The 2022 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) was held under the theme “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.
UCLG, on behalf of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF), is coordinating the participation of a diverse delegation in the HLPF, and the presentation of reports on the role of the local and regional governments’ constituency in localizing the 2030 Agenda.
Three new reports were launched on the occasion of the Local and Regional Governments’ Day, offering updates on local and regional governments’ role in achieving the SDGs, promoting gender equality and contributing to a just and sustainable recovery. Moreover, 11 new Voluntary Subnational Reviews (VSRs) have been elaborated by local government associations and the total number of available Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) has surpassed 150.
Firstly, the sixth edition of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments’ Towards the Localization of the SDGs shows how local and regional governments (LRGs) are taking vital actions to promote transformative recovery processes for sustainable local development. MEWA Region’s first VLRs, developed by the Turkish cities of Sultanbeyli (Istanbul), İzmir, and Karatay (Konya) with the support of UCLG-MEWA find place in this report. Also, VLR drafting of Fatih Municipality, Avcılar Municipality and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality along with Amman and Agadir’s VLR efforts in cooperation with UCLG-MEWA, UN Habitat and UN ESCWA are mentioned in the report.
Secondly, SDG 5 localization across the globe is comprehensively explored in From Making Commitments to Realizing Change: Local and Regional Governments’ Progress on Gender Equality.
Finally, the Country Profiles on SDG localization highlight the involvement and, in many cases, the leading role of LRGs towards SDG localization, after presenting a present a brief country-by-country analysis of the national strategies, coordination mechanisms and reporting processes related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
All these reports share the ultimate goals of the GTF with respect to the HLPF: to raise awareness of the critical actions undertaken by LRGs to achieve the SDGs and to foster transformative action; to shed light on the challenges LRGs face in this endeavor in order to improve collaboration with national governments, among other efforts; and to underscore the opportunities that arise from a collective movement working hand-in-hand to accelerate action towards achieving the 2030 Agenda, and, amongst others, SDG 5 on gender equality.