Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
1.From November 2024 to October 2025, has the governing body of your organization taken any decisions, including in the context of the Pact for the Future implementation and/or the UN80 Initiative, that are related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals? If yes, please briefly mention these decisions and provide their respective symbols and links. (Max 200 words)
In 2025, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) operations continue to be guided by the UN Human Rights Management Plan 2024-2027. This document, complementing the vision statement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, defines OHCHR’s results-based programming framework and global targets. It notes the strong convergence of human rights and the 2030 Agenda, indicating OHCHR can assist in developing solutions grounded in human rights that contribute to advancing the SDGs. Since 2024, OHCHR has aligned the programming cycle of its country programmes to the programming cycles of the respective UNSDCFs, a measure that is expected to facilitate coordination and joint programming towards delivering on the SDGs.
Further, OHCHR is advancing - as mandated - the implementation of the Pact for the Future and the 2030 Agenda through, for instance:
Advancing ESCR and related SDGs: Under POTF Action 7B and in an effort to enhance support to Member States, in 2025, OHCHR launched a new UN Human Rights Knowledge Gateway which includes the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Knowledge Hub. The Hub is dedicated to technical assistance and capacity-building, it consolidates best practices and know-how in promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities, which is highly relevant to advancing implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs. Sport and human rights: Under POTF Action 11, OHCHR advanced efforts to protect and promote culture and sport as integral components of sustainable development. The High Commissioner’s report A world of sports free from racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance calls on States to address racial discrimination in sport through legislative, administrative, budgetary, and regulatory measures, as well as through targeted plans, policies, and programmes.
2.From November 2024 to October 2025, what actions have your entities taken to improve coordination among UN system entities across policy and normative activities as well as with ECOSOC subsidiary bodies with a view to increasing impact and accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda? Please provide any relevant links. (Max 200 words)
OHCHR actively participates in many UN interagency groups and processes. This includes co-leading the UN Interagency Network on Human Rights, LNOB and Sustainable Development, which embarked, in 2025, on a second review of the integration of human rights, LNOB and gender equality and women’s empowerment in the level of human rights integration in Cooperation Frameworks and Country Assessments (results forthcoming in 2026). The Office supports human rights mechanisms’ engagement with ECOSOC, including annual submissions of official inputs to the High-level Political Forum by OHCHR, UN Human Rights Council, and international human rights mechanisms, in recognition of human rights being an effective lever to help accelerate the 2030 Agenda implementation.
In 2025, OHCHR strengthened inter-agency collaboration on sport and human rights by partnering with UNESCO and UNODC to co-organize regional consultations for Europe and Latin America on a world of sports free from racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 54/25. OHCHR also joined UNESCO’s Network Fit for Life and its global efforts to combat racism and racial discrimination in and through sport. These efforts aim to enhance coordination across the UN system and advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
3. From November 2024 to October 2025, has your organization organized any intergovernmentally mandated conferences, forums or events that contributed to the achievement of the SDGs, or has been in the process of planning and organizing any such mandated events to be held next year?
In addition to the events highlighted below, OHCHR is mandated by the Human Rights Council to organize a significant number of events such as panel discussions, dialogues, forums (e.g. Forum on human rights, democracy and rule of law, Social Forum, Forum on business and human rights) and intersessional meetings every year, majority of which cover issues closely related to sustainable development. You can find information on all these events in the webpages dedicated to the regular sessions of the Human Rights Council and to the intersessional activities (which take place outside the Council’s regular sessions).
Event Name | Regional consultations on a world of sports free from racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance |
Event Dates | 13-14 March & 29-30 May 2025 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Brussels, Belgium & Mexico City, Mexico |
Relevant SDGs | SDG 5 and 10 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 54/25, these consultations brought together Member States, national human rights institutions, athletes, sports actors, and civil society organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities. It resulted in summary documents for Europe and for Latin America which set out key challenges and ways of tackling them (In line with SDGs 5 and 10, the consultation discussed the intersecting forms of discrimination, including gender inequality and racism, both of which are rooted in structural inequalities) |
Website (if applicable) |
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Event Name | Webinar: “Democracy and Institutions: Addressing organized crime through the lens of SDG 16.3 and the judiciary’s role” |
Event Dates | 18 November 2025 |
Event Location (City, Country) | On-line |
Relevant SDGs | 16 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | This joint initiative between the Costa Rican Judiciary and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Central America (ROCA) is part of Costa Rica's pro tempore presidency of the Central American and Caribbean Judicial Council (CJCC). Its objective is to promote and strengthen the role that justice systems can play in defending human rights and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. |
Website (if applicable) | NA |
Event Name | Enhanced interactive dialogue (EID) at the Human Rights Council on Lessons learned and good practices of transitional justice in the context of sustaining peace and sustainable development, notably SDG 16 |
Event Dates | 5 March 2025 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Geneva, Switzerland |
Relevant SDGs | 16 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | The interactive dialogue, which took place at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, focused on the results of the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the same name (A/HRC/58/36). The report illustrates powerful practices of transitional justice that are victim-centred, inclusive, gender-responsive and innovative and are instrumental in realizing the SDGs, in particular SDG 16.
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Website (if applicable) | The HC statement at the EID is available here: Transitional justice is about victims, dignity and healing | OHCHR The related webstory is available here: Transitional justice: Confronting the past, building the future | OHCHR
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Event Name | 7th Intersessional Meeting on human rights and the 2030 Agenda: Leaving no one behind: the role of human rights in reforming the sovereign debt architecture and going beyond GDP |
Event Dates | 11 February 2025 |
Event Location (City, Country) | Geneva, Switzerland |
Relevant SDGs | SDG 5, SDG 17 |
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s) | The meeting, mandated by the Human Rights Council resolution 52/14 called for the rooting of beyond GDP metrics in human rights, gender equality, environmental protection, and intergenerational justice. The meeting clearly identified the issue of sovereign debt as a human rights issue; recommended the inclusion of human rights indicators that for instance measure investment in quality healthcare, food, education, social protection in accordance with international human rights law; capture the positive contributions of care and support work; take into account the fact that some economic activities are harmful to the enjoyment of human rights, including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and reflect the economic and social costs of inequalities and discrimination. |
Website (if applicable) |
4. From November 2024 to October 2025, has your organization published or planned to publish any analytical work, guidance or reference materials, or toolkits to guide and support the implementation of SDGs at national, regional and global levels? Please select up to three to highlight, especially those that address interlinkages among the SDGs.
In addition to the publications and reports highlighted below, please note that UN Human Rights Mechanisms annually produce a large number of reports and studies relevant to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. These are published on the web pages dedicated to the mechanisms (UPR, Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures).
Resource Name | Human Rights Economy Podcast Series: “Economies That Work for All” |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | All SDGs |
Publishing entity/entities | OHCHR and UN System Staff College (UNSSC) |
Target audience | General public |
Description (max 150 words) | Can human rights foster economic growth that promotes equitable and sustainable societies? A Human Rights Economy does precisely that, by putting people and the planet at the center of all economic decisions, with the goal of leaving no one behind. This ‘Economies That Work for All’ podcast Series features prominent economists (Mariana Mazzucato, Jayati Ghosh, Kate Raworth, Grieve Chelwa, and Espy Campbell Barr) and the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk: discusses this concept of a Human Rights Economy and explore how economies and human rights can work hand in hand and unlock progress towards the 2030 Agenda.
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Language(s) | English |
Website or link (if applicable) |
Resource Name | Training toolkit “From VNR to CESCR” |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | All SDGs |
Publishing entity/entities | OHCHR |
Target audience | Member States |
Description (max 150 words) | States face increasing pressure to comply with their reporting obligations under UN Human Rights Treaties and other international and regional human rights mechanisms (incl UPR). Building on the synergies between human rights and SDGs, OHCHR established a partnership with the Commonwealth secretariat to deliver hands-on training on how States can use VNRs for the purpose of reporting under the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Regional workshops were organized for Caribbean countries in 2023 and Pacific and English-speaking countries in Africa in 2024. A workshop for commonwealth countries in Asia is planned for December 2025. The “From VNR to CESCR” methodology was developed in this context and kept on being improved. This methodology is now embedded in the “Training Toolkit for ICESCR State party reports” issued in 2025 and can be adapted to each national context. A positive practice is developing in Papua New Guinea, where the Government is embarking on a VNR process alongside its CESCR reporting thus ensuring that all collected data can feed into both processes in the same timeframe.
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Language(s) | English |
Website or link (if applicable) |
Resource Name | National Recommendations Tracking Database |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | All SDGs |
Publishing entity/entities | OHCHR |
Target audience | Member States |
Description (max 150 words) | Using the Universal Human Rights Index methodology, the National Recommendations Tracking Database (NRTD) is an online platform put at the disposal of States by OHCHR to track the implementation of recommendations received from UN human rights bodies. It automatically links each human rights recommendation to corresponding SDGs, themes, and concerned groups. In 2025, OHCHR has integrated an Artificial Intelligence assistant to some key features of the NRTD, ensuring that human rights recommendations are accurately indexed and easily accessible. Thanks to the automatic tagging of recommendations against SDG and SDG targets, States can use the NRTD to enter actions or activities undertaken to implement these recommendations while seeing how these also contribute to the 2030 Agenda. The methodology developed through the NRTD enables States to inform national laws, policies, development, and sectoral plans as well as SDG plans. |
Language(s) | Potentially available in any UN language. It can also be tailored and translated into the language of the country concerned (at their own cost) |
Website or link (if applicable) | NRTD - National Recommendations Tracking Database: NRTD is not publicly available. A dashboard tailored for the country concerned can be created for the state’s own use upon request. |
5. What collective efforts is your organization undertaking to support countries in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the areas of Goals 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 9 (Industry Innovation and Infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), which will go under in-depth review at the HLPF in 2026? Please note any achievements, challenges and gaps and provide any relevant links. (Max 200 words)
Initiative/Partnership Name | Online forum and self-paced online course on localizing the 2030 Agenda: advancing comprehensive public policies to achieve the SDGs |
Partners (please list all partners) | OHCHR partnered with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | all SDGs (with a focus on SDG 11 and SDG 16) |
Member States benefiting from it | Latin American and Caribbean Member States |
Description (max 150 words) | OHCHR and ECLAC co-moderated a two-month online forum, led by the Development Planning Network of Latin America and the Caribbean, aiming at mainstreaming Human Rights in VNRs / VLRs. The process culminated in a webinar attended by more than 150 persons, providing a key opportunity to share the reflections raised during the forum and to promote experience sharing as relates to integrating HRBA in the localization of the 2030 Agenda, and the role of youth in monitoring the SDGs and VLR preparation. Building on the online forum, OHCHR was invited to contribute to a self-paced course addressing the connection between human rights and SDGs at the national and subnational level. This free course is available in Spanish and English and is a valuable tool to advance integrated approaches to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and promotion and protection of human rights. |
Website |
Initiative/Partnership Name | Expert Roundtable on Beyond GDP and Human Rights: 'Embedding Human Rights in Metrics of Progress' |
Partners (please list all partners) | OHCHR, UNCTAD, UNRISD, the UNOG Beyond Lab, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty (initiative was also co-sponsored by the Global Initiative on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, GI-ESCR). |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 17, SDG 10 |
Member States benefiting from it | All MS (initiative is co-sponsored by Chile, Honduras, Mexico and Spain) |
Description (max 150 words) | Beyond GDP: Supported by Chile, Honduras, Mexico and Spain, and co-organized with partners, OHCHR convened an Expert Roundtable contributing to the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP titled 'Embedding Human Rights in Metrics of Progress'. Expert participants stressed that new measurement frameworks such as those on well-being, need to be based on internationally recognized human rights standards. A key takeaway was that the design of metrics beyond GDP is not just about improving measurements, but fundamentally about rethinking what the economy is for, with the participants calling for new measurement frameworks to include human rights indicators related to fiscal policy. More on the meeting here. This work is related also to operationalizing the concept of human rights economy and is envisaged as a contribution to the discussions on financing for development and the needed reforms of the international financing architecture.
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Initiative/Partnership Name | Expert Workshop “Exploring how Integrating Human Rights can support the aims of the UN Framework Convention on International Tax” |
Partners (please list all partners) | OHCHR, Convention on International Tax” with OHCHR, South Centre, ICRICT, and UNRISD |
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) | SDG 17 |
Member States benefiting from it | All MS (co-sponsored by Chile, Honduras, Tanzania, and the Maldives) |
Description (max 150 words) | Allowing key experts, Member States and other stakeholders to exchange technical expertise on the challenges and creative solutions for integrating human rights into the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation in a way that supports its objectives, OHCHR with partners organized an expert workshop ‘Exploring how Integrating Human Rights can support the aims of the UN Framework Convention on International Tax’. This partnership aims to strengthen understanding of Member States and other stakeholders on the critical interlinkages between tax and human rights, particularly related to the duty to mobilize the “maximum available resources” to fulfil economic, social, and cultural rights, including the right to development. It also aims to help develop a common understanding of the relevance of human rights to strengthen States’ efforts to mobilize revenue for sustainable development and the fulfilment of obligations under international human rights law. |
Website | N.A. |