Civil society space in the SDGs; what we can learn from the UPR

UPR Info recently published an article for UN Special, examining the extent to which civil society can formally engage in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The long-anticipated Agenda, including the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was adopted by consensus at the UN General Assembly in September 2015. By 2030, the aim is to have eradicated extreme poverty, ended hunger, and achieved gender equality. And this relates to just three of the Goals. The Agenda also seeks to uphold a range of other human rights, as well as significantly improve environmental protection, sustainable energy use, and economic growth.

The SDGs represent a historic opportunity to reduce economic, social and political inequality, and to raise living standards on the global level. As of yet, however, there are certain uncertainties surrounding civil society participation in the 2030 Agenda. UPR Info discusses how the UPR framework - with established modalities for civil society inputs - has proven the transformative potential of multi-stakeholder participation. Agenda 2030 and realisation of the SDGs would benefit from drawing on the UPR's successful track record. Read the article in full here.