Welcome to the United Nations
For the third year, a series of VNR Labs are being convened on the margins of the 2020 HLPF. The VNR Labs provide an informal platform for experience sharing and reflection on the Voluntary National Review (VNR) process. The Labs will be held under the Chatham House rule and will be open to Member States, the UN system and representatives of Major Groups and other Stakeholders. The detailed programme of the 2020 VNR Labs is below.
High-Level Political Forum 2020
Under the auspices of ECOSOC
7 - 16 July 2020 New YorkVNR Lab 1
Data-driven programming and the VNRs (7 July)
Click here to register and find more information and updates on the Lab
The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (Cooperation Framework) is informed by Government prioritization, planning, implementation and reporting vis-à-vis the 2030 Agenda, including the preparation of evidence-based Voluntary National Reviews based on SDG indicators. The UN Common Country Analysis (CCA) builds on processes such as the Voluntary National Reviews, and the country-specific findings and recommendations of UN principal organs. As per the proposal of the Secretary-General in his report 2020 report on QCPR implementation, UNCTs should work to strengthen their support to countries conducting these VNRs and ensure the reviews’ key findings inform the CCA and the Cooperation Framework.
The investments in UN reform are already yielding results immediate and longer-term response to the COVID-19 crisis. UNCTs under the leadership of the RCs are providing an integrated whole-of-system support to the countries in the preparedness and response to COVID-19. The support is leveraging the reinvigorated UN Development System by tapping into the comparative advantages of specific entities, WHO on Health, OCHA on humanitarian coordination, and UNDP as the technical lead for the socio-economic response.
This VNR lab will invite Resident Coordinators and other stakeholders to reflect on their experience in connecting the Voluntary National Review to the CCA and Cooperation Framework, as well as to solicit ideas on how this can be strengthened in the next QCPR cycle, how RCs and UNCTs can better support Governments with the socio-economic response to COVID-19, and how to best implement decisions taken in the 74th session of the General Assembly related to the follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Organizers: UNSDG Development Coordination Office (DCO)
VNR Lab 2
Analyzing VNRs- What did we learn so far? (7 July)
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The United Nations Committee for Development Policy has analyzed VNRs since 2017. Among other findings, it noted that very few VNRs describe adequate strategies for implementing Leave No One Behind (LNOB), a principle which is central to the 2030 Agenda. While most countries acknowledge it, VNRs often remain vague on how to implement LNOB in practice. Similarly, inequalities are often mentioned, but not addressed in detail. This VNR Lab will present these and related findings, highlight examples of emerging good practice, and discuss how they can be used for mutual learning for implementing the 2030 Agenda.
Organizers: UN DESA Economic Analysis and Policy Division (EAPD) / Committee for Development Policy (CDP)
VNR Lab 3
Multi-level governance and subnational reporting on VNRs and VLRs (8 July)
Click here to find the concept note
Click here to register and find more information and updates on the Lab
The objective of this VNR Lab is to advance understanding of how productive interaction between national and subnational levels of governance can be fostered in both the preparatory processes of VNRs as well as in the post-VNR phase.
The Lab will also explore how Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), which are being prepared by an increasing number of cities around the world, can be useful tools for cities and regions to guide their implementation of the SDGs, and how they can support the VNR processes coordinated by national governments.
It will also investigate effective modalities of engaging cities in implementing the 2030 Agenda by comparing diverse subnational roles in different types of national urban and territorial policy and governance frameworks. The Lab will include contributions from national Governments, cities, regional intergovernmental organizations and other relevant actors.
Organizers: UN DESA Division for Sustainable Goals (DSDG) / UN-HABITAT
VNR Lab 4
Engaging social groups in the VNR process and reaching the furthest behind – A case study of persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples (8 July)
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The principles in the 2030 Agenda to guide the follow-up and review processes state that “they will be open, inclusive, participatory and transparent for all people and will support the reporting by all relevant stakeholders.”
An analysis of the 2017 VNR reports by the Committee for Development Planning noted that “among the groups that receive special focus so that they are not left behind, women receive the most attention (addressed by 41 out of the 43 countries reviewed), followed by persons with disabilities (40 countries)” and that indigenous peoples were severely underrepresented.
This VNR lab will explore experiences in engaging persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples in the VNR reporting processes, identify obstacles, best practices and what lessons can be learned to reach those furthest behind.
Organizers: UN DESA Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)
VNR Lab 5
Innovative approaches to spur action and delivery on the 2030 Agenda: lessons from the regions (9 July)
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Following the VNR Lab held in the margins of the 2019 HLPF, the 2020 Lab will continue to build on lessons emanating from VNR preparation processes in the regions, with a focus on identifying innovative approaches to spur action and inject momentum in the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda, considering the broader context of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lab will consider the lessons learned and outcomes of the regional follow-up and review processes and showcase innovative approaches and tools fostered by the Regional Commissions to respond to new and emerging needs expressed by member States. Examples of these approaches include the twinning of VNR countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the development of Voluntary Local Reviews in Africa, the establishment of VNR “communities of practice” in Latin America and the Caribbean, the role of cities and the local level in SDG implementation and resilience in the UNECE region, and the community of practice and dedicated knowledge, learning and collaborative platform in the Arab region.
The Lab will aim at facilitating a cross-regional learning of experiences in support of accelerated implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the country and regional levels. Representatives of VNR participating countries, regional organizations and other stakeholders will be invited to exchange experiences and recommendations in implementing these approaches, and to share how efforts to bring countries together at the regional level have been useful and will continue to be relevant in the context of the Decade of Action.
Organizers: UN Regional Commissions New York Office (RCNYO)
VNR Lab 6
VNR Town Halls – Building momentum for the VNRs by engaging all (9 July)
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Five years into implementing the 2030 Agenda, with over one hundred Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) presented there is a wealth of experience, innovation and engagement to be shared.
The VNR Town Hall will bring together Member States, civil society representatives, UN officials, the private sector, youth and other stakeholders to reflect on the first four-year cycle of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) and learn from one another.
The Town Hall will provide space for an interactive conversation around good practices, innovative tools, and models that have been used to implement the SDGs and strengthen reporting.
Spotlighting examples of successful collaboration among Member States and stakeholders in support of VNRs to overcome challenges, raise ambition, and action on the ground as we recover better in this the Decade of Action and Delivery.
Organizers: UN Foundation
VNR Lab 7
Reflecting population data and migration trends in the VNRs (9 July)
Click here to find the concept note
Quality, accessible, timely, reliable and disaggregated data are needed to measure progress in implementing the SDGs and to ensure that no one is left behind (A/RES/70/1). Population information is crucial for the compilation of a large number of indicators, contained in the global indicator framework for the SDGs and targets (A/RES/71/313).
This lab will discuss national experiences in integrating population and related data and indicators, including on migration, in voluntary national reviews. It will review good practices and lessons learnt in collecting, compiling and disseminating population and related data and indicators, including on migration, and recommend actions to accelerate the availability, quality and comparability of such information over the next decade.
Organizers: UN DESA Population Division
VNR Lab 8
Evidence-based VNRs in the time of COVID-19 Pandemic (9 July)
Click here to find the concept note
The COVID-19 crisis is disrupting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in almost all countries. This pandemic is also threatening the achievements already made in many of the SDG areas. In this time of crisis, data and statistics are key for the preparation of the Voluntary National Reviews to understanding, managing, and mitigating the human, social and economic impacts of the outbreak. They are also essential for designing short-term response interventions and long-term acceleration actions to set countries back on track to achieve the SDGs.
The global crisis is also affecting critical operations across the entire global statistical and data system. There are delays in planned censuses and surveys and serious disruptions in all statistical operations. This VNR lab will provide policy makers and statisticians an opportunity to share experiences on how data and statistics are used to help designing and targeting effective policy interventions in the crisis and supporting SDG acceleration efforts in the long run, which are the core for the VNRs in the coming years.
In addition, data producers can also discuss their countries’ response mechanisms for ensuring continual data collection during the global pandemic and the effects on data availability for the SDGs.
Organizers: UN Statistics Division (UNSD)
VNR Lab 9
Integrating the 2030 Agenda into national development plans and strategies: Emerging lessons learned (10 July)
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The challenge of integrating the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs into national policy frameworks is leading to renewed interest in national development planning. The 2019 SDG Summit called on countries to “mainstream the 2030 Agenda into our national planning instruments, policies, strategies and financial frameworks.”
This lab will share experiences and lessons learned by countries with the integration and mainstreaming of the 2030 Agenda, including approaches that account for the interlinkages between the SDGs. It will explore approaches to integration that go beyond alignment and the application of tools and models to facilitate the understanding of interlinkages.
Organizers: UN DESA Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG)
VNR Lab 10
What should institutions look like to support SDG implementation and how best to reflect it in VNR reporting? (10 July)
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This lab will focus on what institutions should look like to support accelerated implementation of all the SDGs, including at the sub-national level, and how to reflect progress in achieving more effective governance for sustainable development in VNR reporting.
It will offer participating governments the opportunity to share good practices. Concrete challenges that countries are facing in strengthening institutional capabilities for SDG implementation will also be considered.
Organizers: UN DESA Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG)
VNR Lab 11
Aligning reporting processes: VNRs and international human rights mechanisms (13 July)
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Registration has closed
This VNR lab will create a space to discuss the benefits of linking up Voluntary National Reviews with the national reporting to and engagement with international human rights mechanisms (Treaty Bodies, Universal Periodic Review, Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council). Systematic engagement between the VNR process and other relevant reporting processes at the national level can lead to concrete benefits, such as improving the quality of the reports (notably on the realization of the principle of leaving no one behind), easing reporting burdens for Member States, increasing participatory nature of the exercise by engaging new stakeholders, and taking account of issues such as inequality, discrimination, rule of law in the VNRs.
Given that the 2030 Agenda is explicitly grounded in human rights, the work conducted under international human rights mechanisms is a source of relevant national information on the status of implementation and of guidance that can assist to maintain or accelerate progress.
The lab will provide an opportunity for participating countries and other stakeholders to exchange relevant experience and learn about useful tools that can support linking up the VNRs with human rights reporting.
Organizers: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
VNR Lab 12
Mobilizing the resources to recover better (13 July)
Click here to find the concept note
Scaling up the mobilization of financing from all sources will be critical to advance a recovery that is sustainable and resilient. Recovery measures must be geared to advance sustainable development, strengthen resilience and safeguard against climate and systemic risks. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, economies in a post-COVID world must be aligned with the 2030 Agenda. What will it take?
Organizers: UN DESA Financing for Sustainable Development Office (FSDO)
VNR Lab 13
Beyond the VNRs: mobilizing support and building national partnerships (14 July)
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The successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires a transformation in our societies that can only be achieved through engaging and leveraging the unique roles and resources of all sectors and stakeholders of society.
The VNR Lab on “Beyond the VNRs: mobilizing support and building national partnerships” will explore and showcase practices on how countries can systematically catalyze national multi-stakeholder partnerships for mobilizing and sharing knowledge, expertise, technologies and financial resources to support implementation of the SDGs. It will also explore how countries can help to create an enabling environment that can encourage and foster collaboration across stakeholders.
Organizers: UN DESA Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG)
VNR Lab 14
National experience of the VNR process: Mozambique (14 July)
Click here to find the concept note
The lab will focus on data for national implementation of the SDGs and Voluntary National Reviews in Mozambique. Furthermore, the session will highlight Mozambique’s National SDG Indicators Framework, their process of compiling statistical data on Indicators and their SDG Data Dissemination Platform.
Organizers: UN DESA Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development (OISC)
VNR Lab 15
Children-sensitive VNRs (15 July)
Click here to find the concept note
The United Nations Secretary-General has stressed that by placing “children at the heart of the 2030 Agenda, and at the centre of all that we do, we can realize its ambitious vision, while leaving no child behind." Governments across all regions are using the SDG targets related to children to spur accelerated action towards ending poverty, ensuring healthy lives, increasing access to quality education, achieving gender equality, promoting child participation, and eliminating all forms of violence.
This VNR Lab aims to encourage Governments to use VNRs to share their experience in using the SDG targets related to children for national development planning and accelerating progress by highlighting positive examples from Member States.
The Lab will highlight how inclusive and participatory VNR processes can help ensure children’s wellbeing is at the centre of national development planning. The Lab will also draw attention to the need to maintain national budgets for the health, education and protection of children from violence, even in the face of the global economic crisis created by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers: UNICEF/ UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children (SRSG)
VNR Lab 16
National experience of the VNR process: Moldova (15 July)
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This lab will focus on the VNR preparation process in Moldova, highlighting the methodology and principles of the country’s VNR report, preparation process and follow-up actions. The VNR lab could also reflect on the impact on COVID-19 on the VNR preparations and SDG implementation.
Organizers: UN DESA Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development (OISC)
VNR Lab 17
National experience of the VNR process: Finland (16 July)
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This lab will highlight Finland’s governance framework for sustainable development and the country’s institutional mechanisms and innovative practices for stakeholder engagement.
Organizers: UN DESA Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development (OISC)
