SI UN Representative, Frances Zainoeddin, tackles the problem of inaction head on. Here, she explains why civil society coalitions are so disappointed with the weak language of the HLPF Ministerial Declaration.

“The Women’s Major Group (WMG) celebrated its 30th anniversary this year – established at the RIO Conference 1992 to address sustainable development issues and to promote gender equality.  It is still fighting to promote and protect the rights of all women and girls everywhere!   SI is a member of the WMG, which in turn is a member of the Major Groups and Other Stakeholders Coordination Mechanism (MGO-CM) – currently with 21 members.  The MGOS-CM plays an important role in facilitating participation of civil society at the preparatory events leading up to the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) which is tasked, each year, to review implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and to provide political leadership, guidance, and recommendations.

The MGOS-CM has expressed profound disappointment with the outcome of the 2022 High Level Political Forum, which met from 5-15 July, culminating in the Ministerial Declaration.  There were intense negotiations and in spite of the Covid-19 crisis, the famine crisis, the fuel crisis, the poverty crisis, the debt crisis, the climate crisis, to name a few, it was not able to address the fact that the sustainable development goals will not be met by 2030 unless drastic and aspirational measures are taken.

In spite of the increased violations of human rights and with more and more people being left behind, the HLPF was unable to come up with bold, ambitious and transformative actions to address the current state of affairs.  Most of the text contained words such as “recognise”, “recall”, “note”, “reaffirm”, “commit”, “acknowledge”. In other words, nothing new in terms of what is urgently required now, in 2022, to tackle the structural challenges.  Basically, band-aid solutions for a situation that requires major surgery! The 2022 Ministerial Declaration was adopted on 15 July.  The final document number will be issued as E/HLS/2022/1.  Currently, it’s accessible here.

There was pushback on women’s rights language that was agreed upon by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). It was declared to be “not an agreed source of language”, despite the CSW being a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the HLPF was meeting under the auspices of the ECOSOC.  The logic defies comprehension.  The WMG’s position paper for the 2022 HLPF can be found here.

The MGOS-CM’s official session at the HLPF was held on 12 July, on the topic “Vision of civil society: systemic reforms to leave no one behind”.  The emphasis by the Major Groups and Other Stakeholders (MGOS) speakers (one representing the WMG) stressed: there can be no sustainable development without peace and vice versa; COVID-19 has exposed the many existing inequalities; the systemic barriers that leave many behind; the need for democratisation of the global economic and financial architecture; urgent attention to a multilateral approach that responds to people and the planet.  It was heartening to hear many Member States articulate their support for civil society organisations and the important work that they do to reach out to those left behind.

The MGOS side event: “Accelerating the 2030 Agenda: addressing systemic barriers, recovery gaps and strengthening peoples’ participation” was held on 13 July 2022, and again the focus was on the urgent need to focus on structural barriers, inequalities and inequities, and systemic reforms, including climate and financial injustice. There was a strong call to Member States to take decisive action to not slide back further.

So much has been said about the lack of political will.  For me, it is a lack of common human decency, morality, compassion and respect for humankind.”