by: Division for Sustainable Development (UNDESA)

The outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) recognized that numerous efforts have been and are being made to achieve sustainable development since the adoption of Agenda 21 through legislation and institutions, and international, regional and sub-regional agreements and commitments. The high-level political forum on sustainable development created in Rio+20 is to provide high-level guidance and recommendations to advance sustainable development. It is also to promote the sharing of best practices and experiences including successes, challenges and lessons learned. General Assembly resolution 67/290 on the forum also stipulates that HLPF will conduct regular reviews, starting in 2016, on the follow-up and implementation of sustainable development commitments and objectives, including those related to the means of implementation, within the context of the post-2015 development agenda. Those reviews will be voluntary, state-led and provide a platform for partnerships, including through the participation of major groups and other relevant stakeholders. In 2016, they will replace the national voluntary presentations held in the context of the annual ministerial reviews (AMR) of ECOSOC.

The forum’s monitoring and review function will need to be situated in the context of the accountability framework on the post-2015 development agenda, expected to be adopted by the General Assembly in September
2015.

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