27 February 2019: Saferworld released a practical guide to support civil society organizations in reporting on the objectives of SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions). The guide addresses the preparation of reports for the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and other reporting mechanisms.

Saferworld uses the concept of “SDG16+” to reflect that a number of targets under other SDGs – including SDGs 5 (gender equality) and 10 (reduced inequalities) – are also key for achieving peaceful societies. The term “SDG16+” therefore draws attention to interlinkages across the SDGs.

The guide titled, ‘Enhancing accountability for peaceful, just and inclusive societies: Practical guidance for civil society reporting on SDG 16+’, outlines the process of developing a report and proposes a report structure. The guide provides details on each step, from the preparation process, during which a coalition or network forms to lead the writing and production of a report, and agrees on key aims and a framework for the report, to identifying previous reports that have addressed SDG 16+ and deciding what indicators are appropriate for the specific context being reported on. The guide then highlights steps related to outreach and consultation, report development and production, and dissemination.

On report structure, the authors encourage CSOs to consider issues such as shared ownership in a country’s voluntary national review (VNR) process, and incorporation of SDG 16+ and its targets into national planning processes. They suggest key topics that CSOs may want to cover, such as the inclusion and engagement of different groups, and the stage at which CSOs were included. The proposed structure also suggests possible annexes, such as a list of organizations consulted, and data sets used in the report.

The practical guide also highlights seven benefits of CSO reporting on the SDGs, as identified by the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA): increased awareness of the SDGs in general; increased awareness among government departments of the role CSOs play in contributing data to the SDG process; accountability of both governments and CSOs; enhanced cooperation; coordination of global partnerships; internal reflection among CSOs on their contributions to the SDGs; and peer learning.

Saferworld also produced an infographic that shares lessons from the past three years in implementing SDG 16. The infographic presents 11 steps to illustrate how a localization approach works, in order to adapt SDG16+ to a variety of conflict-affected settings.

Goal 16 is one of the SDGs to be considered through an “in-depth review” at the July 2019 session of the HLPF. [Publication: Practical guidance for civil society reporting on SDG 16+] [Infographic]