The High Level Political Forum 2018

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 9 to 18 July 2018; including the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from 16 to 18 July 2018 in New York, USA.

The theme is “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”. The meeting will review progress towards Sustainable Development Goals and sub-set of Sustainable Development Goals that will be reviewed in depth by the HLPF 2018 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

In addition, 47 countries are expected to present their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) during the ministerial meetings and Zimbabwe will not be present. For more information, click https://sustainabledevelopment.un.rg/hlpf/2018

Objectives

In accordance with General Assembly resolutions 66/288 and 67/290, the Forum, consistent with its universal intergovernmental character, shall:

1. provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations for sustainable development;
2. enhance integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development in a holistic and cross-sectoral manner at all levels;
3. provide a dynamic platform for regular dialogue and for stocktaking and agenda-setting to advance sustainable development;
4. have a focused, dynamic and action-oriented agenda, ensuring the appropriate consideration of new and emerging sustainable development challenges;
5. follow up and review progress in the implementation of sustainable development commitments contained in Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, the Barbados Programme of Action, the Mauritius Strategy and The Future We Want and, as appropriate, relevant outcomes of other United Nations summits and conferences, including the outcome of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries as well as their respective means of implementation;
6. encourage high-level system-wide participation of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and invite to participate, as appropriate, other relevant multilateral financial and trade institutions and treaty bodies, within their respective mandates and in accordance with United Nations rules and provisions;
7. improve cooperation and coordination within the United Nations system on sustainable development programmes and policies;
8. promote transparency and implementation by further enhancing the consultative role and participation of major groups and other relevant stakeholders at the international level in order to better make use of their expertise, while retaining the intergovernmental nature of discussions;
9. promote the sharing of best practices and experiences relating to the implementation of sustainable development and, on a voluntary basis, facilitate sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned;
10. strengthen the science-policy interface through review of documentation, bringing together dispersed information and assessments, including in the form of a global sustainable development report, building on existing assessments;
11. enhance evidence-based decision-making at all levels and contribute to strengthening ongoing capacity-building for data collection and analysis in developing countries; and
12. promote system-wide coherence and coordination of sustainable development policies.