Youth

The first day of the 2020 High-level Political Forum began online, focused on how to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while combatting COVID-19. It was business un-usual at the 2020 meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which opened on Tuesday. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the HLPF is taking place virtually. While locally-based Permanent Representatives were at the UN Headquarters in New York, most other participants joined from different parts of the world. The HLPF is mandated to review progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and assess progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda). The agenda for the 2020 session, however, was altered to focus on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the SDGs. In the opening session, Mona Juul, Permanent Representative of Norway and President, UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), said this is a crucial HLPF meeting that can be a springboard towards “building back better” from COVID-19 and moving the world towards implementing the SDGs. Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, presented the UN Secretary-General’s report on progress towards the SDGs. While progress was already uneven before the pandemic, he noted, COVID-19 has had considerable adverse impacts that disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable. He called for increased multilateralism and international cooperation, a comprehensive multilateral response cumulatively amounting to at least 10% of GDP globally, and additional financial resources for developing countries. In the morning, a panel discussion on keeping the focus on the SDGs while combating COVID-19 focused on: SDGs, regional dimensions, and countries at different levels of development including middle-income countries; and 2020 targets, data, and institutions for integrated policy making. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa and Coordinator of Regional Commissions, said the pandemic demonstrated that existing GDP-based country classifications are not applicable in every situation, as middle-income countries and small island states reliant on sectors like tourism and oil production were severely affected, irrespective of their income levels. In the afternoon, a two-part session was held, on building back better after COVID-19 and what can have the greatest impact on the SDGs. The first part focused on protecting and advancing human well-being and ending poverty, while the second part focused on ending hunger and achieving food security. The day ended with stakeholder perspectives on transformative pathways to realize the 2030 Agenda, through a whole-of-society approach, taking into account the impact of COVID-19. Haaziq Kazi, a Grade 8 student from Indus International School, India, on behalf of the Children and Youth Major Group, noted that the greatest barrier to progress is not the lack of solutions, but our love of models that have proven insufficient in the face of current realities.

Paul Mavima, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Zimbabwe, with ECA staff and Zimbabwe delegates at the close of ARFSD 2020 On the final day of the sixth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD 2020), delegates distilled key messages from discussions over the week, culminating with the adoption of the Victoria Falls Declaration on the UN Decade of Action and Delivery for Sustainable Development in Africa, as well as an outcome document containing a summary of the deliberations, and key messages emanating from the Regional Forum. The ARFSD 2020 outcomes will be submitted to the UN High-Level Political Forum in July 2020, as part of the session on reports of regional forums for sustainable development. Among other messages, the Victoria Falls Declaration calls on African Member States to: Urgently revisit frameworks for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063, align their national development plans with the principles of the two agendas. It also calls on African stakeholders to set in motion programmes and projects to deliver on the 10 commitments for action outlined in the political declaration of the SDGs Summit, which convened under the auspices of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, US, from 24-25 September 2019. Develop and implement people-centered and inclusive national strategies to support the UN Decade of Action and Delivery for Sustainable Development, strengthen mechanisms for the mobilization of resources at the national level, and make efficient use of funding for the two agendas; and Implement the key messages of the Regional Forum. The Declaration also calls upon the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and other partners to scale up their support of member States’ capacity development for the implementation of the two agendas, and establish and implement a regional strategy to support the UN Decade of Action through targeted interventions and capacity development in transformational areas, including: climate action; youth education, entrepreneurship and innovation; women’s empowerment; food systems; data and statistics; trade; evidence-based voluntary national and local reviews and integrated planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting tools; science, technology and innovation; and stakeholder engagement. The plenary decided that the Republic of Congo will host the next session in 2021. During the closing plenary, Paul Mavima, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Zimbabwe, thanked African member states for the opportunity to host the meeting, emphasizing that the Forum provided a firm launching pad for a decade of action for accelerating implementation of the SDGs. He noted that the Victoria Falls Declaration and its ambitious work plan should find traction in sustainable development processes and expressed commitment to working to realize the commitments made at the Forum. Calling on Africa to “rise and shine”, he closed the meeting at 6:35pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from ARFSD 2020. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report from the session in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Paul Mavima, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Zimbabwe; and Oliver Chinganya, ECA Delegates from Benin Edlam Abera Yemeru, ECA Allan Mukungu, ECA Linus Mofor, ECA Evelyn Ndlovu, Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President, Zimbabwe Sellami Mokhtar, Algeria Blessed Mathe, Youth representative and student from Mosi-Oa-Tunya High School, Zimbabwe Jean-Paul Adam, ECA L-R: Hubert Gijzen, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, (UNESCO); Amon Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Zimbabwe; and Ellen Gwaradzimba, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Manicaland, Zimbabwe Jimmi Ocitti , ECA Stephen Chacha, Africa Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism L-R: Oliver Chinganya, Charles Akol, and Jimmy Ocitti, ECA L-R: Joseph Mpunga, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); and Sidi Ahmedou, Arab Maghreb Union L-R: Rosette Nyirinkindi Katungye, African Union Commission, and Munyaradzi Chenje, UN Development Coordination Office L-R: Armand Akoula and Vivien Parfait Moutou, Congo, presented their government's intention to host AFRSD 2021 Maliki Slimane, Morocco, receives a gift presented to heads of delegation by Paul Mavima, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Zimbabwe Jacqueline Amongin, Member of Parliament, Uganda Farah Bouqartacha, Rapporteur, Morocco Oliver Chinganya, ECA, on behalf of Vera Songwe, Under Secretary-General, and Executive Secretary, ECA Paul Mavima, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Zimbabwe, officially closed the meeting at 6:35 pm. Family photo of ARFSD 2020 Bureau and ECA staff  

L-R: Veronica Mwanza, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust; Vera Songwe, Under Secretary-General, and Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); Gertrude Gatsi, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust; and Oliver Chinganya, ECA   On the third day of the sixth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD 2020), participants “knuckled down” to critically assess Africa’s performance across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the morning, two plenary sessions addressed two of the “5P” clusters, People (SDGs 1-5), and Partnerships (SDG 17). In the afternoon, three parallel sessions convened to address the remaining three Ps: Prosperity (SDGs 10-11); Planet (SDGs 6, 12, 13 and 15); and Peace (SDG 16). Building on background studies for each sub-theme, the discussions sought to go beyond enumerating problems to interrogate the reasons for Africa’s mixed performance across the SDGs. Drawing on practical lessons learned, the panels paid particular attention to interlinkages among SDGs in each cluster and explored innovative approaches to scale up implementation in the Decade for Action. Discussions on the five “people-centered” SDGs underscored the need to address the underlying causes for the slow pace of change. Panelists stressed the need to move beyond “tallying numbers” to analyze why some groups are consistently being left behind. Representatives of people living with disabilities, and older persons, made a strong case for inclusive approaches that take into account the needs of all citizens. In the discussions on partnerships, some of the key issues raised included the importance of basing projects on empirical, and context-specific, data, and building African capacity to not only mobilize diverse funding sources, but also effectively make us of, and account for SDG funds. Under the prosperity theme, speakers highlighted good practices in promoting decent work and social protection, underscoring the importance of good governance, as well as infrastructure, education and capacity building for increasing productivity. Many welcomed the launch of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as a catalyst for industrial transformation. Discussions on the planet theme focused on climate-related crises, noting they are not only impeding implementation of the SDGs, but also rolling back gains already made across many development indicators. Stressing the urgency of the issue, ECA Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe, cited estimates that some countries are spending the equivalent of 2-3% of their GDP on unplanned response weather and climate impacts, and reported on efforts to craft a common regional position for the 2020 UN Climate Conference. On peace, discussions focused on transformative actions for peace, justice and strong institutions, with many noting that governance is a key enabler for all SDGs. In the context of the African Union “Silencing the Guns” initiative, participants stressed the importance of robust mechanisms to manage conflict, protect the most vulnerable, and promote human rights and the rule of law.   A full programme of side events also took place on the margins of the Forum, covering, among other topics: how to institutionalize youth-led accountability for people, prosperity and planet; nature-based solutions for accelerated actions and transformative pathways to the SDGs; partnering with faith groups to achieve sustainable development in Africa; enhancing data-driven actions for accountability; and strengthening national evaluation capacities for the Africa We Want. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from ARFSD 2020. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report from the session in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Plenary Roundtable on Sub-Theme of the Regional Forum: People L-R: Paul Mavima, Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Zimbabwe; and Anne Therese Ndong-Jatta, Regional Director for Eastern Africa, UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) L-R: Julitta Onabanjo, UN Population Fund (UNFPA); Humphrey Karamagi, World Health Organization (WHO); and Parfait Elendou-Enyegue, Cornell University L-R: Margaret Agama-Anyetei, African Union Commission (AUC); Abebe Haile-Gabriel, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO); Amon Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Zimbabwe; and Fatou Kinteh, Minister for Women's Affairs, Children, and Social Welfare, The Gambia Fatou Kinteh, Minister for Women's Affairs, Children, and Social Welfare, The Gambia Gertrude Gatsi, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust Amon Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Zimbabwe Joshua Teke Malinga, Special Adviser on Disability Issues, Office of the President, Zimbabwe Family photo of the plenary round-table panel on the sub-theme of people Plenary Roundtable on Sub-Theme of the Regional Forum: Partnerships L-R: Juliet Wasswa-Mugambwa, Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSSA); Alexander Trepelkov, Officer-in-Charge, Division for Sustainable Goals, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA); and Moulay Abdeljebbar Salim, High Commission for Planning, Morocco L-R: Jacqueline Amongin, Member of Parliament, Uganda; Laura Marie-Therese Ahtime; Chief Executive Officer, National Bureau of Statistics, Seychelles; Lucy Edeh Okpanachi, Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, Nigeria; Fatou Kinteh, Minister for Women, Children, and Social Welfare, The Gambia; and Amon Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Zimbabwe Jacqueline Amongin, Member of Parliament, Uganda Family photo of the plenary round-table panel on the sub-theme of partnerships Parallel Sessions on Sub-Themes of the Regional Forum: Prosperity Dais of the parallel session on the sub-theme on prosperity Judith Kaulem, Executive Director, Poverty Reduction Forum Trust, Zimbabwe Freda Prempeh, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ghana Parallel Sessions on Sub-Themes of the Regional Forum: Planet L-R: Samba Harouna Thiam, UN Environment Programme (UNEP); Jean-Paul Adam, ECA; and Gabriel Ajedra Aridu, State Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Uganda L-R: Domingos Neto, Secretary of State for University Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Angola; Washington Zhakata, Zimbabwe; and Elizabeth Gulugulu, Youth Climate Advocate, Climate Action Parallel Sessions on Sub-Themes of the Regional Forum: Peace Hagar Monsif, African Affairs and SDGs Unit, Egypt Gilles Fabrice Zoh Ondo, Ministry of Justice, Cameroon Youth participants reading information on the SDGs Local staff visiting the exhibition space of the UN Population Fund Delegates from Kenya at the SDG Village