The United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), a subdivision of both the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

and the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

, is responsible for the entire organization's policy on

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

. It adopts negotiated declarations, reviews commitment and the progress of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the 17

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

, SDGs or Global Goals). The Forum replaced the

Commission on Sustainable Development The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was a body under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) tasked with overseeing the outcomes of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development/Earth Summit. I ...

on the 24 September 2013. Meetings of the Forum are open to all Member States of the United Nations.

Mandate and tasks

As the Forum is held under the authority of both the Economic and Social Council and the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

, the body hosts two different types of meetings: * While under the auspices of the General Assembly: Once every four years at the level of Heads of State and Government for a period of two days. * While under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council: Yearly, for a period of eight days, including a three-day ministerial segment. The HLPF was created with the aim to strengthen sustainable development governance at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. It works to achieve this through its mandate, which states the following in respect of sustainable development: ;Resolution A/RES/66/288:: ;Resolution A/RES/67/290::

Sustainable Development Commitments Review

The Forum is responsible for the follow up and the review of progress of implementation of the following sustainable development commitments: *

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action ag ...

* Johannesburg Plan of Implementation * Barbados Programme of Action * Mauritius Strategy * Rio+20 * LDC-IV As well as the relevant outcomes of other United Nations summits and conferences.

Meeting themes

Every year since 2013, the HLPF has held a session. The meetings are held in July. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the forum took place virtually in 2020 for the first time.

History

The HLPF has its origin in the

(CSD), which was created in 1992 to ensure follow-up of the Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). This Commission met a total of 20 times, with its last session on 20 September 2013. At the 2012 Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, it was decided that the Commission would be replaced by the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. This new Forum would meet under the auspices of both the Economic and Social Council, as well as the General Assembly. The Forum was formally created by Resolution 67/290 on 9 July 2013.

References

External links