Regional meetings on 2030 Agenda for UNECE region 25 and 25 April 2017 – Deadline 23 February 2017

We have received the following email about the regional meeting for the ECE region on the 2030 Agenda: 

Dear Major Groups and other Stakeholders from Civil Society interested in regional SDG Agenda 2030 for the UNECE region

We are officially inviting you to pre-register for participation on April 24th and 25th at the UN in Geneva. 

In order to register, please fill ou the registration survey, including information regarding travel support - please note only very little funds are available!…

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Executive Board discussion of agenda item 11.1: Progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The Executive Board (EB) at its 140th session discussed agenda item 11.1, based on the report of the WHO Secretariat EB140/32. There was a general recognition that SDG 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all and all ages is of crucial importance for the achievement of all the SDGs and that there is a need also to take into account other health-related targets. The universality of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) was stressed together with the importance of action at the national level. Several countries referred to the importance of universal health coverage (UHC), as well as non-communicable diseases and various health emergencies. References were also made in some interventions to gender and health and sexual and reproductive health and rights...

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[Deadline 28 February] Call for Inputs - 2017 HLPF Blog Series

We have recieved the following from Division for Sustainable Development | DESA:

We are glad to open a call for inputs to the 2017 HLPF blog series: “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”. Please use the form below to provide suggested blog entries. They should to be succinct and to the point, a maximum of 700 words in length. Selected blog posts will be published on the DSD website https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf. The blog can be published by individual authors, or on behalf of an organisation...

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Fifth meeting of the IAEG-SDGs, 28-31 March, Ottawa, Canada

It has been announced that the fifth meeting of the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals will be held from 28 to 31 March 2017 in Ottawa, Canada, hosted by Statistics Canada.

The Members meeting will take place on 28 - 29 March and a Plenary Session on 30 - 31 March, which all countries, international and regional agencies and entities, and other stakeholders are invited to attend. 

Meeting objectives…

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Nominate yourself to participate in the EGM on Enhancing MGoS engagement in National Level Reviews - Bogota, Colombia 26 March 2017 (TBC)

UN DESA Division for Sustainable Development will organize an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on 26th March 2017 (TBC) in Bogota, Colombia (Venue TBC).

Qualified representatives are kindly requested to indicate their interest to participate by completing the nomination form no later than 5PM EST (2200 GMT) on Tuesday, 14 February 2017. Kindly note that ALL interested representatives (those requesting funding and those who have resources to cover their own travel expenses) need to register in this form for participation. An accessible MS Word document form is attached for persons with visual impairment.

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Apply to speak or attend: UN High-level Action Event on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Agenda, 23 March 2017 at UNHQ

On 23 March 2017, the President of the 71st UN General Assembly, Ambassador Peter Thomson, in collaboration with the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Ms. Patricia Espinosa, will convene Member States, the UN System, and stakeholders at United Nations Headquarters in a High-level Action Event on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Agenda.

At the request of the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA), UN-NGLS is facilitating a process to identify two civil society speakers, one social entrepreneur speaker, and stakeholders wishing to attend as observers…

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Meeting with H.E Mr. Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, President of ECOSOC, 10-11 am, 14 February 2017, S2729 New York Headquarters. [Deadline 9 Feb]

We have received the following from Division for Sustainable Development | DESA:

Dear all:

The meeting between the ECOSOC President and the MGoS HLPF Coordination mechanism will be held on Tuesday, 14 February, from 10am to 11am EST in room S-2729 ( located on the 27th floor of the secretariat building). For colleagues joining via webex, please see webex details below. All participants are kindly asked to sign up using this google doc (both those joining in-person and remotely via WebEX)…

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Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls: review theme for 61st session of the Commission on Status of Women focuses on the 2030 Agenda

The Report of the Secretary-General for the Review theme for the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on the challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and girls (Agreed conclusions of 58th session) has a strong focus on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the sustainable development goals (SDGs). It includes information received from Member States; the Secretary-General’s report on progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs); and voluntary national reports (VNRs) submitted to the high-level political forum (HLPF). (paras 1 & 5) The voluntary presentations by Member States identifying progress, gaps and challenges at the 61st session of the CSW will also contribute to the review. (para 4)…

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The Trump Global Gag Rule: An Attack on U.S. Family Planning and Global Health Aid

We have received the following from the Guttmacher Institute

The Trump Global Gag Rule: An Attack on U.S. Family Planning and Global Health Aid 

By Ann Starrs

In a Comment published in The Lancet, Guttmacher President and CEO Ann M. Starrs discusses the many harms of the global gag rule, a policy imposed by President Trump that will disrupt U.S. international family planning programs as well as U.S. global health aid more broadly.

The article is excerpted below and the full Comment is available at The Lancet (with citations and free of charge): “The Trump global gag rule: an attack on U.S. family planning and global health aid.”...

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HLPF CM – 31 January 2017

 A meeting of the HLPF Co-ordinating Mechanism (CM) was held on Tuesday 31 January 2017. Below are notes on the issues that were discussed including the proposed Expert Group Meeting of Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS), the ECOSOC President’s Retreat and the up-coming meeting with him. A matter of concern are issues related to CSO participation in the HLPF and also on invitations to informal meetings such as the Retreat...

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