The 2030 Agenda Follow-up and Review Architecture

The 2030 Agenda Follow-up and Review Architecture

    As an integral part of the 2030 Agenda, United Nations member states outlined fundamental principles for monitoring and reporting on progress in the implementation of the SDGs at all levels. The follow-up and review mechanism of the 2030 Agenda must:

——  Be voluntary, country-led and nationally-owned;

——  Respect integrated and inter-related nature of goals and targets, and the three

dimensions of sustainable development;

——  Be inclusive of all SDG targets, including the Means of Implementation targets;

——  Be universal, applicable to all countries and involve all relevant stakeholders;

——  Be participatory, inclusive, and transparent;

——  Be people-centred, gender-sensitive, based on human rights, with a particular

focus on the poorest, most vulnerable and those furthest behind;

——  Be rigorous, evidence-based, informed by country-led data which is high-quality,

accessible, timely, reliable and disaggregated by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity,

migration status, disability and geographic location and other characteristics

relevant in national contexts;

——  Build on existing platforms and processes.

    At the national and sub-national levels , member states recommend undertaking regular and inclusive reviews. At the regional  level, the follow-up and review of the SDGs could consist of peer learning, sharing of best practices, and discussion on shared targets and crossborder issues. At the global level, the High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF) constitutes the apex of the 2030 Agenda follow-up and review architecture. It is mandated to promote better accountability and focus efforts towards action on the ground, review implementation of the SDGs by all member states across the three pillars of sustainable development, and respond to new and emerging development trends.

    The HLPF convenes every year at the ministerial level under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It brings together ministers covering economic, social and environmental portfolios. UN member states are encouraged to submit voluntary national reviews (VNRs) to the HLPF, following common guidelines proposed by the Secretary-General. Each year, the HLPF will discuss a specific theme, focusing on a sub-set of SDGs for indepth review (See Table 1). Every SDGs will be reviewed within a four-year cycle, with SDG 17 on Means of Implementation discussed at every HLPF session.

    Every four years, the HLPF will meet at Heads of State level at the General Assembly, with the intent of keeping sustainable development issues atop the international political agenda. In these summits, Heads of State will negotiate declarations to provide high-level policy guidance and set the level of ambition for action and results. (The next session of the HLPF at the General Assembly will take place in 2019.) The HLPF considers several reports to inform its deliberations, including:

— A quadrennial Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR): Intended to strengthen the science-policy interface at the HLPF, the GSDR will provide an integrated, cross-cutting and evidence-driven analysis of sustainable development policies and their implementation. The timing of the GSDR will coincide with the Heads of State level meetings of the HLPF. The next GSDR (2019) will be drafted by an independent panel of 15 scientists appointed by the Secretary General, and supported by an inter-agency task team composed of the UN Secretariat, UNESCO, UNEP, UNDP, UNCTAD and the World Bank.

— An annual SDG Progress Report: Prepared by the Secretary-General, this report is based on the global SDG indicator framework. Using data produced by national statistical systems, it assesses progress against the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda.

— Thematic reports from ECOSOC functional commissions and other inter-governmental bodies and forums, as well as from non-governmental stakeholders.