Summary of presentation of information

The establishment of the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) was mandated in 2012 by the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), "The Future We Want".

The Forum meets annually under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council for eight days, including a three-day ministerial segment and every four years at the level of Heads of State and Government under the auspices of the General Assembly for two days.

The High-Level Political Form 2021 focused on the theme of the forum “Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development; building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development.

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) at the global level.

The Forum facilitates the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned and provides political leadership, guidance and recommendations for follow-up. It promotes system-wide coherence and coordination of sustainable development policies. It ensures that the 2030 Agenda remains relevant and ambitious and focuses on the assessment of progress, achievements and challenges faced by developed and developing countries as well as new and emerging issues. Effective linkages are made with the follow-up and review arrangements of all relevant United Nations conferences and processes, including on least developed countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries.

A central feature of the HLPF is the voluntary national reviews (VNRs) that it receives from Member States on their implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Regularly undertaken by both developed and developing countries, the VNRs provide a platform for partnerships, including through the participation of major groups and other relevant stakeholders.

42 countries presented their Voluntary National Review (VNR). Eight presenting for the first time, 24 for the second time, and 10 countries will be presenting for the third time. Most of the countries presenting this year came from Asia Pacific (13), followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (11), Africa (10), Western Europe and others (6) and Eastern Europe (2).

Participants highlighted increased poverty rates and hunger, decreased number of children in school, job losses, increased debt burdens, growing inequalities, along with increased human rights violations—all linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet at the same time, many said the solutions exist to recover and build back better. Panelists focused on the importance of social protection systems, sustainable agriculture, digitization, creating new debt relief and financing architecture, and Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development. The Forum reviewed progress on the following SDGs:

• SDG 1: No poverty
• SDG 2: Zero hunger
• SDG 3: Good health and well-being
• SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth
• SDG 10: Reduced inequalities
• SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
• SDG 13: Climate action
• SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
• SDG 17: Partnerships

Objective

• provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations for sustainable development
• improve cooperation and coordination within the United Nations system on sustainable development programmer and policies
• 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.
• promote system-wide coherence and coordination of sustainable development policies

What information shared in this meeting is of significance to The Salvation Army and why?

Mainly with Poverty issues, good health, climate change and hunger. All of which the Salvation Army is doing work to make a different in the countries that we are working in globally.

What is The Salvation Army currently doing to address the UN Sustainable Development Goals addressed in this meeting?

According to the SDGs that were addressed in this session of the HLPF we are mainly making a difference in Poverty, Health, Hunger, Climate Change, Peace Justice and Strong Institutions, Partnerships. These are areas that we have been working on long before the SDGs came in existence. Our work in those areas is different in each of the countries that the Salvation Army is located. So, the Army keeps moving forward and making a difference in the lives of people that we service.

What opportunities are there for The Salvation Army to create or further develop the work in this area?

As we develop partnerships and continue to improve on the work, we are doing it just gets better. New and creative ways of doing this work is always some help in improving what we do.

Web links for more information

High-level Political Forum Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (un.org)