High-Level Political Forum 2018

Introduction

The meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development in 2018 convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council will be held from Monday, 9 July, to Wednesday, 18 July 2018; including the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from Monday, 16 July, to Wednesday, 18 July 2018.

The theme will be "Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies". The set of goals to be reviewed in depth will be the following, including Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, that will be considered each year:

• Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
• Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
• Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Registration and Participation

Governmental and non-governmental representatives planning to participate in the high-level political forum on sustainable development (HLPF) must be accredited to the United Nations in order to register for this meeting.

The following participants may attend or be represented: States Members of the United Nations and States members of specialized agencies, inter-governmental organizations, United Nations system, major groups and other stakeholders, and media.

Further information and be found here.

Inputs to the HLPF

Please click here to access our online platform which contains voluntary inputs from countries participating in the Voluntary National Reviews of the HLPF. The platform also features other voluntary governmental inputs, as well as inputs from ECOSOC functional commissions and other intergovernmental bodies and forums, inputs received from major groups and other stakeholders, as well contributions from multi-stakeholder partnerships and voluntary commitments.

Voluntary National Reviews

As part of its follow-up and review mechanisms, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development encourages member states to “conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels, which are country-led and country-driven” (paragraph 79). These national reviews are expected to serve as a basis for the regular reviews by the high-level political forum (HLPF), meeting under the auspices of ECOSOC. As stipulated in paragraph 84 of the 2030 Agenda, regular reviews by the HLPF are to be voluntary, state-led, undertaken by both developed and developing countries, and shall provide a platform for partnerships, including through the participation of major groups and other relevant stakeholders.

The voluntary national reviews (VNRs) aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The VNRs also seek to strengthen policies and institutions of governments and to mobilize multi-stakeholder support and partnerships for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The VNR countries are expected to submit comprehensive written reports that will be made available in the VNR database. In addition, each VNR country will also provide main messages summarizing their key findings. These main messages are also posted in the VNR database.

In 2018, 47 countries will be conducting voluntary national reviews at the HLPF. For more details, please click here.

Events

Special Events

Side Events sponsored by Member States, UN system and other intergovernmental organizations, Major Groups and other accredited stakeholders will be held in the margins of the 2018 Meeting of the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development convened under the auspices of ECOSOC. The deadline for submission of requests for side events was 30 April 2018. The Secretariat is currently reviewing all requests for side events received within the deadline.