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APRM American Board Rekynon
AI-Institutional African Union
HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
EEAC
European Union Agency The Africa The World
CONCEPT NOTE
Date: 18 July 2023 1:15-2.45 pm (HLPF side event)
Location: AU Mission to the United Nations
Language: English
Host: Permanent mission of Sierra Leone to the UN, in partnership with African Peer Review Mechanism and European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils Network (EEAC), the Global Forum for National SDG Advisory Bodies and the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE).
Format: 60-minute keynotes, panel discussion and Q&A with the audience. (in person only)
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Background
The purpose of Voluntary National Review (VNR) is to present a snapshot of where a country stands in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and being a report, embedded in national policy-processes for sustainable development. VNRs are an enabler to accelerate progress through experience sharing, peer-learning, identifying gaps and good practices, and mobilizing partnerships.
The presentation of the European Union's (EU) first Voluntary Review (VR) at the 2023 HLPF will take place on July 19. This will be the first official V(N)R of a non-member state of the UN and a continental actor, which is as an official report to the HLPF only possible against the background of the specific status of the EU in the UN system. Important elements of the EU VR will be a consideration of the internal and external dimensions of EU policies, emphasis on the "whole-of-government" approach, including a presentation of the EU's governance approach to SDG implementation, as well as a focus on transformative goals of the European Green Deal (EGD).
Moreover, the EU VR fuels the idea for an EU-wide and overarching SDG strategy in the EU as a smart combination of addressing delivery of sustainable development pathways as well as socially just climate neutrality until 2050 in an entire region.
In the same logic, other actors could also set a new standard for sustainability by delivering continental VRs on a voluntary basis. However, voluntary reviews are not an end, but rather a means to achieve sustainable development and hence can foster awareness, create momentum for member states and focus on policy coherence in regions.
In the same vein, the African Union adopted in 2013 an "Agenda 2063" as a continental blueprint for Africa's socio-economic and political integration. The African continent has a strong contribution to the SDGs and Agenda 2030 in general thanks to the submitted post 2015 Common Africa position which emphasizes the governance-peace- development nexus to address global challenges. To support this his process, the APRM established the the APRM Platform on VNRs and Agenda 2063 to support African countries' capacities in preparations for VNRs and sharing best practices on SDGs and Agenda 2063 domestication processes. Till date, the APRM workshops capacity 200 national experts from more than forty African countries.