Welcome to the United Nations
The adoption of the 2030 Agenda in 2015 marked a watershed year for sustainable development. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets are expected to stimulate action over the upcoming years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet. The new agenda has exhibited unprecedented level of political will to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions and to shift the world onto a more sustainable and resilient path, building on the Millennium Development Goals and completing its unfinished business, with the participation of all countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnerships. To ensure effective implementation for people, planet, and prosperity, real progress is what really matters.
This session will address the question “where we stand at year one”, guided by evidence and prominent thinkers. It will kick off the 2016 HLPF assessment of progress with a short presentation of the 2016 SDG Progress Report, prepared by the Secretary-General in cooperation with the UN System based on the global indicator framework and data produced by national statistical systems and information collected at the regional level. Prominent thinkers will then challenge us with inquiries on where we stand, drawing on the SDG Progress Report. Adopting policies to spur implementation is important, as well as adapting institutions and processes and engaging all stakeholders. However, we need monitoring and review at the national level to see where we are and how to steer our course. We also need follow-up and review at the global level. We only have fifteen years to get it right and we need to start now in year one to ensure that we leave no one behind, as highlighted in the theme of this year’s meeting of HLPF.
Possible questions for discussion:
- Drawing on the SDG Progress Report of the Secretary-General, what are your thoughts and comments on where we stand? How should we get to our baseline?
- As countries focus on integrating the SDGs and targets into their national plans, are there any new trends in the economic, social and environmental dimensions that the international community needs to take into consideration at year one? Good news or bad news?
- What have you witnessed in countries around the world so far as the most effective measures taken to ensure that no one is left behind? What make them effective?
Background document: This session will draw on the 2016 SDG Progress Report.
Chair:
- H.E. Mr. Oh Joon, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the UN and President of ECOSOC
Presentation of Secretary-General SDG Progress Report:
- Mr. Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Moderator:
- Ms. Paula Caballero Gomez, Senior Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice, World Bank
Speakers:
- Mr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue and Chair of Southern Voice on Post-MDG International Development Goals
- Ms. Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Lead discussants:
- Mr. Martin Tsounkeu, General Representative of the Africa Development Interchange Network
- Mr. Jose Maria Viera, Human Rights and Development Policy Advisor at World Blind Union
