VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEWS. Division for Sustainable Development UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

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1 VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEWS Division for Sustainable Development UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

2 High-level political forum on sustainable development (HLPF) HLPF has a central role in overseeing a network of follow-up and review processes at the global level (2030 Agenda paragraph 82) Forum is also expected to: enhance the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations on implementation and follow-up address new and emerging issues

3 Principles guiding follow-up and review Voluntary and country-led, take into account different national realities and capacities Track progress in implementing SDGs, including means of implementation Maintain a longer-term orientation, identify achievements, challenges, gaps and success factors Will be open, inclusive, participatory and transparent People-centred, gender-sensitive, respect human rights, focus on poorest, most vulnerable Build on existing platforms and processes, avoid duplication, and minimize reporting burden Rigorous and based on evidence, informed by country-led evaluations and disaggregated data Will require enhance capacity-building support for developing countries, including strengthening of national data systems and evaluation Will benefit from active support of the UN system and other multilateral institutions [Full text: para 74 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development]

4 Follow-up and review at the HLPF Thematic reviews of progress on the SDGs including cross-cutting issues in line with GA resolution 70/1 Voluntary national reviews (VNRs) regular reviews, in line with GA resolutions 67/290, 70/1 and 70/299

5 HLPF voluntary national reviews (VNRs) VNRs are state-led: country driven reviews of progress at national and subnational levels, involving ministerial and other relevant high-level participants, with relevant UN and other partners Learning experience: facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, part of a process National circumstances: reviews in accordance with national circumstances, policies and priorities, together with relevant partners

6 BENEFITS OF THE VNRS CATALYZER the preparatory process provides a great chance for including all relevant stakeholders in the SDG implementation STOCKTAKING for many countries the VNR has been a kick-starter for mapping existing policies and their compatibility with the SDGs, implementation gaps and data availability COORDINATION VNR preparation requires a coordinated effort and for many countries the institutional arrangements made have proved useful also for SDG implementation WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT APPROACH VNR provides a chance for obtaining buy-in in from civil servants and creating incentives for integrated policy-making and service delivery AREAS FOR SUPPORT the report can be a great tool for identifying and communicating the areas in which the country requires additional support for implementation COMMUNICATION TOOL of the agenda to citizens, civil society, academia, sub-national and local governments etc.

7 2018 High-Level Political Forum The 2018 session will take place in July at UN Headquarters in New York The theme is Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies 48 countries will present their voluntary national reviews The set of goals for the in-depth review on progress:

8 Timeline for 2018 HLPF VNRs GLOBAL PREP 4-5 Dec 2017 Geneva MAIN MESSAGES mid-may COUNTRY ACTIVITIES May - June (finalise) COUNTRY ACTIVITIES Dec - Mar GLOBAL PREP March 2018 (TBC) REGIONAL VNR PREP WORKSHOPS (Mar-April) COUNTRY ACTIVITIES Apr-May (draft) FINAL REPORTS mid-june GLOBAL PREP July (tbc) New York HLPF Ministerial Segment July

9 UN Secretary-General s Voluntary common reporting guidelines Voluntary guidelines presented in annex to UN Secretary-General s report A/70/684: Help countries structure reports for VNRs at the HLPF Promote comparability and consistency Voluntary nature of process - each country free to decide on scope of its review and format for presentation of findings Currently under review and will be updated this year

10 VNR presentation at HLPF Highlight the main messages/lessons from the VNR Who will present? More than one presenter? Different ministries, civil society? Time: 2017 VNRs, 15 minutes for each country to present, including use of multimedia, e.g. short films Interactive: Questions from other Member States, as well as Major Groups and other Stakeholders

11 VNR presentation at HLPF Presentation format(s) based on countries preferences. Formats in 2017: A) 3-5 countries present consecutively, with Q&A after all countries finished presenting B) Single country presentation, followed by Q&A

12 LESSONS LEARNED Start early Designate coordinator(s) and the penholder(s) Engage a broad range of stakeholders early on Focus on quality, not quantity Include a statistical annex, if suitable Include analysis, lessons learned and detailed examples Avoid mere listings of strategies and programmes Showcase both strengths and weaknesses Identify areas where additional support is needed Spell out the next steps in implementation