In September 2023, heads of State will gather at the UN Headquarters in New York during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) which will be the second ‘HLPF’ or High-Level Political Forum of 2023, with the first taking place in July.
The 2023 UNGA takes place from 18 – 22 September and the SDG Summit will be on the 18th and 19th of September. The Summit will be the ‘centrepiece’ of UNGA, and will mark the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals with high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030.
Convened by the President of the General Assembly, the Summit will mark the half-way point to the deadline set for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. It will be the centerpiece of the High-level Week of the General Assembly. It will respond to the impact of multiple and interlocking crises facing the world and is expected to reignite a sense of hope, optimism, and enthusiasm for the 2030 Agenda.
At the Summit, world leaders will agree on a Political Declaration for the SDGs. Ireland ‘s Permanent Mission to the UN has been appointed co-facilitator for the negotiations on this declaration. The political declaration will be adopted by the High-Level Political Forum during the opening segment on 18 September. A resolution containing the political declaration will subsequently be adopted by the General Assembly in early October.
The Secretary-General has urged world leaders to help deliver a ‘Rescue Plan for People and Planet’ at the Summit, including by announcing national and global commitments that will help drive SDG transformation for inclusion and sustainability in the years ahead. As a follow-up to the call, the Deputy-Secretary-General has written to all Permanent Representatives of Member States and Permanent Observers of non-Member States to the United Nations to provide additional guidance to countries that intend to put forward such commitments this September. Countries are encouraged to announce their National and Global Commitments to SDG Transformation at the SDG Summit through the contributions of Heads of State and Government and to register these commitments on the SDG Summit Acceleration and Accountability Platform. Member States are encouraged to report on implementation of these commitments through existing follow-up and review processes including the Voluntary National Review Process.
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Newsletter: Read previous SDG Summit newsletters and sign up to future bulletins
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Political Declaration: Read the background and each version
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Guidance Note on National Global Commitments to SDG Transformation