Inspiring Faith, Hope, and Transformative Action to Accelerate Progress Towards the SDGs

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Background:

The 2023 SDG Summit of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), under the auspices of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), will serve as a critical platform to review and follow up on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  As the world grapples with multiple and interlocking crises, such as climate change, conflicts, poverty, inequality, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes imperative to respond with transformative and accelerated actions to achieve the SDGs by the target year 2030.

Eight years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SGDs, most of the world’s low-income countries (LICs) have been struggling to achieve even a single goal, including the two key targets: the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2030.  The Sustainable Development Report (SDR), released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) on June 21, 2023, has singled that there is a risk that the gap in SDG outcomes between the LICs and the world’s high-income countries (HICs) will be larger in 2030 than when the goals were universally agreed upon in 2015.  Half way to 2030, the SDGs are seriously off track, with the poor and highly vulnerable countries suffering the most.

In the face of this scenario, there is a need to instill faith and hope and embrace moral and spiritual imperatives to advance the SDGs with a sense of purpose and resilience.  Recognizing the power of interreligious cooperation, the Trilateral Partnership of Regional Faith-based Networks for the SDGs, from Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, has emerged as a catalyst for the faith engagement with the 2030 Agenda.  In line with this goal, the Trilateral Partnership is preparing for a high-level meeting to be held during the 2023 SDG Summit.  The High-Level Metting aims to leverage the expertise, experiences, and collective strength of these regional networks to inspire faith and hope, promote moral and spiritual imperatives, and provide high-level political advocacy for transformative action.

The 2023 SDG Summit paves the way for the highly anticipated Summit of the Future, scheduled for 2024, which holds the potential to breathe new life into the multilateral system so that it can deliver on the promises of the United Nations Charter and the 2030 Agenda.  The Summit of the Future will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance cooperation on critical challenges and address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments including to the SDGs and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives.

Read the Concept Note

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