UN’s high level political forum kicks off to revive SDG goals

New Delhi: The United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) kicked off Tuesday to determine the best way forward to revive the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The theme for the 2022 HLPF is “ Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development .

The eight-day forum, convened under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), “takes place as multiple crises around the world are putting the very viability of achieving the SDGs by 2030 at risk

“As the world is struggling to recover from COVID-19 amidst continuing crises, the HLPF will reflect on how recovery policies can overcome the crises, reverse the negative impacts of the pandemic on the SDGs and move countries on to a path to realize the vision of the 2030 Agenda’ said the President of ECOSCO Collen Vixen Kelapile.

“We are facing continued vaccine inequity, rising inflation, major supply-chain disruptions, and crippling geopolitical uncertainties,” said ECOSOC President Collen Vixen Kelapile. “We are on a dangerous path to harming future generations, if we do not act now. It is within our power to turn the tide” he added.

The HLPF will review in-depth Sustainable Development Goals 4 on quality education, 5 on gender equality, 14 on life below water, 15 on life on land, and 17 on partnerships for the Goals.

“The HLPF will demonstrate the continuing commitment of the international community to step up international solidarity and to launch ambitious recovery policies that advance the SDGs. “Both are indispensable in tackling conflicts around the world,” the release said.

“The urgent need for international solidarity and multilateral cooperation cannot be stressed enough,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin. “We need to act swiftly to drive transformative change. We must remain committed to the people-centered and planet-focused path to prosperity that we set out in the 2030 Agenda. This can only happen if we all act together.”

Around over 130 officials at ministerial level and above will participate in the HLPF and the high-level segment of ECOSOC, including seven Heads of State and Government in person for the first time since the pandemic.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), through its outcome on “The Future We Want”, established the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in 2012.

The HLPF is the central United Nations platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the global level.

It is the apex of the architecture for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda established by the 2030 Agenda and General Assembly resolution.