ECOSOC President briefing on HLPF preparations

H E Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) gave a briefing for UN Member States and other stakeholders on the preparations for ECOSOC meetings and segments from April to July 2017. He will make an announcement soon on the nomination of two co-facilitators to lead informal consultations on a draft text for the Joint Ministerial Declaration of the 2017 sessions of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and ECOSOC High-level Segment.

The 2017 session of the HLPF will convene from 10-19 July, in New York. The programme for the session is currently is being considered, and will be “shared for feedback through the ECOSOC Bureau.” The first week of the HLPF (10-14 July) will address the theme of the session, ‘Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world’ with the following sustainable development goals (SDGs) being considered: SDG 1 (no poverty); SDG 2 (zero hunger); SDG 3 (good health and well-being); SDG 5 (gender equality); SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure); and SDG 14 (life below water). In addition, SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals) is reviewed annually.

The HLPF’s three-day ministerial segment, which will take place from 17-19 July as part of the High-level Segment of ECOSOC, will consider the voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of SDG implementation by 44 volunteering countries. The High-Level Segment of ECOSOC (17-20 July) will also assess progress in eradicating poverty, and provide further policy guidance on SDG 1 and related Goals so as to advance the international poverty eradication agenda.

Documentation being prepared for the HLPF includes:

• UN Secretary-General’s SDG progress report
• VNR reports
• reports from the UN regional commissions;
• reports from Major Groups and other stakeholders, inputs from the UN system and other relevant organizations and stakeholders on the theme and SDGs under consideration contributions from ECOSOC functional commissions and other intergovernmental bodies on the theme and SDGs under consideration
• report of the Ten-Year Framework of Programmes (10YFP) on sustainable consumption and production (SCP)
• UN Secretary-General’s report on mainstreaming sustainable development into the UN system
• outcomes of the UN Ocean Conference, which will convene from 5-9 June 2017.      

The Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum), which is a component of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM), mandated by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, will take place from 15-16 May and the co-chairs, Macharia Kamau, Permanent Representative of Kenya, and Vaughan Turekian, Science and Technology Advisor to the US Secretary of State, are working closely with the UN Inter-agency Task Team and the 10-Member Group that supports the TFM to prepare for the Forum. An invitation has been sent to all UN Member States, and information on the Forum including the concept note, programme, side event and registration note is available on the STI website.

The programme for the Second ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development follow-up (FfD Forum), which will be held from 22-25 May, has been released and the report of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF), which constitutes a “major substantive input to the FfD Forum,” is expected to be issued two months before the Forum takes place. In preparation for the Forum’s adoption of intergovernmentally agreed conclusions and recommendations, Shava has consulted with delegations on the appointment of two co-facilitators to lead consultations among UN Member States, and a decision will be taken in the coming weeks.

Other meetings to be convened by ECOSOC include:

• 2017 Partnership Forum, on 5 April
• Special Meeting on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, on 7 April, (following the 14th session of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters from 3-6 April)
• Integration Segment, from 8-10 May
• Special Meeting on Innovations for Infrastructure Development and Promoting Sustainable Industrialization, on 31 May
• Humanitarian Affairs Segment, to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 21-23 June;
• Series of ECOSOC Coordination and Management Meetings.

The theme of the 2017 session of ECOSOC is ‘Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions through promoting sustainable development, expanding opportunities and addressing related challenges.’ The ECOSOC 2017 cycle will culminate in July with the ECOSOC High-level Segment and the adoption of the Joint HLPF-ECOSOC High-level Segment Ministerial Declaration (see above)

See also http://sdg.iisd.org/news/ecosoc-president-provides-updates-on-hlpf-preparations/