6 September 2018: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of Mongolia convened a multi-stakeholder forum on the SDGs for countries of Northeast Asia, in preparation for wider regional consultations ahead of the Sixth Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) in 2019, and the July 2019 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). ESCAP notes that, despite high levels of development in the sub-region, inequality remains an issue, and it affects access to education, health care and other services.
The multi-stakeholder forum took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 5-6 September 2018, on the theme of ‘Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.’ Discussions focused on the six Global Goals up for in-depth review at the July 2019 HLPF: quality education (SDG 4); decent work and economic growth (SDG 8); reduced inequalities (SDG 10); climate action (SDG 13); peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16); and partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
Sangmin Nam, ESCAP, said that many population groups in the sub-region are currently “left behind,” and that the Forum sought to raise awareness and understanding of challenges and opportunities to redress the balance. Beate Trankmann, UN Resident Coordinator in Mongolia, noted that Mongolia was an “early adopter” of the SDGs, as it had created its own Sustainable Development Vision 2030, in 2016. Other countries from the Northeast Asia sub-region taking part in the Forum were China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation.
Two other events convened in tandem with the multi-stakeholder forum in Ulaanbaatar: the Northeast Asia Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Forum on the SDGs, and a workshop on Mongolia’s Voluntary National Review (VNR), which will be presented at the 2019 HLPF.
The sixth APFSD convenes in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2019. [ESCAP press release] [Event webpage] [Concept note] [SDG Knowledge Hub report on 2018 APFSD]