The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is the central UN platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and takes place in July every year. This year the event will take place between July 10th and 19th at the United Nations’ Headquarters in New York, under the theme “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”.

The forum is the opportunity to debate in length different aspects of the Sustainable Development Agenda, as well as to oversee the follow-up of its implementation regarding the 17 SDGs and the advances per countries. For such, each year a set of SDGs is up for in-depth review, at the same time that different countries are set to present reports regarding the status of implementation of the Agenda in their territories.

In 2023, 40 countries will present voluntary national reviews (VNRs). They are: Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Comoros, Chile, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, European Union, Fiji, France, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mongolia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, St Kitts & Nevis , Syrian Arab Republic , Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, United Republic of Tanzania , Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia.

HIC at the 2023 HLPF

HIC will be taking part in this year’s HLPF to give continuity to the work carried-out during the 2nd UN-Habitat Assembly which took place in Nairobi in June. At the center of the strategy for both occasions is to give visibility to the core commitments and principles reflected at the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and that point the way to advancing towards human settlements that are fair, diverse, sustainable and provide the adequate conditions to all to live a dignified life. These commitments, and the NUA as a whole are being increasingly invisibilized vis-à-vis other conception for territorial development, as well as the targets and objectives of the 2030 Agenda, which are more general than the ones included at the NUA.

Under such a context, and given the revision of Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities, which gives particular focus on territorial and habitat related topics, HIC is taking the opportunity of the 2023 HLPF to call for a channeling of the SDGs implementation strategy though a full realization of the New Urban Agenda, in particular through these core principles:

You can click here to read the summary and full statement presented by HIC and allies at the 2nd UN Habitat Assembly.

Beyond the continuity of this messaging, the HIC delegation will seek to give support and continuity to the civil society’s contributions to a series of Voluntary National Reviews which counted with contributions of HIC members and staff from HIC-Housing and Land Rights Network and HIC-Africa office. These include the VNRs of Bahrain, Comoros, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tanzania and Zambia.

Beyond these strategic areas, HIC’s advocacy work is guided by a set of guiding principles, committed to the defence of habitat-related human rights and to building a present and future based on social and environmental justice. These principles are outlined in the Habitat Voices Manifesto:

Moreover HIC will also be engaging in a series of activities that include:

Follow us on social media for more updates on our participation at the 2023 HLPF.