Measuring progress towards an ambitious development vision

With the theme of "Leaving No One Behind", the UN's High Level Political forum is meeting to discuss progress and challenges in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Article | 12 July 2016
Widespread concern for leaving behind the poorest and most vulnerable gave rise to an urgent call at the UN today by governments wanting immediate action on the ambitious development agenda to end poverty and build an inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous world.

In the first meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the UN’s central platform for the review of action on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, focused on consolidating priorities and concerns. The major questions that dominated the first day were where do we stand at year one, and how to ensure that “no one is left behind”, which is the overall theme of this year’s meeting.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) President Oh Joon in his remarks said that “will be charting our direction forwards in new and innovative ways to ensure the Forum is substantive contribution to the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda.”

In addition to the national reviews shared by 22 countries, the Forum will also consider the Secretary-General’s annual progress report compiled with contributions from the larger UN system, as well as inputs from ECOSOC’s functional commissions.

In its work, the Forum will also engage with major groups – which includes Women, Youth, Indigenous Peoples, Workers and Trade Unions and Business – and other stakeholders in the discussions and consider the reports on their contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.





In presenting the inaugural report of the Secretary-General on “Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals”, Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs stated that it provides the first account of the current global situation relative to the 17 SDGs and it is based on the proposed global indicator framework adopted by the UN Statistical Commission in March this year.

“The 2030 Agenda recognizes that eradicating extreme poverty is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. In the decade from 2002 to 2012, the proportion of the world’s population living below the extreme poverty line dropped by more than half, from 26 to 13 per cent,” Wu stated. He encouraged governments to take bolder actions taken in order to eliminate poverty entirely.

In the government presentations segment, the Brazilian Ambassador, Antonio Patriota, highlighted the role of international trade and financial architecture, noting that “when we [talk about using] available resources more constructively and sustainably, you also have to look at what is currently invested in unsustainable activities.”

Unlike gender, environment, or food security, he noted, the issue of inequality does not yet have a permanent UN body or structure to deal with, even though the issue of resolving inequality is fundamental to the 2030 Agenda.

During session four, entitled ‘Fostering economic growth, prosperity, and sustainability’, the ILO’s Special Representative to the UN, Vinicius Pinheiro, reiterated that “no growth is sustainable without jobs” and explained that the de-coupling of growth from sustainable production remains a challenge.

Wellington Chibebe, Deputy General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), stressed the vital role of social dialogue, education and collective bargaining in ensuring that growth is sustainable, arguing that the SDGs will have to bring wages and productivity back together again.

The High-Level Political Forum is being held from 11 to 20 July at UN Headquarters in New York and it will also include a three-day Ministerial Segment, from 18 to 20 July, which coincides with the High-Level Segment of ECOSOC’s annual session.