Analysis of the 2020 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development was held virtually between 7 July - 16 July, 2020 under the leadership of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This meeting met under the theme of "Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”. WILPF followed the discussions on follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, where much of the focus was kept on the nexus of the COVID-19 pandemic response that can keep the global community on track for the achievement of the SDGs during this Decade of Action.
WILPF has advocated on the SDGs and feminist peace as a Global Organizing Partner of the Women’s Major Group for the past two years as part of its work on the SDGs and the prevention pillar of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. This year, because of the restrictions that the virtual format places on civil society access, it was more crucial than ever that the perspectives of women activists and civil society organizations were centered and brought to the forefront. To inform the discussions and analysis throughout the Forum, WILPF, along with many other collaborators in the Women’s Major Group, contributed feminist framings and recommendations through our 2020 HLPF position paper.
We have prepared an analysis of this year’s HLPF from the WILPF perspective, highlighting key issues and themes throughout the two weeks, discussing how armed conflict entered the discussions at the forum, and providing highlights from the Voluntary National Reviews of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Libya, Syria, and Ukraine.