Highlights and images for 10 July 2026

The 2030 Agenda calls for a whole-of-society-approach – the active engagement and meaningful participation of all stakeholders in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With four years to go until the 2030 deadline, the session on strengthening alliances for SDG implementation was both a stocktake on how far stakeholder engagement has come and a critical reflection on how the UN system can be improved to support inclusion more actively as part of the ongoing UN80 reform initiative. 

Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy, Executive Office of the Secretary-General, said successful inclusion has three components: stakeholder capacity, member state attitudes, and the space created by the UN system. These components may be insufficient if stakeholders do not feel safe raising their voices, as was pointed out by Claudia Fuentes Julio, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, who emphasized that protecting activists and advocates is a key priority.

She also pointed to another key concern: the need to move from consultation to co-creation. Consultation, as Major Groups often state, means hearing stakeholders’ opinions without commitment to follow up. True participation means creating space where stakeholders can actively influence outcomes and co-create solutions, such as participatory budgeting, community-led development, or stakeholder-driven development of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs).

Stakeholders suggested ways the UN system can support more effective and meaningful participation. Yugratna Srivastava, Major Group for Children and Youth, urged institutionalizing stakeholder participation across all pillars of the UN, including by making it a standing agenda item in the High-level Committee on Programmes. 

Denisse Cufré, LGBTI Stakeholder Group, explained that exclusion often happens unintentionally because processes are not designed around their ability to contribute. She illustrated this with the example of a young woman in Argentina who, due to two jobs and unpaid care obligations, is unable to arrive on time to a council meeting that was planned by someone unfamiliar with her situation. 

Participants also recognized that there are many examples of successful stakeholder engagement in UN processes. Srivastava and Ryder pointed out that stakeholders made significant contributions to the Pact for the Future, noting the follow-up should be equally participatory. 

The remainder of the day offered an immediate opportunity to observe stakeholder participation in practice as HLPF launched into the first set of VNR presentations. Established as a key mechanism for countries to assess national progress on SDG implementation, broad engagement of stakeholders in the reporting process is highly recommended to ensure a complete and honest picture of implementation and how progress impacts people’s lives. 

Most of the eleven countries presenting on Friday described their engagement processes to some extent; however, the dialogue was dominated by discussions on how countries can make progress in the context of repeated shocks caused by conflict and environmental disasters. Burkina Faso, Estonia, and Mozambique outlined how terrorism or international conflict have affected their progress and strategic planning directly or indirectly. Jamaica and the Marshall Islands showed how advancing the SDGs and building resilience can be possible even under the constant threat of climate-related disaster. 

Another common theme was that even though laudable progress is made in many places, the speed of improvement is too slow to achieve many SDG targets by 2030. The question how to accelerate can thus be expected to resurface again next week when HLPF kicks into high gear with the ministerial segment and many more VNR presentations.