The 2018 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development – Taking stock and looking forward

5 July 2018

Once again governments will meet this July at the UN Headquarters in New York for the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. The meeting will take place from Monday 9 to Wednesday 18 July, with a ministerial meeting from 16 to 18 July. The theme of this year’s Forum is ‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies’.

This is the sixth time that the HLPF will convene in a meeting like this, and as always the progress on a few Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be reviewed. The focus of this year will be on the following six SDGs:

• 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
• Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development (this Goal is considered each year).

Apart from reviewing the progress on the selected SDGs, 47 countries will carry out Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) during the ministerial meetings in the second week. Also, a high-level segment of the UN Economic and Social Council during the second week, with ministerial statements, will culminate in the adoption of a ministerial declaration.

More information on the HLPF Programme can be found here. Also, you can read blogs on this theme written by different stakeholders here.