The session was led by Paola Simonetti, ITUC’s Deputy Director of the Department of Economic and Social Policies and Co-Chair of the HLPF Coordination Mechanism of Major Groups and other Stakeholders.

In her opening remarks, Simonetti highlighted the crucial role of trade unions and civil society for the successful implementation, follow-up and review of the Agenda 2030.

In addition, she called for an ambitious reform of the current monitoring mechanisms of the Agenda2030 such as the High Level Political Forum, to ensure a meaningful and action-oriented assessment of progress and gaps, including civil society’s views from the national to the regional and global level.

Thanks to the contributions of several civil society’s constituencies, the session represented a key opportunity to make concrete proposals on how to improve the HLPF. The discussions included proposals on how to best integrate the contribution of other thematic processes (such as the financing for development process), the interplay between the global and the regional processes, and the strengthening of monitoring mechanisms at the national level.

In their reactions to the inputs provided, many governments valued the substantial contribution of civil society to SDGs’ implementation and review. They also said civil society’s participation should be further strengthened.

Yvonne O’Callaghan from ICTU Ireland took the floor on behalf of the ITUC. During her intervention, she pointed out that participation of trade unions and civil society in SDGs at the national level “must go beyond a ticking the box exercise”. Moreover, she clarified that the commitment to multi-stakeholders’ partnerships for SDGs cannot become a way of letting the private sector drive development policies.

 
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