UN Member States are conducting a review focused on strengthening the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The co-facilitators, Austria and Senegal, are holding a series of intergovernmental consultations in February and March 2021 to finalize a draft resolution that will review UN resolutions 67/290, 70/299, and 72/305 and be adopted by the UN General Assembly.  

Regions4 is committed to participate in the HLPF and raise the voice of subnational governments in the processes related to the implementation and follow up of the Sustainable Development Goals. In a remarkably inclusive process, Regions4 has submitted a list of recommendations to the co-facilitators outlining our network’s views on how to improve the HLPF to reinforce its potential of accelerating the achievement of the SDGs. Our suggestions include:  

• More representative and meaningful participation of subnational governments to highlight multilevel governance approaches and stress the importance of collaborative action between local, subnational, and national levels.  

• Effective and interactive Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) processes, highlighting the importance of scientific evidence, disaggregated data, and inclusion of subnational governments in their development and presentation.  
• Recognition and support to the elaboration of Voluntary Subnational Reviews (VSRs), which could be presented during the HLPF and the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development.  
• Integrated HLPF Theme to be better balance and integrate the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainable development, as well as to increase the focus on interlinkages and shared challenges across the SDGs. 
• Strengthened HLPF preparations by taking fully into account recommendations emanating from reports submitted for its consideration (for instance, GSDR, UNSG reports, and EGM outcomes) and linking up with other key international processes, including those related to environment (FCCC, CBD, etc.). 
• Policy-oriented Ministerial Declaration containing concrete recommendations and action that can be followed up at the next HLPF.    
• Access and participation of stakeholders in HLPF to remain an open, inclusive, and transparent forum, which strengthens the participation of self-organized constituencies of the Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS). 

The video below showcases Sustainable Development Programme Manager, Ivy Moraes, spotlighting Regions4 main recommendations. 

Regions4 welcomes the zero draft resolution and celebrates the inclusion of several of our suggestions. In particular, the proposals of strengthening the HLPF’s focus on SDG interlinkages, encouraging countries to use the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development to discuss trends and findings from Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), and place more attention on the efforts to localizing the SDGs. In addition, the draft resolution includes references to multilevel governance and proposes “empowering and supporting local governments” in the 2023 HLPF theme.  

A revised draft is expected to be released for consideration before the next informal consultation on 12 March. Regions4 will continue to be engaged in all efforts on strengthening the HLPF and we call for sustained collaboration moving forward.  

Further information on the ECOSOC and HLPF Reviews can be found here.