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What are the SDGs?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 objectives, designed by all UN Member States, to be achieved by the year 2030. Some goals are targeted at improving the lives of people, others focus on protecting the planet, aim at ensuring peace or prosperity. The SDGs are extremely ambitious: goal 1 and 2 alone challenge us to eradicate poverty and hunger globally.  

If we want to stand a chance to achieve all 17 goals, all levels of societies must work together, starting from the UN, continuing at state level, in cities and communities, businesses and NGOs and with every individual. The goals are a call to all regions of the world. No country can free itself from its responsibility to work towards this common goal. 

Tracking progress

The goals are formulated as short, clear statements. But how to achieve “zero hunger”, “quality education” or “affordable and clean energy”? A set of targets for each goals sets the course, defining what exactly we want to achieve. These 169 targets are linked to a total of 248 indicators allowing us to measure the progress made for each goal. 

The central body to review this progress is the High-Level Political Forum which convenes every year. States are encouraged to carry out national reviews of their performance in regular intervals, and the states under review share their experiences, successes, and mistakes made on their path towards the 2030 Agenda. 

Also on an annual basis, the Secretary-General publishes an SDG report, prepared with input from the entire UN System, and other international and regional organizations, statisticians and experts from academia and civil society. 

According to the 2024 report, current progress falls far short of what is required to meet the SDGs. Without "massive investment and scaled up action", we will not achieve our goals. 

External assessment:

Third entities, such as universities and NGOs independently track the progress countries make towards the SDGs. The results are largely the same as the UN assessments: no country is on track to achieving the goals by 2030. The SDG Transformation Center gives a detailed overview on the progress countries make on each goal, and also, how they positively or negatively impact other states on their respective sustainability path. 

SDG Goal 5
Example

Goal 5, “gender equality”, has nine targets, including: 

Target 5.5
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
Indicators: 
5.5.1 Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments
5.5.2 Proportion of women in managerial positions
Mention in 2024 SDG report: 
"Parity in women’s participation in public life remains elusive, and in management positions, at current rates, parity will require another 176 years. Women carry an unfair burden of unpaid domestic and care work, spending 2.5 times more hours a day on it than men. [...] Data from 120 countries show that from 2019 to 2023, 56 positive legal reforms focused on removing discriminatory laws and establishing legal frameworks to advance gender equality. Twenty-two reforms centred on equal rights to employment and economic benefits and 18 on stopping violence against women. The reforms included lifting restrictions on women working in specific sectors, guaranteeing equal remuneration for work of equal value". 

More than half of the time has elapsed

Only 15 years were given to the world community to change their course of action from the core and to achieve the Global Goals. In 2023, we passed the halfway point. That year’s SDG report is a comprehensive midpoint review, pointing out the development gaps. 

Reasons for the weak performance are, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging wars and conflicts, and many member states’ actions falling short of their commitments, notably in the fields of climate finance and financial support for low- and middle-income countries. 

"Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been."

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Five areas for immediate action:

The 2023 midterm report raises five points which Member States should tackle urgently.

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1.

Heads of State and Government should recommit to seven years of accelerated, sustained and transformative action, both nationally and internationally, to deliver on the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals.

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2.

Governments should advance concrete, integrated and targeted policies and actions to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and end the war on nature, with a focus on advancing the rights of women and girls and empowering the most vulnerable.

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3.

Governments should strengthen national and subnational capacity, accountability and public institutions to deliver accelerated progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

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4.

The international community should recommit at the SDG Summit to deliver on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and to mobilize the resources and investment needed for developing countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those in special situations and experiencing acute vulnerability.

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5.

Member States should facilitate the continued strengthening of the United Nations development system and boost the capacity of the multilateral system to tackle emerging challenges and address Sustainable Development Goals-related gaps and weaknesses in the international architecture that have emerged since 2015.

UN Geneva has a role to play

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a blueprint for the work of the Secretariat and, therefore, for the UN in Geneva. The SDGs are embedded in everything UN Geneva does and sparked new partnerships and intensified collaboration across Geneva’s ecosystem, consisting of over 100 international organization, 180 Member State representations, some 400 NGOs, a dynamic private sector and prominent academic institutions. Geneva has therefore become an important hub for SDG implementation on a wide range of topics from health, security and humanitarian affairs, to migration, digital policy and intellectual property.

The Perception Change Project (PCP), launched by the Director-General in 2014 and collaborating with over 100 partners, showcases the relevance and impact of the UN’s work on everybody’s life worldwide and encourages public engagement in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Examples of PCP’s work include the NotAWoman’sJob exhibition series; and a range of publications, notably action booklets and children’s books, to mention just a few of the examples of its output. One noteworthy PCP project has been the mapping of International Geneva with regards to their work towards attaining the SDGs. 

The Beyond Lab in the Office of the UN Geneva Director-General is an innovation space, exploring ways to drive systems change for sustainability. The Beyond Lab looks, for example, at ways to measure development beyond a country’s GDP. The “Youth moving beyond GDP” initiative is part of an intergenerational dialogue series organized by the Beyond Lab. In its “Futures Balance” project, the Beyond Lab provides a tool for governments to identify sustainable investment areas – so that future generations will benefit from governments’ decisions made today.

UN Geneva supports the Common Agenda of the Secretary General, his vision for the future of global cooperation. The Common Agenda calls for inclusive, networked, and effective multilateralism to better respond and deliver for the people and planet and to get the world back on track by turbocharging action on the Sustainable Development Goals. The Summit of the Future, held in September 2024, was a major milestone on this path. Its main outcome document, the Pact for the Future, touches different areas, such as peace and security, sustainable development, digital cooperation, youth and future generations as well as human rights and gender. It stipulates some changes within the structure of the UN, including a Security Council reform, but its focus lies on addressing upcoming challenges, for example how to govern AI, and on considering the needs of future generations. In the area of sustainable development, a reform of the international financial sector was decided, improving services and support for developing countries. If applied as agreed, the Pact for the Future will turbocharge the implementation of the SGDs, and it can be a game changer towards a more sustainable world. 

UN Geneva is being scrutinized as part of the UN's internal environmental sustainability initiative, Greening the Blue. In this context, UN Geneva is committed to reducing water, waste, and CO2 emissions.  

See more initiatives from the International Geneva community to foster the SDGs

Organizations working on the SDGs

叙利亚国际公正独立机制 (IIIM) 于 2016 年 12 月由联合国大会设立,旨在协助调查和起诉自 2011 年 3 月以来在阿拉伯叙利亚共和国犯下国际法规定的最严重罪行的责任人。

IIIM 是一个司法调解人,致力于追究 2011 年 3 月以来在阿拉伯叙利亚共和国犯下的核心国际罪行的责任,特别是战争罪、危害人类罪和种族灭绝罪。它收集、保存和分析信息和证据。然后,它应要求或主动与主管司法管辖区共享与正在进行的调查相关的材料和分析产品。 IIIM 没有起诉权。相反,它协助那些牵头调查和起诉叙利亚犯罪嫌疑人的司法管辖区。

该独立机构是联合国大会于 2023 年 6 月 29 日成立的一个联合国实体,旨在响应叙利亚数千名失踪人员家属的紧急呼吁,确定他们的命运和下落。IIMP 的成立决议授权其:

  • 澄清叙利亚所有失踪人员的命运和下落,
  • 向受害者(包括幸存者和失踪者家属)提供足够的支持。  

这项工作必须在受害者充分而有意义的参与下开展,与叙利亚民间社会(包括妇女组织)持续接触,并与所有相关行为体密切合作和互补。叙利亚所有失踪人员均属于 IIMP 的职责范围,无论其国籍、政治派别、失踪原因或时间如何。IIMP 的职责是人道主义和寻求真相,旨在支持家人了解亲人遭遇真相的权利。

联合国人类住区规划署 (UN-HABITAT) 是负责人类住区的联合国机构。联合国大会授权它促进社会和环境可持续发展的城镇和城市,目标是为所有人提供适当的住所。

 

联合国贸易和发展 (UNCTAD) 是联合国处理贸易和发展的主要机构。它是联合国大会于1964年设立的常设政府间机构。贸发会议支持发展中国家更公平、更有效地从全球化经济中获益。它提供经济和贸易分析,促进达成共识并提供技术援助,以帮助发展中国家利用贸易、投资、金融和技术实现包容性和可持续发展。

2021 年 9 月,哥斯达黎加的丽贝卡·格林斯潘被任命为贸发会议秘书长。作为一名经济学家、哥斯达黎加前副总统和公认的人类发展倡导者,她是该组织近 60 年历史上的第一位女性领导人。

 

联合国开发计划署是致力于结束贫困、不平等和气候变化的不公正现象的领先联合国组织。该机构与 170 个国家/地区的广泛专家和合作伙伴网络合作,帮助各国为人类和地球构建综合、持久的解决方案。

UNDP 日内瓦办事处是 UNDP 日内瓦和总部设在日内瓦的组织的平台,也是与法国和瑞士政府的主要联络点。自 2014 年 10 月以来,联合国开发计划署日内瓦办事处作为综合伙伴关系办公室,跨方案和代表职能开展工作。它确定、建立和发展开发署的机构能力,以加强广泛合作伙伴之间的战略伙伴关系,主要是与方案国和捐助国、联合国系统、非政府组织和民间社会组织、私营部门、政府间组织、国际金融机构、区域银行 [...]

联合国欧洲经济委员会 (UNECE) 由 ECOSOC 于 1947 年成立。它是联合国五个区域委员会之一。其主要目标是促进泛欧经济一体化。

工发组织是联合国的专门机构,致力于促进工业发展以实现减贫、包容性全球化和环境可持续性。

作为联合国系统的专门培训机构,联合国训练研究所 (UNITAR) 为个人、组织和机构提供创新的学习解决方案,以加强全球决策并支持国家层面的行动,以塑造更美好的未来。

UNITAR 成立于 1963 年,旨在为来自新独立的联合国成员国的年轻外交官提供在外交环境中驾驭所需的知识和技能。多年来,训研所在设计和开展各种培训活动方面积累了独特的专业知识和经验。我们已成为为公共和私营部门的机构和个人提供定制和创造性学习解决方案的领先机构。

凭借完全专注于实现可持续发展目标 (SDG) 的战略,UNITAR 支持各国政府实施 2030 年议程。

裁军事务厅日内瓦办事处协助会员国支持其裁军、军备控制和不扩散努力,以实现在严格有效的国际监督下实现全面彻底裁军的目标。

该处为范围广泛的多边裁军协定、方案和会议提供实质性和组织性支持以及联络服务,例如(仅提供英文链接):

联合国日内瓦办事处 (UNOG) 位于联合国大楼内,是联合国秘书长在日内瓦的代表处。作为多边外交的联络点,UNOG 去年为约 8,000 次会议提供服务,是世界上最繁忙的会议中心之一。UNOG 拥有 1,300 多名工作人员,是联合国秘书处在纽约总部以外最大的工作地点。

联合国日内瓦办事处的伙伴关系倡议

 

UNOPS 帮助联合国及其合作伙伴提供和平与安全、人道主义和发展解决方案。他们的使命是帮助人们过上更好的生活,帮助各国实现和平与可持续发展。

他们专注于实施,致力于联合国价值观和私营部门效率,并且是联合国中唯一没有从纳税人那里获得核心资金的部分。

他们的服务涵盖基础设施、项目管理、采购、财务管理和人力资源。他们的合作伙伴呼吁我们补充他们自己的能力,提高速度,降低风险,提高成本效益并提高质量。

UNRISD 是联合国系统内的一个自治研究机构,对当代发展问题的社会层面进行跨学科研究和政策分析。 UNRISD 与来自发达国家和发展中国家的学术、政策、从业者和活动家社区的广泛合作伙伴网络合作,旨在将社会公平、包容和正义置于发展思想、政策和实践的中心。

世界旅游组织在日内瓦的存在有可能大大增加旅游业作为发展引擎的积极影响。作为 UNWTO 日内瓦联络处 (GVLO) 代表 UNWTO 参加联合国系统和驻日内瓦外交使团以及建立战略伙伴关系以提高能力的工作范围的一部分,GVLO 参与了许多联合国系统领导的活动。

世界气象组织(WMO)是联合国的一个专门机构。它是联合国系统对地球大气层的状态和行为、它与海洋的相互作用、它产生的气候以及由此产生的水资源分布的权威声音。