We are delighted to share with you our HLPF Report for 2024.
Role of the HLPF
The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) is the main United Nations platform on Sustainable Development and has a central role in the follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the global level.
HLPF was established and mandated in 2012, and the first meeting was in September 2013. It replaced the Commission on Sustainable Development which had met each year since 1993.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development encourages Member States “to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels, which are country-led and country-driven”. These national reviews are expected to act as a basis for regular reviews by the HLPF. These reviews by the HLPF are voluntary and state-led and provide a platform for partnerships.
2024 HLPF
Each year the HLPF meets under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and every four years under the auspices of the UN General Assembly. This year is the 12th Session and the HLPF will meet from 8 to 18 July at the UN Headquarters in New York. The theme will be “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: The effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions”.
The HLPF will conduct in-depth reviews of the following SDGs:
- SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
- SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
- SDG 13: Combat climate change and its impacts
- SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Soroptimist International Federations support SDGs
Soroptimist International has just published its 2024 HLPF report.
Our report showcases several examples of how around the globe Soroptimists work tirelessly to improve the lives of women and girls and contribute towards the attainment of the SDGs. In this report Soroptimist International showcases projects and initiatives which directly deliver against the SDGs under review this year at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum.
In supporting SDG 1 to end poverty, we highlight how Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland’s (SIGBI) Goat Distribution for Income Generation project in Nepal, run by SI Kathmandu, is helping marginalised women to become goat farmers to build a self-sustaining revenue. Soroptimist International of the Americas’ (SIA) Live Your Dream Award utilises the power of education to help lift women and girls out of poverty. Our HLPF Report features Camille, who was an award recipient from SI Waikiki, Hawaii in 2022 and she states how the award has helped her.
To support delivery of SDG 2 to end hunger, we outline how Soroptimist International of South East Asia Pacific (SISEAP) through SI Malaysia (the Sustainable Food Security for Rural Communities project) is training unemployed, single mothers in Malaysia in agriculture and business to help them achieve food security.
Soroptimist International of Europe (SIE) has provided school meal support to girls in Burkina Faso to ensure they can attend and remain in school. This was able to take place thanks to the fundraising and awareness raising efforts of SI Vejle in Denmark. SIGBI, through SI Bingley, has worked with a community in England to support vulnerable families in accessing affordable food through the Bingley Community Kitchen.
SI Limete Club in the Soroptimist International Africa Federation (SIAF) worked in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in partnership with l’Association de Développement pour la Promotion de la Femme et de l’Enfant to deliver training in the production and sale of agricultural products. Many of the women taking part in this programme are vulnerable single mothers and this training and the agricultural equipment they are supplied with enables them to grow and harvest crops for sale. These women, their families and communities are able to enjoy locally grown produce and achieve food security.
To help achieve SDG 13, combating climate change, our Federations have focused on environmental projects that empower women in protecting the environment. The SI Darkhan Club in Mongolia (SISEAP) has worked with the Government of Mongolia to initiate a beekeeping project to regenerate land that has suffered from desertification. Women have been at the forefront of the initiative and have also planted trees in the area.
SIE has raised considerable funds to support the CommuniTree project in Nicaragua to remove carbon from the atmosphere and aid local people including farmers in growing 5,096,559 new trees. The project is an initiative established by the SI Meerbusch Club in Germany with a local bank and company to raise awareness of climate mitigation and environmental protection.
The SI Nairobi Central Club in SIAF launched a tree planting campaign called Green Kibera for Food Security. Kibera is the largest deprived area in Nairobi and thanks to this campaign, hundreds of households now have sustainable access to seasonable vegetables.
Immediate Past President Maureen Maguire’s initiative, Opening Doors to a Bright Future, delivered projects across several countries including Malawi, where a transformative project is underway to address several SDGs, including SDG 16, peace, justice, and strong institutions. In Malawi, the project – which is funded by the Region of SI Taiwan – seeks to prevent child and early marriage. Two Soroptimist Clubs in SIA, SI Chicago and SI Illiana, are also working towards ending child marriage in Cameroon by creating educational opportunities for girls in two remote villages.
At the heart of many projects and initiatives is our collaboration with other organisations which is fundamental in helping Soroptimist International realise the delivery of SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals. The local knowledge and resources that partners on the ground can contribute are instrumental in enabling the successful outcomes of Soroptimist projects.
Our collaboration with the Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) has helped to provide women and girls with access to an adequate supply of high-quality water, a basic need and human right. Together, Soroptimist International and WfWP also collaborate at the international level to deliver statements and educational events focusing on the need for safe drinking water and sanitation for all women and girls.
Since 2022, Soroptimist International has partnered with Every Woman Treaty, a global coalition of more than 3,800 women’s rights advocates and organisations in 147 countries. The coalition is currently advocating for a Treaty to end violence against women and girls in the form of a new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Soroptimist International Recommendations
Throughout our report we offer our recommendations to UN Member States on SDGs 1, 2, 13, 16 and 17, including but not limited to:
- Providing effective and sustainable solutions, policies and strategies
- Empowering all women and girls to be leaders and agents of change
- Developing and implementing legislation to ensure gender equality
- Adopting legal and institutional frameworks to ensure all persons’ human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled
- Committing to environmental issues including the transition to renewable energies
- Prioritising women and girls’ participation in decision-making and leadership
- Ensuring the fulfillment of CEDAW, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and all subsequent Resolutions
- Considering the use of conditions, incentives and accountability tools to strengthen the protection of all women and girls in conflicted-affected countries
- Cooperating with civil society and humanitarian agencies to ensure gender-sensitive humanitarian relief during and after conflict
Please read the full version of our HLPF Report in pdf format or as a flickbook to learn more about Soroptimist International’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and how SI and its five Federations are working directly to educate, empower, and enable women and girls in all their diversity around the world. Soroptimist International wants to thank lead author Hana Smith, SI Global Policy Advisor, all contributing authors, and the editing team for their excellent work in producing this report.