The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has updated its handbook for the preparation of voluntary national reviews (VNRs) and the UN Secretary-General’s voluntary common reporting guidelines for VNRs. These resources will support the countries presenting their VNRs at the 2025 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).
Dated October 2024, the handbook provides step-by-step guidance on the process of preparing and presenting a VNR. It also acknowledges that the steps outlined in the handbook are not exhaustive, and many other sources of information may also assist countries in the VNR preparation and reporting process.
A foreword by Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua highlights that the 2024 Pact for the Future reaffirmed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as “an overarching road map for achieving sustainable development in all three of its dimensions.” It underscores that “[e]ffective follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda remains essential for improving actions and accelerating progress in achieving the ambitious and interlinked SDGs” as the world grapples with climate change, biodiversity loss, violent conflicts, and increasing inequalities.
The foreword further notes that 366 VNRs have been submitted to the HLPF since 2016. With a view to support the 39 VNRs due to be presented in 2025, the handbook captures nine years of shared experience in undertaking and supporting VNRs at the HLPF. “As most countries are now conducting their third or fourth VNRs, it is important that they focus on assessing progress, identifying implementation gaps, and establishing priority actions needed to make the SDGs a reality by 2030,’ Li writes.
The handbook includes recommendations on how to initiate a VNR and on how to communicate the intention of conducting one. It offers tips on the organization and preparation of the review and multi-stakeholder participation. Among the key building blocks for preparing the review, the handbook identifies and elaborates on:
- Ownership of the SDGs;
- Incorporation of the SDGs into national frameworks;
- Integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development;
- Leaving no one behind;
- Institutional mechanisms;
- Structural issues;
- Goals and targets;
- Means of implementation; and
- Annexes.
The handbook also addresses: monitoring and review; preparatory workshops and submission of VNRs; presentation of the VNR at the HLPF; and what happens after the presentation. It also features a VNR preparation checklist.
Released in December, the Secretary-General’s voluntary common reporting guidelines for VNRs acknowledge the determination Member States expressed at the 2023 SDG Summit and the Summit of the Future in 2024, “to make every effort to implement the 2030 Agenda and achieve the SDGs.” The guidelines draw on good practices and lessons learned, “to support countries in preparing reviews that are inclusive, evidence-based, and transformative… and to provide an analytical assessment of progress and gaps, main challenges and lessons learned, and priority areas for action.”
HLPF 2025 is scheduled to convene from 14-24 July. [Publication: Handbook for the Preparation of Voluntary National Reviews] [Publication: Secretary-General’s Voluntary Common Reporting Guidelines for VNRs]