On 24 October 2017, an Informal Feedback Meeting on the 2017 High Level Political Forum was held at the Palais des Nations, in Geneva. The event, organised by SDG-Lab, was attended by around 100 people, including staff from the missions, ambassadors, civil society and UN agencies.
Opening statements were given by Mr. Michael Møller, Director General of the United Nations Office in Geneva and Ms. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, through a video message.
Following up on the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) that took place in New York in July 2017, the aim of the discussion was to share informal points of view regarding policy-coherence, financing options, data and the use of science and technology in order not to leave anyone behind. This meeting was held in Geneva to create synergies and have shared objectives between the work undertaken in New York and the work undertaken by Geneva-based stakeholders.
Silvia Quan, Senior Human Rights Advisor, of the Treaty Bodies Unit of the International Disability Alliance, made a short intervention on behalf of IDA. IDA coordinates the Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities (SGoPWD). Through her presentation, Silvia praised the accessibility at the HLPF for persons with disabilities, which was incredibly positive compared to the 2016 HLPF. She, however, expressed concerns at the lack of meaningful stakeholder inclusion in the Voluntary National Review process. Time allocated has not been sufficient to engage in a meaningful dialogue between stakeholders and Member States. Furthermore, the coordination to gather inputs for the voluntary national reviews from the stakeholders was “confusing, badly coordinated and entirely inaccessible”. She recommended to urgently review the process and to put in place a proper mechanism established by UNDESA in collaboration with the Stakeholders.
SDG Lab invited the attendants to share their lessons learned, challenges and information via Email: DDG-LAB [at] un.org.
