The UN High‐Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development: An orchestrator, more or less?

Abstract

The UN High‐level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) is at the heart of the UN's follow‐up and review of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Analysing the first full cycle of the HLPF (2016–19), we ask what and how the HLPF delivers. In the early debates on its mandate, experts suggested that the HLPF could be an orchestrator, arguing that it would likely have to rely upon indirect and non‐hierarchical forms of governance. Others asked for more or expected less. For the analysis of the HLPF's (orchestration) qualities, we study the proceedings of the HLPF and specifically the HLPF's review of SDG 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions, one of the most contested goals and therefore an interesting hard case. Taken together, DESA as the secretariat of the HLPF does indeed use orchestration to make the most out of the forum's mandate, both through convening and shaping third actors' activities. Political conflicts and limited resources, however, negatively impact what they can do and what the HLPF can deliver. The results of the UN's recent negotiations on the review of the HLPF's ‘format and organizational aspects’ (2020–21) did not change that.

Success factors of global goal‐setting for sustainable development: Learning from the Millennium Development Goals

“…This brings us to some policy recommendations how to enhance the effectiveness of the SDGs and foster sustainable development worldwide. First, the periodic review mechanism taking place at the High‐Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development needs to be strengthened and further developed (Beisheim & Fritzsche, 2022). Second, learning among public and private actors for SDG implementation should be fostered at all levels and scales (Andonova et al, 2022; Türkeli et al, 2020) with large potential for cities and local governments to function as transmission belts between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and actions on the ground (Hickmann, 2021).…”

Scoping article: research frontiers on the governance of the Sustainable Development Goals

“…Power relations between states are also an emerging research topic. Research suggests that conflict lines from other arenas of international cooperation act as barriers to reforms of the HLPF (Beisheim, 2021) and that contested understandings of key terms in the 2030 Agenda are a barrier to implementation (Taggart, 2022). Nevertheless, early scholarly assessments of the 2030 Agenda have suggested that the SDGs mainly reflect a 'traditional' cooperation regime, aimed to maintain legitimacy of the United Nations system and multilateral institutions as enablers of Western interests and imperial power (Caria, 2022;Vogt, 2022).…”

“…Research has taken a critical stance on the orchestration efforts of the HLPF constrained by political conflicts and a lack of resources (e.g. Qerimi, 2022), and explored whether this institution stimulates inter-institutional and cross-level governance (Beisheim & Fritzsche, 2022). Additionally, the contribution and impact of other actors and governance arrangements, such as regional organizations (e.g.…”

Four governance reforms to strengthen the SDGs

“…For this purpose, the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which reviews progress on the existing goals and targets, must evolve into a mechanism that over time also adjusts these targets to the exigencies of multiple global crises. Governments should view this process as an opportunity for more effective peer learning, leveraging synergies, tackling trade-offs, and overall increasing ambition (6). During this regular adjustment process, the role of global scientific assessments in reviewing the adequacy of SDG targets needs to be strong.…”