28 June 2019: A mapping of SDG coverage by the UN General Assembly (UNGA), UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and other UN bodies and fora in light of the 2030 Agenda has been shared with governments. The co-facilitators of this intergovernmental process also set out possible criteria for reducing overlaps and duplication between intergovernmental UN bodies and forums.
Discussions on alignment and coherence between UN organs started in 2016 during the 70th session of the UNGA, and continued during the subsequent UNGA sessions, with the Permanent Representatives of Czech Republic and Timor-Leste facilitating consultations during the 73rd session. On 28 June, the co-facilitators shared a draft note outlining conclusions from preceding informal consultations and expert-level informal-informal consultations held to date.
Per the note, delegations have outlined the importance of the “full and effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda” with a focus on poverty eradication in all its forms and dimensions. They also decided to update the mapping of SDGs and targets, which had originally been prepared under the leadership of Colombia during UNGA 70. The initial mapping had shown, among other observations, that the majority of SDGs contain targets either covered in existing UNGA and/or ECOSOC agendas, or that could be covered by making use of existing agenda items. It also found that the targets of SDGs 6 (clean water and sanitation) and 12 (responsible consumption and production) are “largely uncovered under the UNGA and ECOSOC agendas.”
The co-facilitators included the updated and “simplified” version of the mapping as an annex to their note, explaining that the newer version looks at how the SDGs, rather than their targets, are addressed by the agendas of various UN bodies. Taking the form of a table, the document includes, for each SDG, relevant information related to the work of the UNGA’s Second Committee (Economic and Financial), Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), other committees, ECOSOC, and ECOSOC subsidiary bodies. According to the co-facilitators, the mapping does not include the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) since it has the mandate to cover all SDGs and to oversee a network of follow-up and review processes at the global level. Neither does it include ECOSOC’s High-level Segment or Integration Segment, which have an annual theme identical to the HLPF’s, and may address issues related to any SDG.
The co-facilitators also shared, as a second annex to their note, a document comprising possible criteria for reducing overlaps and duplication. For example, the document states that an overlap or duplication might be justified if an item relates to an issue mandated to be mainstreamed in the work of all UN bodies (such as gender mainstreaming) or the item is a cross-cutting issue (such as financing).
Consultations were expected to resume on 3 July. [Co-facilitators’ note, mapping of SDG coverage by UN bodies and possible criteria to reduce overlaps and duplication]