Statement by Nicole Cardinal, Save the Children International
First Informal Consultation with Stakeholders on the Follow-up and Review of the 2030 Agenda
‘Inclusivity at the HLPF’
1 April 2016
Introduction
1. Thank-you for the opportunity to speak today on ensuring inclusivity at the High Level Political Forum (HLPF).
Leave no one behind
2. ‘Leave no one behind’ has become the rallying cry of the 2030 Agenda. It should also be a guiding principle in designing accountability processes at all levels, including at the HLPF.
3. Leaving no one behind in accountability processes means addressing the financial, linguistic, logistical, technological or age barriers that prevent the participation of specific groups. It means engaging all people, including children and excluded groups, in regular and continuous interactive dialogue to assess progress.
Leaving no one behind at the HLPF
4. At the global level, the HLPF should ‘leave no one behind’ in its focus, its inputs, its meetings and its outcomes.
5. To ‘leave no one behind’ in its focus, the HLPF should review national and global thematic progress, explicitly focusing on the progress of those furthest behind in line with para. 74(e) of the 2030 Agenda.
6. To ‘leave no one behind’ in its inputs, the HLPF should take into account written and/or oral inputs for all national and thematic reviews from a wide range of processes – including international human rights mechanisms – and all stakeholders, including civil society.
7. We envision a system where all stakeholders have the opportunity to provide information in advance of reviews on progress, challenges, new and emerging issues, and recommendations to further implementation. Where applicable, stakeholders should also outline the actions they have taken to support implementation. This would encourage reporting by relevant stakeholders in line with para. 74(d) of the 2030 Agenda.
8. To ‘leave no one behind’ in its meetings, the HLPF should ensure that all reviews and meetings are open and inclusive with multi-stakeholder participation and interactive dialogue between Member States and various stakeholders including civil society and children. Multi-stakeholder participation will be critical to attract high-level participants to the HLPF and to support a dynamic platform for partnerships. Civil society organizations with or without ECOSOC status should be permitted to participate in reviews, with a trust fund established to support travel to the UN and/or to facilitate participation remotely.
9. To ‘leave no one behind’ in its outcomes, the HLPF should produce a summary document following all reviews that synthesizes recommendations provided by stakeholders in advance of the HLPF and recommendations arising from reviews at the HLPF, as well as a summary of the review itself. All inputs to and outcomes from discussions at the HLPF should be made available in an online portal in a timely, open and user-friendly manner.
Conclusion
10. In conclusion, if the HLPF is to be a success, the process leading up to and discussions at the HLPF must provide for inclusive multi-stakeholder participation and ultimately produce concrete recommendations that all stakeholders – Ministers and grassroots organizations alike – are compelled to take action on to further the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
