During the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, 44 countries, both developed and developing countries, are presenting their Voluntary National Reviews or plans to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the 3-day ministerial meeting from 17-19 July. Among them, 16 countries\u2014 Belgium, Benin, Peru, Guatemala, Italy, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Czech Republic, Jordan, Thailand, Belarus, Portugal, Uruguay, Nigeria, Panama, Sweden \u2014will be presenting their reviews on 18 July.<\/p>\n
The 44 countries are: Afghanistan, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Monaco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Slovenia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
Governments, businesses and civil society are taking bold actions to demonstrate their strong commitment to achieving the Goals and ensuring no one is left behind.<\/p>\n
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Argentina<\/b><\/p>\n
In Argentina, beyond the national government\u2019s efforts to promote and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), civil society organizations (CSOs) have also taken on the responsibility to make the SDGs a reality. One such innovative project is being executed by Argentine Network for International Cooperation (RACI)<\/a>, and is designed to improve coordination between the CSOs and the public and private sectors using information and communication technologies (ICTs) as effective tools to make their contributions to the SDGs visible on a massive scale.<\/p>\n Benin<\/b><\/p>\n In Benin, since September 2015, the Government has been undertaking several advocacy and engagement activities to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Goal 6 on water. In line with its Programme of Actions 2016- 2021, the Government is currently operating the National Rural Drinking Water Supply Programme<\/a>, which is among the most urgently needed programmes introduced in 2016.<\/p>\n Czech Republic<\/b><\/p>\n In the Czech Republic, i<\/span>n an effort to improve the quality of life, the Strategic Framework of the Czech Republic 2030<\/a>, which integrates the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into national priorities, aims to focus on essential values that matter to people, rather than economic factors.<\/p>\n The UN Global Compact aims to mobilize a global movement of sustainable companies and stakeholders to create the world we want. Following the official launch of Global Compact Local Network Czechia in 2015, the Network hosted the Global Compact Summit in Prague<\/a> in May 2016 with the theme \u201cGlobal Compact 2030: Looking into the future of Corporate Sustainability\u201d. The Summit focused on showcasing best practices of sustainable business and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Czech Republic, forging partnerships and collaborations among stakeholders. More than 200 representatives from the private and public sectors, UN delegates and governments, discussed how businesses can support gender equality, how they can lead social innovation, and why the Paris Agreement matters to Czechia.<\/p>\n The Czech SDGs Awards<\/a> raise awareness about the SDGs and why they matter to the world and the country. This awareness raising campaign took place mainly online in 2017. The campaign was led by 25 Czech celebrities and had 13 million impressions, more than 52,000 official webpage visits and over 100,000 video views.<\/p>\n Jordan<\/b><\/p>\n The \u201cSupport to Media in Jordan<\/a>\u201d project, a three year project (2014-2017) funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in close collaboration with the Ministry of State for Media Affairs and the media community in Jordan, aims to drive efforts to further increase the freedom, independence and professionalism of media in Jordan.<\/p>\n UNESCO and Petra National Trust, a not-for-profit NGO that advocates for the environment, antiquities and Petra, the region\u2019s cultural heritage, have focused much of their efforts on children and young people from the six main villages surrounding Petra so they can become strong ambassadors for the preservation of the Petra site<\/a>.<\/p>\n Peru<\/b><\/p>\n Peru has prepared its \u201cPreimage of Peru in 2030<\/a>\u201d to begin the dialogue for a concerted vision that will guide the design of the National Strategic Development Plan to 2030 based on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To monitor and follow-up on its implementation process, the country has created the System for Monitoring the Indicators of the SDGs: \u201cObjectives to transform our country.\u201d It considers developing sectoral statistical data and technical reports in compliance with the SDGs at all state levels. Peru\u2019s public policies now include a specific strategy to tackle poverty, especially in suburban areas and a specific programme to address anemia in its national goals on nutrition.<\/p>\n Thailand <\/b><\/p>\n Thailand demonstrated its commitment to preventing unintended pregnancy and halving adolescent childbearing by enacting the Prevention and Solution of the Adolescent Pregnancy Problem Act A.D. 2016<\/a> (in effect since July 2016). The Act guarantees five sexual and reproductive health rights for young people: the right to make a decision by oneself; the right to information and knowledge; the right to reproductive health service; the right to confidentiality and privacy; and the right to social welfare provision, that are equal and non-discriminative.<\/p>\n In 2014, Thailand was cited among the worst countries for human trafficking by the US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report. The country remained at the lowest ranking for another year while the Thai seafood industry was hit hard by reports of forced labour on its fishing boats. Everybody including Thai government officials, employers, trade unions, as well as retailers around the world swung into action, through a project led by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and funded by the European Union called \u201cShip to Shore Rights<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The programme and summaries of each country\u2019s actions and plans are available online at: https:\/\/sustainabledevelopment.un.org\/hlpf\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n