Highlights
Vol 21, No. 07 - July 2017
ECOSOC convenes high-level segment putting spotlight on poverty eradication
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) will hold its High-level Segment from 17 to 20 July 2017 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, culminating the Council’s annual cycle of work on the 2017 ECOSOC theme “Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions through promoting sustainable development, expanding opportunities and addressing related challenges”. The Segment convenes a diverse group of high-level representatives from Government, the private sector, academia and the multilateral system for policy dialogue, review and recommendations on the 2030 Agenda.
Over the course of its current cycle, the Council’s work has repeatedly highlighted the significant challenges that remain for poverty eradication in its most extreme forms and for addressing the different forms and multiple dimensions of poverty in the economic, social and environmental spheres.
For example, many people with jobs do not earn enough to escape poverty, and an estimated 80 percent of the global population has little or no access to comprehensive social protection. Additionally, the inability to access key resources for sustainable development – such as broadband Internet services; reliable public transport infrastructure; and high quality education – limits the potential of people to participate in and contribute to their societies.
To further examine how to address poverty in all its forms and dimensions, the High-level Segment will include a Thematic Discussion on “Reducing multidimensional poverty in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) era”. The Discussion will focus on how the SDG Indicator Framework and national poverty reduction strategies can be used for assessing progress in reducing multi-dimensional poverty, drawing on presentations by policy makers from select Member States, as well as cutting edge research and analysis.
For poverty eradication and SDG achievement to be successful at the national level, the global economy will need to be stable, conducive to growth and part of an enabling international environment supported through multilateral cooperation. The High-level Segment will convene a dialogue of the Executive Heads of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group, the World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and UN DESA to present their respective institutional perspectives on the state of international trade and finance as well as short- and medium-term projections for global economic growth. The discussion will also focus attention on the intersection of these trends with the recent rise in scepticism regarding the benefits of globalization, economic integration and international cooperation, particularly as they relate to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The 2017 High-level Segment (HLS) of ECOSOC will also include the three-day ministerial meeting of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, convened under the auspices of ECOSOC (17-19 July 2017). The HLPF has the aligned theme of “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world” and will also consider specific SDGs. A joint Ministerial Declaration containing key conclusions and recommendations at the national, regional and international levels will be adopted at the conclusions of the HLPF and ECOSOC HLS.
For more information: ECOSOC High-level Segment
World population projected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100
The current world population of 7.6 billion is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, according to a new United Nations report launched on 21 June. With roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population every year, the upward trend in population size is expected to continue, even assuming that fertility levels will continue to decline.
The World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, provides a comprehensive review of global demographic trends and prospects for the future. The information is essential to guide policies aimed at achieving the new Sustainable Development Goals.
Shifts in country population rankings
The new projections include some notable findings at the country level. China (with 1.4 billion inhabitants) and India (1.3 billion inhabitants) remain the two most populous countries, comprising 19 and 18% of the total global population. In roughly seven years, or around 2024, the population of India is expected to surpass that of China.
Among the ten largest countries worldwide, Nigeria is growing the most rapidly. Consequently, the population of Nigeria, currently the world’s 7th largest, is projected to surpass that of the United States and become the third largest country in the world shortly before 2050.
Most of the global increase is attributable to a small number of countries
From 2017 to 2050, it is expected that half of the world’s population growth will be concentrated in just nine countries: India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, the United Republic of Tanzania, the United States of America, Uganda and Indonesia (ordered by their expected contribution to total growth).
The group of 47 least developed countries (LDCs) continues to have a relatively high level of fertility, which stood at 4.3 births per woman in 2010-2015. As a result, the population of these countries has been growing rapidly, at around 2.4 % per year. Although this rate of increase is expected to slow significantly over the coming decades, the combined population of the LDCs, roughly one billion in 2017, is projected to increase by 33 % between 2017 and 2030, and to reach 1.9 billion persons in 2050.
Similarly, Africa continues to experience high rates of population growth. Between 2017 and 2050, the populations of 26 African countries are projected to expand to at least double their current size.
The concentration of global population growth in the poorest countries presents a considerable challenge to governments in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which seeks to end poverty and hunger, expand and update health and education systems, achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment, reduce inequality and ensure that no one is left behind.
Slower world population growth due to lower fertility rates
In recent years, fertility has declined in nearly all regions of the world. Even in Africa, where fertility levels are the highest of any region, total fertility has fallen from 5.1 births per woman in 2000-2005 to 4.7 in 2010-2015.
Europe has been an exception to this trend in recent years, with total fertility increasing from 1.4 births per woman in 2000-2005 to 1.6 in 2010-2015.
More and more countries now have fertility rates below the level required for the replacement of successive generations (roughly 2.1 births per woman), and some have been in this situation for several decades. During 2010-2015, fertility was below the replacement level in 83 countries comprising 46 % of the world’s population. The ten most populous countries in this group are China, the United States of America, Brazil, the Russian Federation, Japan, Viet Nam, Germany, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Thailand, and the United Kingdom (in order of population size).
Lower fertility leads also to ageing populations
The report highlights that a reduction in the fertility level results not only in a slower pace of population growth but also in an older population.
Compared to 2017, the number of persons aged 60 or above is expected to more than double by 2050 and to more than triple by 2100, rising from 962 million globally in 2017 to 2.1 billion in 2050 and 3.1 billion in 2100.
In Europe, 25% of the population is already aged 60 years or over. That proportion is projected to reach 35% in 2050 and to remain around that level in the second half of the century. Populations in other regions are also projected to age significantly over the next several decades and continuing through 2100. Africa, for example, which has the youngest age distribution of any region, is projected to experience a rapid ageing of its population. Although the African population will remain relatively young for several more decades, the percentage of its population aged 60 or over is expected to rise from 5% in 2017 to around 9% in 2050, and then to nearly 20% by the end of the century.
Globally, the number of persons aged 80 or over is projected to triple by 2050, from 137 million in 2017 to 425 million in 2050. By 2100 it is expected to increase to 909 million, nearly seven times its value in 2017.
Population ageing is projected to have a profound effect on societies, underscoring the fiscal and political pressures that the health care, old-age pension and social protection systems of many countries are likely to face in the coming decades.
Higher life expectancy worldwide
Substantial improvements in life expectancy have occurred in recent years. Globally, life expectancy at birth has risen from 65 years for men and 69 years for women in 2000-2005 to 69 years for men and 73 years for women in 2010-2015. Nevertheless, large disparities across countries remain.
Although all regions shared in the recent rise of life expectancy, the greatest gains were for Africa, where life expectancy rose by 6.6 years between 2000-2005 and 2010-2015 after rising by less than 2 years over the previous decade.
The gap in life expectancy at birth between the least developed countries and other developing countries narrowed from 11 years in 2000-2005 to 8 years in 2010-2015. Although differences in life expectancy across regions and income groups are projected to persist in future years, such differences are expected to diminish significantly by 2045-2050.
The increased level and reduced variability in life expectancy have been due to many factors, including a lower under-five mortality rate, which fell by more than 30 % in 89 countries between 2000-2005 and 2010-2015. Other factors include continuing reductions in fatalities due to HIV/AIDS and progress in combating other infectious as well as non-communicable diseases.
Large movements of refugees and other migrants
There continue to be large movements of migrants between regions, often from low- and middle-income countries toward high-income countries. The volume of the net inflow of migrants to high-income countries in 2010-2015 (3.2 million per year) represented a decline from a peak attained in 2005-2010 (4.5 million per year). Although international migration at or around current levels will be insufficient to compensate fully for the expected loss of population tied to low levels of fertility, especially in the European region, the movement of people between countries can help attenuate some of the adverse consequences of population ageing.
The report observes that the Syrian refugee crisis has had a major impact on levels and patterns of international migration in recent years, affecting several countries. The estimated net outflow from the Syrian Arab Republic was 4.2 million persons in 2010-2015. Most of these refugees went to Syria’s neighbouring countries, contributing to a substantial increase in the net inflow of migrants especially to Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
About the report
The 2017 Revision of World Population Prospects is the 25th round of official UN population estimates and projections that have been prepared by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The 2017 Revision builds on previous revisions by incorporating additional results from the 2010 and 2020 rounds of national population censuses as well as findings from recent specialized sample surveys from around the world. The 2017 Revision provides a comprehensive set of demographic data and indicators that can be used to assess population trends at the global, regional and national levels and to calculate other key indicators for monitoring progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
For more information:
The 2017 Revision of World Population Prospects
Beginning a second decade to advance the rights of persons with disabilities
With over 1 billion people living with some form of disability in the world today, they are the world’s largest minority. As the world is moving forward with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community has made a commitment to include everyone in society and development; which includes mobilizing support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.
The Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is one of the largest and most diverse international disability meetings in the world. The 10th session of the COSP, held from 13 to 15 June 2017 at UN Headquarters in New York, takes place as States embark on the second decade in the implementation of the CRPD. States continue to take action to affect improvements in their national legislation, and are adopting and implementing policies and practices that work towards an inclusive and sustainable society that leaves no one behind.
The United Nations and its Member States recognize the central role that persons with disabilities must play in multi-stakeholder partnerships for achieving the SDGs and implementing the CRPD. This year’s main theme is “The Second Decade of the CRPD: Inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in the implementation of the Convention”.
The themes of the COSP’s round table discussions will focus on; addressing the impact of multiple discrimination on persons with disabilities and promoting their participation and multi-stakeholder partnerships for achieving the SDGs in line with the CRPD; the inclusion and full participation of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action; and promoting inclusive urban development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda – Habitat III. At this year’s COSP, high-level representation includes over 40 ministerial-level participants who will speak in the general debate and other thematic discussions during the session.
In conjunction with the session, over 75 parallel side-events will be conducted by Governments, UN agencies and civil society organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities, national human rights institutions, disability rights organizations, service providers and the private sector.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said that making global development inclusive of people with disabilities “must be an enhanced priority”. The ultimate goal of this COSP is to explore ways and means of creating enabling conditions for inclusive development and to make a difference in the lives of over a billion persons with disabilities on the ground.
More information:
10th session of the Conference of States Parties to the CRPD
Promoting public service innovation for sustainable development
From effective delivery of health services, to quality education and decent jobs, and to climate change responses, strong public institutions with effective public service delivery play an essential role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leaving no one behind.
“The 2030 Agenda is as transformative as it is ambitious. Governments have the lead role in its implementation. Realizing the SDGs requires a well-functioning and innovative government. It also requires highly qualified, well-equipped and committed civil servants,” said Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, during a recent briefing to Member States.
Putting a spotlight on public service excellence across the globe, the United Nations Public Service Forum, a global knowledge sharing platform on public service innovations, will take place on 22-23 June in The Hague, Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Accelerating public service innovation for Agenda 2030
As countries implement the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Forum will provide a platform for decision-makers to share strategies, innovative approaches and lessons learned on how to rally public institutions and public servants to realize the SDGs.
Over 500 participants from around the world are expected to attend, including high-level personalities, ministers, senior government officials, and representatives from civil society, academia, the private sector, and international and regional organizations.
“We should encourage civil servants to be innovative. Many of the fundamental challenges the Agenda addresses, such as hunger, poverty and inequality, have been around a long time. They are not new problems, but they require new solutions,” said Mr. Wu Hongbo during last year’s UN Public Service Day celebration, “the innovative efforts and creativity of public institutions and civil servants has never been more important.”
The Forum will place a focus on public service innovations in key SDGs areas such as health and energy and share lessons learned on how to promote leadership and capacities for innovative government; strengthen transparent, accountable and participatory institutions; overcome challenges through technology and enhance policy coherence and integration as well as promote transparency, and accountability for sustainable development.
An international innovation market showcasing good practices from around the world will be held during the Forum. Government officials, experts, as well as private sector and civil society representatives will have the opportunity to learn from each other, network and identify future trends and actions.
Honoring Public Service Awards winners
The ceremony on the UN Public Service Awards (UNPSA), which honors innovation and excellence in public service, will take place on 23 June. Winners of the 2017 UNPSA will be presented at the Awards Ceremony.
The 2017 UNPSA will be given in three categories: 1) Reaching the poorest and most vulnerable through inclusive services and participation; 2) promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in public service; and 3) innovation and excellence in delivery health services.
The Forum is organized by the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands and UN DESA’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM).
For more information:
2017 UN Public Service Forum: The Future is Now – Accelerating Public Service Innovation for Agenda 2030
Making eradication of poverty an integral objective of all policies: what will it take?
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes poverty as the “greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.” To eradicate it, coordinated efforts must be undertaken to build on the achievements realized so far and to prevent current and future challenges from jeopardizing further progress.
There are still over 800 million people living on less than $1.90 a day, the international poverty line, and 10% of the world’s workers and their families are poor, a sign that access to a job is not enough to escape poverty. At the same time, inequality has been rising and can hinder progress in the fight against poverty.
Social policy alone cannot eradicate poverty, and neither can policies focusing only on the income aspect of poverty. As other policies have direct or indirect impacts on poverty results, poverty eradication objectives must be included in the design of public policy in a cross-cutting manner. Therefore, countries will need to adopt integrated policy frameworks involving a wider range of stakeholders, embracing innovative approaches and partnerships. This will also reinforce inclusiveness and transparency while fostering greater efficiency in policymaking.
As in the case at the national level, achieving policy coherence at all levels in development cooperation is also of vital importance, in order to catalyze other sources of financing and propel developing countries to unleash their enormous sustainable development potential. This entails meeting ODA commitments, as well as the mobilization of domestic and international resources, public and private, and technical cooperation support. It further requires increased coherence of the international monetary, financial and trade systems.
The 2017 ECOSOC Integration Segment will take place from 8 – 10 May 2017 at UN Headquarters in New York. It provides a platform for dialogue and exchange of views by Member States, the UN system, ECOSOC subsidiary bodies, and other relevant stakeholders – such as NGOs, academia and the private sector – on best practices and lessons learned in efforts to address poverty. Policy recommendations will be extracted to guide integrated policymaking for the eradication of poverty in all its dimensions as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda.
The proceedings and recommendations of the Segment will be available for consideration by Member States in the High-level Political Forum meeting under the auspices of ECOSOC, and the ECOSOC High-level Segment, to take place in July 2017. Its recommendations may be reflected in the Ministerial Declaration as the main outcome document at the culmination of the ECOSOC cycle.
For more information: ECOSOC Integration Segment
Advancing SDGs progress with science, technology and innovations
The Second Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals, which is part of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, will take place in New York from 15 to 16 May 2017. This year’s forum will explore the same set of SDGs as the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), but with a focus on science, technology and innovation.
These goals are: SDG 1 on poverty eradication; SDG 2 on food security and sustainable agriculture; SDG 3 on health; SDG 5 on gender equality; SDG 9 on sustainable infrastructure, industrialization and innovation; and SDG 14 on oceans.
This Forum will therefore stimulate discussions and exchanges around specific scientific insights, technology issues and innovations that are most crucial for progress in these SDG areas. In addition, cross-cutting issues and emerging developments that impact a range of SDGs will also be featured. In keeping with its multi-stakeholder format, participation will include policy makers, innovators, scientists, civil society participants and others.
“The Technology Facilitation Mechanism is unprecedented in several ways,” said UN DESA’s Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo. “It is a global and multi-stakeholder mechanism; It serves both developed and developing countries alike; It allows pragmatic, in-depth discussions of technology issues; It aims to improve coherence of STI support and capacity building across the UN system and beyond.”
The STI Forum will also facilitate interaction, matchmaking and the establishment of networks between relevant stakeholders. In addition, there will be special events such as an exhibition for innovative technology solutions for the SDGs, a call for posters featuring the work of national scientific research laboratories, as well as an event on impact investing for scaling up STI.
A summary of the discussions at the Forum will serve as input to the meetings of the HLPF in the context of the follow-up and review of the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
For more information:
Second annual Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals
Global solutions to global challenges: ECOSOC Partnership Forum
Recognizing the key role of fostering fruitful and successful partnerships in the success of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Economic and Social Council is hosting its annual Partnership Forum on 5 April this year. Sustainable development for current and future generations has become the center of everything we do at the United Nations, and thus the ECOSOC Partnership Forum will explore ways to promote partnerships for global solutions to the global challenges as we move towards a sustainable future.
This year, the forum will focus on sustainable infrastructure development as a means for achieving these goals. Infrastructure development plays a catalytic role in fostering economic growth and employment, reducing poverty and inequality and facilitating development in all countries.
Over the years, the Partnership Forum has provided a platform for stakeholders from both civil society and the private sector to address cooperation for promoting opportunities, increased prosperity and sustainable development for all. It has grown to be a indispensable mechanism for overcoming the many challenges and bottlenecks to sustainable development for all.
As the international community continues to implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – the collective effort of international organizations, Member States, and the civil society – effective partnerships remain a key component for their achievement. A holistic approach to the massive task of creating a sustainable future for all of us is therefore critical, keeping global solutions to global challenges within reach.
ECOSOC’s 2017 Partnership Forum will take place at UNHQ in New York on Wednesday, 5 April 2017.
For more information: 2017 ECOSOC Partnership Forum
Indigenous peoples from all over the world gather for Permanent Forum
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will meet for its 16th session from 24 April to 5 May 2017. More than 1,000 indigenous participants are expected to attend the Session, making it not only one of the most culturally diverse United Nations meetings, but also one of the largest public gatherings at UN Headquarters every year. A special focus this year will be the celebration of the “10th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” The Declaration, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 September 2007, was a historical achievement after more than 25 years of negotiations.
The Declaration sets the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of indigenous peoples. It embodies a global consensus on individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, including the rights to self-determination, traditional lands, education, culture, health, and to pursue a distinct vision of economic and social development.
The anniversary will be marked by a high-level event of the General Assembly, taking place on 25 April from 10 am to 1 pm. The anniversary will be an opportunity to assess the achievements and remaining challenges in implementing the Declaration.
While the Declaration has helped improve the lives and prospects of indigenous peoples across the world, indigenous peoples continue to face extreme marginalization and exclusion in many societies. Where data is available, it shows shorter life expectancy, higher infant and maternal mortality rates, and lower educational attainment among indigenous peoples than the general population.
Other topics on the agenda of the 16th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues include the six mandated areas of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues: health, education, human rights, economic and social development, environment and culture.
Furthermore, the Permanent Forum will have dedicated sessions about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and how to ensure that indigenous peoples are not left behind in development of national implementation plans, as well as in national voluntary reviews and follow-up. There will also be deliberations on the follow-up to the Permanent Forum’s recommendations, in particular related to indigenous women and youth – and a discussion about the critical situation of indigenous human rights defenders.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is an expert body of the Economic and Social Council with the mandate to provide expert advice to the Council and raise awareness on indigenous issues.
Twelve new experts joined the Permanent Forum on 1 January 2017: Mr. Les Malezer (Australia), Mr. Jens Dahl (Denmark), Ms. Lourdes Tibán Guala (Ecuador), Ms. Anne Nuorgam (Finland), Mr. Seyed Moshen Emadi (Iran), Mr. Jesus Guadalupe Fuentes Blanco (México), Mr. Phoolman Chaudhary (Nepal), Ms. Tarcila Rivera Zea (Peru), Mr. Dimitri Zaitcev (Russian Federation), Mr. Elifuraha Laltaika (United Republic of Tanzania), Ms. Terri Henry (United States of America) and Mr. Brian Keane (United States of America). Mr. Gervais Nzoa (Cameroon), Ms. Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine (Mali) and Ms. Aisa Mukabenova (Russian Federation) are continuing in a second term. One expert member seat is yet to be filled.
For more information:
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
International Day highlights forests’ role in sustainable energy
Until the advent of fossil fuels, for thousands of years, wood was the primary source of energy for human populations. Today, over 2 billion people worldwide, in rural and urban areas, still rely on wood for their primary energy needs. Wood constitutes the primary source of energy for cooking and heating in many developing countries, where nearly 90 per cent of fuelwood and charcoal is consumed.
Regions with the greatest incidence of poverty, most notably Sub-Saharan Africa and low income households in Asia, are also the most dependent on fuel wood. At the same time, the use of unsustainably harvested fuelwood, which often occurs in these areas, continues to be a challenge which has negative economic and environmental impacts.
Developing countries are not the only ones dependent on forests for energy. Bio energy from forest biomass (in various forms, including pellets, sticks and sawdust) accounts for about half of Europe’s renewable-energy consumption. Countries across Europe are converting their power plants from using only coal to a mix of coal and wood products to meet renewable “carbon neutral” energy goals.
Technological advancements in the production of biomass energy, along with growing concerns over rising greenhouse gas emissions, make it increasingly likely that biomass energy from forest products will continue to serve as an important source of renewable energy in all countries in the future.
In recognition of these important inter-linkages between forests and energy, the central theme of the 2017 International Day of Forests is “Forests and Energy.” The need for sustainable management of forests and sustainable energy resources has also been recognized in SDGs 7 and SDG 15 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The International Day of Forests, observed on 21 March every year, provides a global platform to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and trees. The United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat of UN DESA will organize a special event in celebration of the International Day of Forests on 21 March at UN Headquarters in New York, which will highlight how forests and energy are essential for the well-being of local communities and in green infrastructure for economic development. The event to be held in the ECOSOC Chamber, from 10 am to 1 pm, will also feature remarks by senior UN and government officials, a technical panel discussion as well as a general discussion by UN Member States and UN entities.
The International Day of Forests was established by the UN General Assembly in 2012. Activities held range from scientific conferences and workshops, to art exhibits, tree-planting and community-level events. The theme of the International Day reflects the multi-faceted aspects of forests, highlighting the many ways forests contribute to our daily lives and global sustainability.
For more information: International Day of Forests
Photo credit: UN Photo/Olivier Chassot
Youth show commitment towards SDGs at ECOSOC Youth Forum
Acknowledging that youth play a key role to the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations hosted several hundred young leaders at the annual ECOSOC Youth Forum in New York on 30-31 January, to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. For the first time since its inception, the forum also featured a designated SDG Media Zone, a platform for direct interactive discussions between youth activists and development veterans on how to work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
“It gives me confidence to see such a diverse group of young people coming together to share our common goals,” Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, President of ECOSOC said as he officially opened the forum. “As young people, you bring something essential to the table: new perspectives. And it is through new ideas and policies that we will make progress.”
“Just by being here, you show you care about the issues,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video address. “Poverty. Unemployment. Climate change. Inequality. Injustice. You, your friends and young people around the world are living these realities.”
At the SDG media zone, the discussion centered around a myriad of issues ranging from peace and humanitarian action to sustainable agriculture, health and employment. Trisha Shetty, co-founder of SheSays, an organization aiming to end gender-based discrimination in India remarked that the strength of the SDGs lay in their universality, interdependency and the premise of leaving no one behind. “The issues of hunger, poverty, gender discrimination, are not restricted to specific regions and are not restricted to specific continents,” she said.
The Youth Forum saw the highest number of participants since its creation, with a record number of ministers, government officials, youth delegates and youth representatives from all over the world joining in on the discussions. It underscored the commitment of the international community to learn from young people, and let youth leaders play an active role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
It also gave youth activist a platform to indicate for themselves how they see their participation towards a more sustainable world. Kanchan Amatya, founder of the Sustainable Fish Farming Initiative, underscored for example why young people are very much needed to revive the vital but aging agricultural ventures around the world. “If young people are not involved in agriculture now, in 20 years time we will face a very big food insecurity,” she said.
However, despite the clear necessity for young people to be included in development negotiations, there is still a long way to go until young people fully claim their seat at the table.
“I think a lot of the time in conferences, and especially at the UN, we are always like “youth youth youth, you can do it, you are the leaders of today”,” Nicole Perez, of the US Youth Observatory for the UN said. “But I just want to acknowledge: it is not easy.”
Young leaders are more engaged in development issues than ever before, especially through the use of digital platforms and media. United through social media, they have created some of the most powerful movements for change the world has seen in recent decades.
In his closing address, ECOSOC President Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava encouraged the young leaders to stay committed to the success of the SDGs as they venture back out into the world: “I would like to call on our young women and men to continue to engage with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he said. “Wherever you go, advocate for the SDGs, support their implementation and hold your Governments accountable.”
For more information:
UN Youth Forum 2017
Preparing for major event to save our ocean
The Ocean Conference will be held at UN Headquarters in New York on 5-9 June 2017, seeking to spur action to ensure the continued health of the world’s oceans. The conference will comprise of plenary meetings, partnership dialogues and a special event commemorating World Oceans Day. To prepare for this major event, the President of the General Assembly will be organizing a two-day preparatory meeting on 15-16 February in New York.
The preparatory meeting will consider the elements of the “Call for Action” – an intergovernmentally agreed declaration to support the implementation of SDG 14 that will be one of the outcomes of the Conference – as well as the themes for the partnership dialogues.
The meeting will be chaired by the two co-facilitators in charge of overseeing the preparatory process, H.E. Mr. Alvaro Mendonya Moura, Permanent Representative of Portugal to the UN, and H.E. Mr. Burhan Gafoor, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the UN.
Based on the deliberations at the preparatory meeting and other inputs, the co-facilitators will present a concise draft “Call for Action” no later than in March 2017. The intergovernmental consultations on the text will be concluded by May 2017.
Oceans critical to sustainable development
“The Conference will be a great opportunity for Member States and stakeholders to assess challenges, identify opportunities and actions, as well as to strengthen partnerships to advance the implementation of SDG 14,” said Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo at a recent briefing on the Conference.
Mr. Wu, who is also the Conference Secretary-General, also highlighted the significance of Oceans: “Oceans, seas and coastal areas form an integrated and essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem. They are critical to sustainable development. Oceans contribute to poverty eradication by providing opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and employment. Oceans are crucial for global food security and human health. They are also the primary regulator of the global climate.”
He also noted that despite their importance, oceans, seas and marine resources are increasingly threatened, degraded or destroyed by human activities, reducing their ability to provide crucial ecosystem services.
Stakeholder engagement
The Ocean Conference and its preparatory meeting will be open to a broad range of stakeholders including non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organizations and other actors. Pre-registration to the Preparatory Meeting is now open.
The conference is co-hosted by the Governments of Fiji and Sweden to support the implementation of SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
For more information: The Ocean Conference
Realizing the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants
At the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants on 19 September 2016, the General Assembly committed to strengthening international cooperation on migration for the benefit of refugees and migrants, as well as for countries and communities of origin, transit and destination. By adopting the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, the Assembly also set in motion a process to improve the global governance of international migration.
By the end of January 2017, Member States are expected to have reached agreement on the modalities for the intergovernmental negotiations of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, to be adopted at an intergovernmental conference on international migration in 2018. The draft modalities resolution lays out a comprehensive roadmap to guide the development of the global compact.
The Fifteenth Coordination Meeting on International Migration will review the follow-up required to implement the New York Declaration and will contribute to the substantive preparations for the process of intergovernmental negotiations to elaborate the global compact on migration. Organized by UN DESA’s Population Division, the annual interagency meeting will be held at UN Headquarters in New York on 16 and 17 February.
The objective of the meeting is to contribute to the implementation of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, focusing on the preparation of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. This year’s meeting will contribute to the development of the Secretary-General’s work plan for Member States, in part by reviewing processes, mechanisms and initiatives relevant to the preparation of the global compact. The coordination meeting will also take stock of the progress made in implementing the migration-related commitments of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Fifteenth Coordination Meeting will include high-level panels as well as interactive sessions at the working level. Sessions will focus on topics such as (a) the implementation of the NY Declaration, (b) regional and human rights-related dimensions of the global migration compact, (c) the nature and scope of the compact, and (d) recent, pertinent research findings on migration.
The role of the Global Migration Group in implementing the migration-related commitments of the 2030 Agenda will be the topic of another session, in which participants will present information about their latest projects and activities related to international migration and sustainable development.
Bringing together major entities of the United Nations system, other international organizations, civil society, the private sector and academia, as well as Member States, the Coordination Meeting has been the largest annual gathering of migration experts at the United Nations for the past several years.
For more information:
Fifteenth Coordination Meeting on International Migration
UN World Data Forum to boost innovation and partnerships for better data in support of the 2030 Agenda
On 15-18 January 2017, the first-ever United Nations World Data Forum will bring more than 1,000 participants from national statistical offices, international organizations, national governments, civil society organizations, the business community, as well as research and academia to Cape Town, South Africa.
The Forum will be a unique opportunity for the data and statistics communities to collaborate, launch new initiatives, and develop innovative solutions to deliver better data for sustainable development.
A large number of partners are collaborating to organize over 100 sessions, ranging from interactive data labs and learning spaces to panel discussions and keynote presentations on topics like: the modernization of institutions, governance and business processes for production of data and statistics; the empowerment of citizens to support their own development through data; new technologies and approaches to work with big data, citizen-generated data and geospatial information; the role of open data principles to support follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda; and much more.
“I am confident that the first UN World Data Forum will generate fruitful collaboration across the statistics and data communities, and cutting edge practical solutions to current challenges,” said Mr. Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, who heads the Secretariat for the Forum.
“I also hope it will boost political and financial support and partnerships for improving statistics and data capacity in many countries, to harness the power of data for the public good and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.”
All participants will have a platform to contribute their ideas and participate in discussions and parallel events on how to:
- Mobilize resources and build new partnerships to strengthen financial, human, and institutional capacities for the transformation and modernization of national statistical systems;
- Develop innovative approaches to produce data and statistics through the integration of traditional and new data sources, such as the incorporation of administrative records, geospatial information, big data, and citizen-generated data into mainstream policy analysis;
- Harness the power of the data revolution to ensure that progress is monitored by accurately counting everybody everywhere, but especially the poorest and most vulnerable groups, on the basis of sufficiently disaggregated data;
- Facilitate a deeper understanding of the world for everyone, through high-quality data and statistics, from government policy-makers and to individual citizens in their everyday life, in order to achieve sustainable development results at all levels;
- Discuss principles and governance mechanisms to ensure the quality of the data being collected to monitor the many aspects of sustainable development, and to empower public participation and transparency in the overall process, with full consideration of privacy rights;
- Agree on the way forward to meet the data needs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the participation of all stakeholder groups through inclusive global, regional and national partnerships.
The first UN World Data Forum will be hosted by Statistics South Africa, with support from the Statistics Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Forum is organized under the guidance of the UN Statistical Commission and the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination, and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in close consultation with UN Member States and international partners.
A group of leading data experts — representing national statistical systems, the private sector, civil society, the UN system, and the scientific and academic communities — are collaborating to shape the Forum’s substantive programme.
For more information:
UN World Data Forum
Unlocking the potential of young people
Around the world today, many young people find themselves to be among those being left behind either because they are working for a low wage, or underemployed or unemployed. So how can the potential for a new generation of young people be unlocked? This is where the Youth Forum of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) comes in.
The sixth-annual ECOSOC Youth Forum, being held from 30 to 31 January 2017, will allow representatives of youth-led and youth-focused organizations and networks to initiate a dialogue with Member States. The sessions will feature SDG Youth Advocates, YouTubers and social media influencers and participants. It will also include Ministers, UN Youth Advocates, and representatives from the Permanent Missions to the UN, youth delegates and many more.
The ultimate goal of the event is to explore ways and means of promoting youth development and engagement in a globalized society, facing many challenges.
One of these is youth unemployment. As more jobs continue to be lost to automation, and as wages remain stagnant or decrease, the international community is also witnessing a trend towards more widespread nationalism and isolation. The Forum therefore takes place at a critical time in history, as the world is struggling to respond to the negative effects of globalization.
“You meet at a critical time for your future,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message for the 2016 Youth Assembly. “Our objectives are ambitious but simple: a life of dignity, security and opportunity for all. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are a tapestry of priorities for collective action for people, planet, prosperity, partnership and peace.”
The Forum will also reflect the diversity of youth organizations. This includes balanced representation of youth from developed and developing countries, as well as ensuring representation from the rural, indigenous and the disabled community.
“To harness the power of young people, however, we must recognize the role of young people and their organizations, and encourage them to take action across all areas crucial for the implementation of the Agenda, including in politics, business, academia and civil society,” said ECOSOC President, Ambassador Frederick Shava, at the 9th International Young Leaders Assembly. “Our institutions must reflect the diversity of our constituencies”.
The meeting will be webcast and participants will be encouraged to share questions via social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #Youth2030.
For more information:
2017 ECOSOC Youth Forum
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