The following countries from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia have volunteered for the 2019 Voluntary National Reviews during the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development: Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Turkmenistan.

The 2019 Edition of the Handbook for the Preparation of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is now available. This is a handbook for country preparation and presentation of voluntary national reviews (VNRs). It should be read in conjunction with the Secretary General’s proposal for voluntary common reporting guidelines for voluntary national reviews at the High-level Political Forum (HLPF). This handbook supplements the Secretary-General’s guidelines in that it provides basic, practical information on the steps that countries may take when preparing voluntary national reviews.

The meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development in 2019 convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, will be held from Tuesday, 9 July, to Thursday, 18 July 2019; including the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from Tuesday, 16 July, to Thursday, 18 July 2019. The theme will be ” Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”. The set of goals to be reviewed in depth is the following:

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all;

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries;

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts;

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels;

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM 2018

Record number of country leaders, private sector and civil society actors reviewed progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

More than 125 Heads and Deputy Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Vice-Ministers and other Ministerial level officials, and over two thousand representatives from governments, UN system and other organizations, civil society, NGOs and the private sector participated in the annual 2018 High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on 9-18 July to take stock of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They discussed progress, successes, challenges and lessons learned on the road to a fairer, more peaceful and prosperous world and a healthy planet by 2030.

This year’s forum, under the theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies,” concluded with the adoption of a Ministerial Declaration. Forty-six countries presented their Voluntary National Reviews on their efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The Forum also reviewed in depth six out of the 17 SDGs: Water and sanitation for all (SDG 6); sustainable and modern energy for all (SDG 7); cities and human settlements (SDG 11); sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG 12); sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss (SDG 15); and global partnership for sustainable development (SDG 17).

More information:  https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org