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UN High-Level Political Forum

Strengthening the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development was one of the two themes of Rio+20. While several institutional options were discussed during Rio+20, agreement was reached at the summit to establish a high-level political forum (HLPF) as the new deliberating body for sustainable development in the UN.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, with Desmond Parker (l., former UN Chief of Protocol) and Dilma Rousseff (r., President of Brazil), at the Rio+20 conference. Photo: UN Photo/Mark Garten

The High-Level Political Forum

At Rio+20, the nations of the world entrusted the UN General Assembly with the ultimate decision on the name, position within the UN hierarchy, mandate and responsibilities of the High-Level Political Forum.

Paragraph 84 of the Rio+20 Outcome Document mandates this new body to review regularly and follow up the implementation of sustainable development at the United Nations, and

“build on the strengths, experiences, resources and inclusive participation modalities of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), and subsequently replace the CSD”.

Paragraph 85 delineates potential elements of the work areas of the new body, including one which calls on the HLPF to

“strengthen the science-policy interface through review of documentation, bringing together dispersed information and assessments, including in the form of a global sustainable development report, building on existing assessments”.

These two paragraphs represent the basic guidelines for the intergovernmental negotiations currently conducted under the auspices of the UN General Assembly and aimed first at establishing where in the hierarchy of the UN the new policy-making body will be placed. This is a challenging issue as the chances of its success will largely depend on this decision. Its place in the UN hierarchy will reveal what political significance will be attached to this body dealing with the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development at the intergovernmental level. In due course an agreement will also have to be found on the modalities and format of the new body, as decisions are expected by May 2013. The HLPF is due to meet for the first time in September 2013 at the beginning of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly.

Science – policy interface and the High-Level Political Forum

As regards the mandate of HLPF to strengthen the science – policy interface, it seems clear that action will have to wait for the new body to be established and to agree on a preliminary programme of work, which will only happen during the second half of 2013.

Another important point-of-entry for the scientific community will be the mandate given to the HLPF in the Rio+20 Outcome Document to

“promote transparency and implementation through further enhancing the consultative role and participation of major groups, and other relevant stakeholders at the international level in order to better make use of their expertise, while retaining the intergovernmental nature of the discussions”.

The UN has invited ICSU, along with the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the World Federation of Engineering Sciences (WFEO),  to continue its role as Organizing Partner of the Major Group “Scientific and Technological Community” also in view of the coming of the HLPF. The nine Major Groups have jointly prepared a position paper on the HLPF, outlining their proposals for effective participation of the Major Groups in the work of the HLPF.

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