Theme: Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development
Executive Summary
Progress towards sustainable development is unacceptable. The decade ahead could mark a crucial turning point in the trajectory towards the 2030 Agenda and mobilizing towards it;
Impacts of the global crisis due to COVID-19 point to protracted shocks of human rights injustices, transgression of planetary boundaries, concentration of power, profit-seeking economic systems, historically-accumulated inequalities, and systemic undermining of resilience. The pandemic calls upon people and governments to work in solidarity, uphold universal principles of dignity and human rights, deliver on commitments to Universal Health Coverage, and enact multilateral actions commensurate with the scale of the crisis;
Age limits and age-based discrimination persists to impose structural barriers against young people, while their participation in decision making is too often a tokenistic exercise rather than a genuine intergenerational effort based on principles of meaningful youth engagement [1];
The UN, in its growing need for funding, is leaning towards the private sector without accountability mechanisms or rules based frameworks around public-private partnerships.
In order to align our global architecture to respond to known, emerging, and future risks, the UNMGCY emphasizes the following:
Countries must work together to tackle the stigma, fear and misinformation. In line with UN's 75th Anniversary, commitments to global governance and multilateral efforts need to be upheld, strengthened, and galvanized to adequately anticipate and address current and future needs;
All people - regardless of their status - must be able to access high-quality services provided by strong social safety nets that are financed through the effective redistribution of wealth;
Failures in assessing, preventing, mitigating, and responding to risks through a whole-of-society approach need to be addressed before they become disasters.
In order to align our global architecture to meeting the 2030 Agenda and other sustainable development frameworks, the UNMGCY emphasizes the following:
Uphold human rights, promote peace and security, ensure good governance, and exercise the rule of law to ensure well-being and sustainable livelihoods for all;
Overcome oppression and inequalities in all their forms, particularly associated with various sexual orientations and gender identities, bodily autonomy, cultural and language diversity, and those faced by persons with disabilities and indigenous groups;
Protect the global commons and establish legally-binding frameworks that strengthen environmental governance, especially in the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, including through just transitions to a decarbonized economy;
Promote integrated territorial development to address inequalities between different types of human settlements across the spatial continuum;
Align macroeconomic frameworks with the three dimensions of sustainable development, recognizing the economy as a subset of society and the planet;
Delink access to basic services from any migratory or other status. The role of different actors benefiting from undocumented migrants and abusive practices should be highlighted and stopped;
Employ knowledge systems from diverse sources, especially through open science, to inform and monitor decisions;
Establish anticipatory governance frameworks that ensure technology justice rather than perpetuate inequalities, while reducing existing technological divides and dependencies.
In light of the ongoing review process of the ECOSOC and the HLPF, the UNMGCY emphasizes the need for the Forum to:
Provide political leadership and guidance by assessing progress, identifying gaps, highlighting best practices, and exploring new policy pathways, accounting for recommendations from other intergovernmental bodies and ECOSOC commissions;
Ensure rights-based modalities, meaningful participation, and protected spaces for critical segments of society, specifically MGoS, building on A/RES/67/290;
Establish official mechanisms as part of VNR guidelines to ensure meaningful stakeholder engagement. VNRs should be quality-checked, especially methodologies for using data and engaging stakeholders, before submittal to the HLPF;
Increased resources must be provided to the Secretariat, as well as organizations of the UN system, for strengthening technical and substantive support provided to the HLPF.
[1] https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b2586e41aef1d89f00c60a9/t/5e839729bc3acb6a268ecf47/1585682218331/Principles+and+Barriers+for+Meaningful+Youth+Engagement.pdf
