Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises

HLPF 2024

In 2024, countries and populations across the globe are grappling with multiple and interlinked crises, pushing us even farther from realizing the Agenda 2030. Our rights, our bodies and our planet are in peril, and the most structurally marginalised are bearing the brunt as these crises exacerbate pre-existing inequalities.

From the armed conflict in Sudan to the killing and displacement of the Palestinian people to the plunder of Congo affecting the land and its people and the Taliban’s oppression of Afghan women and girls in all their diversities– it’s a litany of events.

The world hurts and it hurts everywhere- Warsan Shire

And the biggest wounds are carried by women and children  in the majority world.

The High Level Political Forum (HLPF) 2024 set the stage this year for a much-needed discourse on the state of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)- with only five years to go to the 2030 deadline. This year’s HLPF focused on: SDG 1 on No Poverty, SDG 2 on Zero Hunger, SDG 13 on Climate Action, SDG 16 on Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, and SDG 17 on Partnerships for the Goals. There were also Voluntary National Reviews Reports presented by various countries including Kenya and Nepal together with a high-level ministerial segment that resulted in the adoption of the ministerial declaration. The key outcome of HLPF, it outlines UN member states’ specific commitments to key policy areas aimed at accelerating SDG implementation.

Aside from a pulse check on the status of realizing the SDGs, the general rhythm of the forum featured in-depth considerations and deliberations from various stakeholders. It reflected on effective and inclusive recovery measures to address the long-lasting impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and multiple shocks that further impacted the SDGs’ implementation. 

The Secretary General’s dismal Report on the progress of SDGs  

The Secretary General kicked off his report with a sobering note on where the world stands on SDG implementation. It revealed that only 17 per cent of SDGs targets were on track to be achieved. Nearly half showed minimal or moderate progress, and progress on over a third had stalled or even regressed- and that signs of a determined, sustained global comeback post Covid 19 were yet to emerge. Grim! 

As we look forward to Beijing +30 and the focus on SDG 5 on gender equality at HLPF 2025 – it is pertinent to note that we are 176 years away from realising gender parity in women’s participation in public life and managerial roles. Let that sink in.  

Many women still lack control over their sexual and reproductive health, and violence against women persists. Urgent action is needed to challenge biased social norms, eliminate harmful practices, and change discriminatory laws. Increasing women’s leadership roles and investments in gender equality are crucial at national, regional, and global levels. 

How ‘feminist’ is HLPF? 

Unlike spaces such as Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) where the presence of feminists and feminist concepts is nothing short of the norm – the HLPF felt quite government centred and focused . This catered to states’ delegations in structure, presentation and even feedback mechanisms. Away from the main sessions, there was a clarion call to create space for civil society and key insights from this cohort. Further, for any movement holder who does not interact with the complexities of mainstream development language and practise – this would have been an unbearable space to attempt to influence or even engage with. 

Echoing the sentiments of a fellow feminist as we organised on the margins of HLPF – this is a highly complex and bureaucratic space with very little room for progressive and substantive civil society to advocate and influence in. More inclusivity in participation and attendance is key towards accelerating our implementation of the SDGs. 

What’s next? 

The Summit of the future continues to be a highly attractive choice for the next vehicle for global development and sustainability post the SDGs. It has facilitated pragmatic discourse and insights on the state of the world- bringing in key insights from UN spaces such as the CSW, discourse from the United Nations General Assembly, Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) amongst others. It is deemed as a conducive space to assess global aspirations around development and more so a space for an honest evaluation of the socio-economic and political mishaps of the world including those within existing UN mechanisms. 

For all things gender, we need to deeply interrogate what role feminist foreign policies could play in stopping the regression of gender markers, targets, indicators in the SDGs and across socio-economic and political spheres. It could very well be the catalyst we need for significant progress towards realising gender equality and reducing the gender parity gap of 176 years.  

All things said, we cannot abandon UN mechanisms and spaces altogether. We must however continue to advocate for positive change and inclusion. We must hold space and show up in the way it demands of us as feminists from an equity lens. If this means disruption or dissent or dialogue – we must jointly and collaboratively define the approach and move forward together. As in every movement, there are various roles for us to play and we must stand in solidarity with each other as feminists in these roles. This is the only way we ensure we move forward together and indeed leave no one behind. 

To end I highlight this apt commentary by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom for reflection. 

Participation is a radical demand for genuine agency over decisions impacting our bodies and lives. But women’s participation and quantitative representation alone are not the end goal of our movement; they are part of a broader goal of structural transformation that requires reshaping institutions to be democratic, responsive and equal, abolishing institutions that perpetuate oppression and marginalization