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Opening of High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development began its 2016 annual session today, with a focus on its role as a central global platform for ensuring the world would meet its most critical development objectives.
Calling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development a global blueprint for action to end poverty and build an inclusive, sustainable and prosperous world, Oh Joon, President of the Economic and Social Council, said the Forum would provide an opportunity to explore ways to achieve the Agenda’s overarching objective of leaving “no one behind”. Focus would be placed on how to enhance national ownership around the Sustainable Development Goals and how to mainstream them into development plans, while addressing challenges in mobilizing the means of implementation, he continued.
Scheduled to continue through 20 July, the Forum would also allow for an assessment of progress for ensuring that the 2030 Agenda delivered for countries in special situations and those facing specific challenges, Mr. Oh reported, pointing to the particular needs of small island and landlocked developing States, least developed and middle-income countries and those in conflict and post-conflict situations.
Delivering opening remarks, Wu Hongbo, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said the Forum had a clear mandate to provide for robust, voluntary, effective, participatory, transparent and integrated review and follow-up of the future development agenda. Work was just beginning, he noted, expressing his commitment to stand beside Member States “every step of the way”.
Across the global landscape, he went on to say, there were rising tensions and economic uncertainties, the degradation of ecosystems and increasing consequences of climate change. “We must tackle these challenges together,” he stressed, noting that global well-being should be assessed based on the state of the world’s most vulnerable. Presenting the Secretary-General’s first Sustainable Development Goals, he described the 2030 Agenda as a pact for present and future generations that embodied a promise to set the world on a different, sustainable path.
That report provided the first account of the current global situation relative to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and was based on the proposed global indicator framework, he said, adding that it offered an overview of the significant progress that had been made in many areas while also presenting a comprehensive picture of the many challenges that remained in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The Forum heard from experts during four panel discussions on the following themes: “Where do we stand at year one?”, “Envisioning an inclusive world in 2030”; “Lifting people out of poverty and addressing basic needs”; and “Fostering economic growth, prosperity, and sustainability”.
The Forum will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 12 July to continue its session.
