Blog of Vanesa Treers, SI UN Representative at UNHQ, New York

The 2023 Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Partnership Forum took place recently on 31 January 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) in New York. At the start of each year, the Partnership Forum serves as an opportunity for ECOSOC and other UN entities, as well as influential leaders from governments, private and non-profit sectors, and civil society, to collaborate and exchange new ideas and priorities for the work of ECOSOC and the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in the year ahead.

This year, Soroptimist International’s (SI) Representative at the UN in New York, Vanesa Treers, delivered a statement on behalf of SI and the Women’s Major Group, as part of the advocacy work undertaken at UNHQ during the Opening Session of the 2023 Partnership Forum.

To watch the intervention, click here; to read the statement delivered, please see below.

“Vanesa Treers, WMG, Honourable delegates, Madam President of the ECOSOC, and stakeholders present today: 

The Women’s Major Group highlight partnership with civil society as the central part of our work to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and we have partnered with 1800 women’s organization worldwide.   Recently, civil society groups have raised concerns about the genuine possibility that the SDGs will not be achieved until 2065 and that gender equality and women’s rights won’t be achieved for another 298 years.

Without partnership and real collaboration with civil society and women’s organizations, more than half of the world population will be left behind. Our critical reflections and recommendations are; implementing multilateral cooperation, transparency and accountability, and effective adherence to human rights principles, including the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Power imbalances in partnerships should be addressed, and partnerships built should prioritize and serve the people and the planet.

Thank you”

Importantly, Vanesa’s statement stresses the need for meaningful partnerships as a means of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by their 2030 target deadline; specifically, the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs is heavily dependent on the capacity for different sectors and actors to work together in a sustainable and integrated manner, whilst also fostering transparency and accountability within their work.

The SDGs themselves were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 as a shared framework for realising a sustainable and prosperous future for the planet and its peoples. The 17 goals address a range of global issues, including, poverty, hunger, gender equality, and more, whilst also serving as an urgent call for action to end poverty in all its forms.

Considering the progress achieved as part of the Agenda for Sustainable Development thus far, particularly in light of Vanesa’s statement, it is more vital than ever to maintain and build new partnerships if we are to accelerate the work of countries and the UN toward a future free from poverty. This will no doubt mean involving and engaging stakeholders from all levels in the planning and delivery of development projects and programmes, lest a substantial portion of the global population will be left behind by the time we reach the year 2023.

More information from the 2023 ECOSOC Partnership Forum can be found online, here.