The Non-governmental Organizations (NGO) Major Group has submitted its position paper to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) as a contribution to the 2022 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) that will take place under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in July. To support a holistic approach to implementation of the SDGs, the Group calls for promotion of “intangibles” such culture to help people integrate, unite, and connect for a better world.

The in-person session of the HLPF will take place from 5-15 July 2022 at UN Headquarters in New York, US. Convening under the theme, ‘Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,’ it will conduct in-depth review of five SDGs: SDG 4 (quality education); SDG 5 (gender equality); SDG 14 (life below water); SDG 15 (life on land); and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals).

Paragraph 85 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for stakeholders to be engaged in thematic reviews of progress on the SDGs at the HLPF. Major Groups and other stakeholder organizations are invited to submit coordinated sectoral position papers related to the theme of the HLPF and the SDGs under in-depth review. The papers are considered official inputs to the HLPF, and the executive summaries of all submitted papers are translated into the six official UN languages.

Major Groups and other stakeholders include representatives from Business and Industry, Children and Youth, Farmers, Indigenous Peoples, Local Authorities, NGOs, Scientific and Technological Community, Women, Workers and Trade Unions, Persons with Disabilities, Volunteers, the Ageing, and Education and Academia.

To achieve cross-sectoral, integrated action and build forward better, governments must support transversal policies at the local level.

For each Goal under review at the July HLPF, the NGO Major Group’s position paper: provides recommendations on how governments should implement it; identifies structural obstacles that hinder its implementation at the local, national, regional, and/or global levels; outlines the role civil society can play in achieving it; highlights interlinkages with other SDGs and international frameworks; and identifies any relevant emerging issues.

The NGO Major Group’s position paper urges “cessation of hostilities” as geopolitical instability negatively impacts progress on all SDGs. It calls on UN Member States to:

• Ensure political will and global commitment to securing high-quality formal and informal education (SDG 4);
• Adopt and implement policies and, where appropriate, temporary special measures aimed at eliminating gender-based discrimination and violence, including recognition of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all women, as gender discrimination and violence impede the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG 5);
• Increase funding for adaptation efforts and increase focus on prevention, regulation, and enforcement of sustainable marine and industry practices to address the lack of resources for climate change mitigation and adaptation in coastal communities, small island developing States (SIDS), and other remote communities (SDG 14);
• In light of accelerating climate change, safeguard wetlands, forests, and agricultural lands, prioritizing the storage and sequestration of carbon and sustainable practices that do not encourage exploitation of humans, animals, and the environment (SDG 15); and
• Ensure equitable access to green technologies that impact health, education, employment, and sustainable development, recognizing that “protectionist policies inevitably limit the access of those most in need,” and bridge the global North/South divide while “addressing the historic, colonialist, and systemic separation of donor/recipient nations,” where listening and cooperation are as critical as leadership (SDG 17).

The paper further argues that “to achieve cross-sectoral, integrated action and build forward better, governments must support transversal policies at the local level” and involve non-state actors in decision making and actions. In light of “increasing likelihood that our global growth-based economy will cause ecological collapse,” NGOs urge governments to prioritize “minimal consumption of non-essential eco-costly goods and services,” avoid siloed approaches to social and environmental challenges, and work to achieve the SDGs in an integrated manner.

The paper is expected to be made available online, on the UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. [SDG Knowledge Hub Sources]