At its September 12 meeting in New York, the NGO Major Group announced that it would establish a roadmap designed to help the organization and its members prepare the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) to be held in July, 2018. The HLPF is the main United Nations platform on sustainable development and it has a central role in the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the General Assembly in 2015.
The NGO Major is tasked with facilitating the participation and enhancing the engagement of non-governmental organizations in the processes directly and indirectly related to the High Level Political Forum. This roadmap will be an integral part of this endeavour by enabling the organization’s members to prepare and share a number of advocacy documents or activities related to the Sustainable Development Goals and as part of the preparation of the forum.
The high-level political forum 2018 will take place from 9 to 18 July and will allow, among others, some 48 countries (including Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Lebanon and Colombia) to submit Voluntary National Reviews. These reviews are intended to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to contributing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The central theme of the Forum will be “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” and the objectives that will be discussed and revised in depth are:
- Goal 6. Ensure access to 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. Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
- Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development