Together 2030 civil society coalition endorses a UN Parliamentary Assembly

14. juni 2019

Position paper published ahead of the High Level Political Forum in July

Logo of Together 2030

According to Together 2030, an international coalition of more than 700 civil society organizations, over three years into the implementation of the United Nations' Agenda 2030, "stakeholder engagement remains limited" and "focused efforts to leave no one behind remain insufficient, in terms of policy design, implementation and review."

This is one of the conclusions of a position paper that the Together 2030 coalition published this week ahead of the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) that will be held in New York from July 9 to 18 under the theme of "Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality." The paper includes a set of recommendations on each of the six Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are under review this year.

The civil society initiative suggests that "in order to ensure that empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality is achieved in a way that also promotes development and protects the environment, it is important to regard the SDGs as global public goods for which costs as well as figures on interlinkages should be published."

On SDG 16 which calls for effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, among other things, one of five recommendations included in the paper concerns the involvement of parliamentarians in the HLPF and the UN more generally.

According to Together 2030, "National Governments and their Parliaments should be requested to endorse the call for a proposed UN Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) so that citizens of the world can have a direct and legitimate voice at the UN."

The Secretary-General of the international campaign for a UNPA, Andreas Bummel, welcomed the recommendation, adding that a UNPA may also provide new and innovative means of involving civil society organizations and other stakeholders in the UN’s work.

"Through its hearings, studies, debates, committees and other oversight functions, a UNPA would leverage its convening capacity to broaden engagement of various stakeholders. It would bring greater awareness, scrutiny and attention to efforts to fulfill the SDGs," a campaign statement said.

Top image: Session of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development on 17 July 2018 in New York, UN Photo 769646/Rick Bajornas

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