General Assembly
General Assembly UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Background

The 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a global plan of action to drive economic prosperity and social well-being while protecting the environment. Countries established the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) -- to boost efforts to achieve the goals.

The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) meets every year in July under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, bringing high-level representatives of governments and stakeholders together to review progress, examine obstacles, exchange best practices, and recommend new actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Countries agreed that every four years, the HLPF will meet under the auspices of the General Assembly at the level of Heads of State and Government. (General Assembly resolutions 67/290 and 70/299)

On 24 and 25 September 2019, the first SDG Summit – the HLPF under the auspices of the General Assembly was convened in New York since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda in 2015. It resulted in the adoption of the Political Declaration, “Gearing up for a decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”. World leaders called for a decade of action to deliver the SDGs by 2030 and announced acceleration actions they are taking to advance the agenda. The General Assembly endorsed the Political Declaration on 15 October 2019.

The SDG Summit in September 2023 will be the second time for the HLPF to be convened under the auspices of the General Assembly at the level of Heads of State and Government. It will be chaired by the President of the General Assembly. The outcome of the Summit will be a negotiated political declaration.

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