Countries VNRs still show major weaknesses in identifying gaps on SDGs implementation, lack of full engagement of all sections of society and failure in addressing the human rights dimension in particular.
Key priorities of trade unions have been voiced in the civil society forum statement:
- A call upon governments worldwide – in relation to Covid-19 - to put in place urgent economic stimulus plans and workplace measures to protect the health and the income of workers and communities through coordinated multilateral responses.
- A call for sustainable development with SDG 8 and decent work at its core; for moving beyond the ongoing GDP rationale; and for ratifying and applying ILO Convention 190 against violence and harassment in the work place.
- A call for enacting proactive policies linked to the Decent Work Agenda to implement a Just Transition towards “sustainable economies and societies in which workers and their communities are not left behind”.
- A call on democratisation of global economic governance, to ensure that private finance for development is aligned with the SDGs, with the development effectiveness principles and human rights frameworks.
The Forum was also the opportunity for the UNECE Statistical Division to launch its first annual SDG progress report, entitled ’Towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the UNECE region’. The report calls for investing in data for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda and provides useful insights from the labour perspective, for instance, by highlighting that the average share of labour income in GDP has decreased in UNECE countries over recent years.
