High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)

The United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) was established in June 2013 through a Resolution by the UN General Assembly as the main forum for sustainable development issues within the UN framework. Its establishment is one the main outcomes of the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development (see para 84 of the Rio+20 Outcome Document "The Future We Want"). The HLPF replaces the Commission for Sustainable Development, which was a functional Commission under the UN Economic and Social Council, established at the 1992 in the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

The HLPF meets every four years at the level of Heads of State and Government under the auspices of the UN General Assembly (next in 2019, then 2023 etc.) and every year under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The HLPF adopts a Ministerial Declaration and provides a Chair's summary of the discussions.

The HLPF is mandated to provide political leadership and guidance; to address new and emerging sustainable development challenges; and to enhance the integration of economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. In that regard, the HLPF is an important forum to bring together the input and expertise from a wide range of stakeholders from civil society organisations to enterprises and academia. It also incorporates the expertise of the UN agencies and programmes from the economic, social and environmental field, all working on sustainable development.

The HLPF plays a key role in monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals, agreed at the UN summit in September 2015. HLPF receives reports from various international organisations, processes, platforms and other sources. The main annual report is the SDG Progress Report prepared by the UN Secretariat on the basis of global SDG indicators. Every four years there will be a more comprehensive Global Sustainable Development Report which will provide more profound analysis for decision-makers and support the HLPF mandate for strengthening the science-policy interface for sustainable development policies.

The HLPF sessions also include voluntary national reviews on the follow-up and implementation of sustainable development commitments and objectives at national level. 22 countries presented such national reviews in HLPF 2016, including Estonia, Germany, Finland and France. The aim of these reviews is to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned. Stakeholders are encouraged to be involved in the national reviews.

The next HLPF meeting will take place under the auspices of ECOSOC from 10 to 19 July 2017; including the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from 17 to 19 July 2017. The theme for 2017 will be “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”.

From 2017 onwards the HLPF will review in depth a set of SDGs every year. The SDGs reviewed in 2017 will be:

SDG 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

SDG 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

SDG 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

SDG 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

SDG 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

SDG 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Additionally, SDG 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, will be considered each year.

The HLPF themes for the coming years are, as follows: 2018: “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”; 2019: “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”.

For more information

• UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development