The UN system, Member States, and stakeholders are intensifying preparations for the 2026 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), convening in New York, US, from 7-15 July. Themed, ‘Transformative, equitable, innovative and coordinated actions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for a sustainable future for all,’ HLPF 2026 will hold in-depth reviews of five Goals – SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals).

Held under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Forum’s 2026 session will contribute to the discussions leading to the 2027 SDG Summit, which will address how to advance sustainable development by 2030 and beyond. Insights from the 36 countries conducting voluntary national reviews (VNRs) will provide national perspectives on SDG progress, challenges, and strategies for acceleration.

The UN Secretariat’s concept note for the July session is available in PDF format. The provisional agenda (E/HLPF/2026/1) is here. An annotated programme of work for the session, dated 24 June, provides information on daily events and includes guiding questions for the thematic sessions. Key recommendations from Expert Group meetings held in preparation for the HLPF’s reviews of in-focus SDGs are here.

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In addition to the official programme, the HLPF Secretariat has released the details on 13 special events taking place during the Forum:

  • SDGs in Practice, on 7 July;
  • UN Decade of Sustainable Transport Annual Stocktake, on 7 July;
  • SDG 6 Special Event, on 7 July;
  • Implementing the Global Plan of Action for the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All to 2030, on 8 July;
  • HESI Global Forum, on 9 July;
  • Science Day, on 9 July;
  • Bridging Systems, Building Trust: Advancing Water, Energy, Innovation and Sustainable Cities Through Coordinated Policy Actions, on 9 July;
  • We the Peoples: Shaping the Future of the UN, on 9 July;
  • SDG Global Business Forum, on 14 July;
  • Special Event on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, on 14 July;
  • Parliamentary Forum, on 14 July;
  • Local and Regional Government Forum, on 14 July; and
  • Local2030 Coalition Special Event, on 15 July.

The HLPF Secretariat has also published a tentative programme of on-site and virtual and off-site side events taking place in the margins of HLPF 2026. These lists are continuously updated.

The programme for the 2026 VNR Labs is available here. VNR Labs convene on the sidelines of the HLPF to provide an informal platform for experience sharing and reflection on the voluntary national review (VNR) findings. They take place under the Chatham House rule.

The latest Information Note on the arrangements for HLPF 2026 and the ECOSOC High-level Segment provides details on the format, venue, participation, and logistics.

The governments that will present VNRs of SDG implementation during HLPF 2026 have released the main messages of their reports. Albania, Algeria, Bahrain, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt, Estonia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kiribati, Liberia, Malawi, the Marshall Islands, Mozambique, Norway, Moldova, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Switzerland, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Tanzania, and Uruguay – a total of 36 countries – will present their VNRs at HLPF 2026.

The co-facilitators for the negotiations on the HLPF Ministerial Declaration – Albania and Sierra Leone – circulated a “zero draft” of the outcome document on 31 March. Member States exchanged initial views on the zero draft during an informal consultation on 17 April. During informal consultations held on 11 and 12 May, Member States engaged in line-by-line, text-based negotiations on a revised draft, dated 1 May. Informal consultations continue.

The Major Groups have submitted position papers on the theme of HLPF 2026. Their executive summaries are compiled in a preparatory document. The contributors are “major groups and other relevant stakeholders that have autonomously established and maintained effective coordination mechanisms for participation” in the HLPF. They include: Women; Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs); Local Authorities; Workers and Trade Unions; Business and Industry; Volunteer Groups; Scientific and Technological Community; Ageing; Persons with Disabilities; Education and Academia; Asia-Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism; Communities that Experience Discrimination Based on Work and Descent; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) People; and Civil Society Financing for Development (FfD) Mechanism; Together 2030; and People of African Descent.

The functional commissions of ECOSOC have also submitted input on the theme of the session, discussing their contributions to implementing the 2030 Agenda. Another input to the HLPF is a compilation of reports from the UN’s regional commissions (E/HLPF/2026/3). The submissions present summaries of the 2026 regional forums on sustainable development (RFSDs) that took place in Africa,  Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). No in-person RFSD for the Arab Region was held. To ensure representation, online preparatory sessions convened in May 2026. 

Other official inputs include: the UN Secretary-General’s SDG Progress Report assessing progress made since 2015 against the global SDG indicator framework; the Secretary-General’s report outlining long-term trends and challenges in the realization of the SDGs; and a report on the 2026 annual theme of ECOSOC and the HLPF.

Reports from other intergovernmental processes that will inform the discussions include: a progress report on the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP) (E/2026/60); a report of the ECOSOC forum on financing for development follow-up (FfD Forum) (E/FFDF/202 6/3); a summary of the 2026 Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum) (E/HLPF/2026/7); and a report of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) (E/2026/33).

HLPF 2026 will also draw from the outcomes of several major summits, including the Pact for the Future, the Sevilla Commitment, and the Doha Political Declaration. Among other processes, the HLPF’s outcomes will contribute to the 2026 UN Water Conference and the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) of the three Rio Conventions – the UNFCCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Follow Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) coverage of HLPF 2026 here. [SDG Knowledge Hub Coverage of HLPF 2026]