Welcome to the United Nations
UN DESA has produced two guides for representatives of the major groups and other stakeholders that are new to the HLPF and want to learn more about its history and mandates, as well as the engagement opportunities. Please note that this year’s HLPF will be virtual so some of the modalities of engagement may have changed.
Introduction to the HLPF
Engagement and Participation Opportunities at the HLPF
Registration
Organisations accredited with ECOSOC consultative status, Organisations on the CSD Roster and organisations affiliated with the major groups and other stakeholders were invited to participate in the 2020 HLPF. Due to the virtual nature of this year’s HLPF the sessions will be broadcast via UN Web TV. Registration through Indico will not be necessary this year.
- Organisations accredited with ECOSOC consultative status
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the main entry point into the UN system for NGOs. ECOSOC is the central mechanism for coordination of the activities of the United Nations system and its specialized agencies and supervision of subsidiary bodies in the economic, social, environmental and related fields. It is the principal body for the coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on issues of economic and social development and for implementation of the international development goals agreed at the major United Nations conferences and summits, including the Sustainable Development Goals. The consultative relationship with ECOSOC is governed by Resolution 1996/31.
Further information can be found here.
- Organisations on the CSD Roster
The organizations that were registered for the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 but were not at the time ECOSOC accredited organizations were invited to join the CSD Roster which enabled them to attend the CSD. The purpose was to permit these organisations to attend and participate in the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development without the necessity of obtaining ECOSOC consultative status.
- Organisations affiliated with the major groups and other stakeholders
In a process that is similar to the CSD Roster above, representatives from the major groups and other stakeholders engaged in the implementation of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals who would not usually have the opportunity to attend the HLPF are also encouraged to participate.
Further information can be found here.
Funding
Due to the virtual format of the 2020 HLPF, funding was not allocated to support the travel of major groups and other stakeholders at the 2020 HLPF.
Ministerial Declaration
The President of ECOSOC has appointed H.E. Mr. Georgi Velikov Panayotov, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the UN, and H.E. Ms. Amal Mudallali, Ambassador Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the UN to facilitate the intergovernmental negotiations of the Ministerial Declaration.
The negotiations were closed and therefore not broadcast on UN Web TV. A limited number of representatives of the major groups and other stakeholders were invited to participate and contribute to the negotiations. Please contact your major group and other stakeholder constituency to learn about the nomination process.
The zero draft and revised drafts of the 2020 Ministerial Declaration can be found on the HLPF website here.
Thematic Sessions – Lead Discussants
The major groups and other stakeholders nominated 13 Lead Discussants to participate in the Official Thematic Sessions of the HLPF. Each of the major groups and other stakeholder constituencies conducted its own process to nominate Lead Discussants. These nominations were reviewed by the Steering Group of the MGoS Coordination Mechanism. A slate of nominations were then submitted by the Steering Group to ECOSOC for review. Please do not contact UN DESA directly to submit a nomination. Please contact your major groups and other stakeholder constituency to request information about the process.
Stakeholder Perspective Thematic Session
The thematic session which discusses the stakeholder perspective was listed on Tuesday, 7 July 2020 from 5 - 6pm EDT (New York time). The title of the session was:
Transformative pathways to realize the 2030 Agenda: a whole of society approach taking into account the impact of COVID19 (Stakeholder perspective).
UN DESA worked with the Steering Group of the major groups and other stakeholders to facilitate the session. You can re-watch the session on UN Web TV.
Voluntary National Review Sessions - Interventions
The major groups and other stakeholders were provided with opportunities to ask a question of the countries participating in the Voluntary National Review (VNR) presentations. The Steering Group of the major groups and other stakeholders requested expressions of interest to draft questions and identify candidates. Please contact your major groups and other stakeholder constituency to request information about the process. Further information on this year’s voluntary national reviews can be found on the HLPF website here.
- Webinaire [FR] - Examens Nationaux Volontaires
- Présentation PowerPoint par UNDESA
- Présentation PowerPoint par les grands groupes et les autres parties prenantes (GGPP)
- Seminario [ES] - Examenes Nacionales Voluntarios (EVN)
- Presentación de PowerPoint - UNDESA
- Presentación de PowerPoint - Grupos principales y otras partes interesadas
Voluntary National Review Labs
There were 17 Voluntary National Review Labs this year. The title and concept for each VNR Lab has been published, some contain concept notes and registration info. All representatives of organisations that fall under one of the three categories listed above under ‘Registration’ may attend (subject to capacity). Further information on registering for the VNR Labs can be found on the HLPF website here.
Written Contributions
- Executive Summaries
The discussion papers on the theme of the high-level political forum on sustainable development, submitted by major groups and other stakeholders (Advance unedited version) can be found on the HLPF website here.
- Sectoral Position Papers
The deadline for the submission of the sectoral position papers has passed. These reports will be reviewed and posted as inputs on the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform here.
- Paragraph 89 Reports
The Paragraph 89 Reports have been submitted as inputs to the Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform here.
Other Events
All side events and exhibitions were held virtually. The deadline to submit applications have now passed. Further information and updated can be found on the HLPF website here.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and its partner agencies and organisations will also organise special virtual events on the margins of the HLPF. More information about these events can also be seen on the Other Events page.
