as the UN System Standing Committee on Nutrition.

The HLPF will convene in New York, US, from 11-20 July 2016. [HLPF Inputs Platform] [IISD RS Story on National Reviews Reporting Guidelines and Q&A for 2016 HLPF]