Sustainable development is the international community’s most urgent priority, and the core aim of the 2030 Development Agenda for sustainable development. ECOSOC operates at the centre of the UN system’s work on all three pillars of sustainable development—economic, social and environmental. It is the unifying platform for integration, action on sustainable development and follow-up and review.
As the umbrella for the UN’s functional and regional commissions, and operational and specialized agencies, it links the setting of global norms with their implementation. Across diverse fora, it brings together all the different people and partners involved in achieving sustainable development, while fueling broader awareness and action through sharing its own extensive knowledge and issue expertise.
Within the UN system, ECOSOC has the main responsibility for following up on all major past international conferences linked to the three pillars of sustainable development, and will continue to do this alongside the implementation of the sustainable development goals. As a hub for the exchange of knowledge and mutual learning, it had an instrumental role in examining lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals, assessed the transition into the post-2015 agenda, and currently consider the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. ECOSOC also explores the scope of a renewed global partnership and invites youth to share their views on their future.
Important ECOSOC forums for exchanges around sustainable development comprise:
- High-Level Political Forum
- Development Cooperation Forum, including reviews of global trends
- Annual Ministerial Review, including its national voluntary presentations on development strategies that have proven effective
- Financing for Development Forum, involving leading financial and trade organizations
- Integration Segment, with specific focus on the three pillars of sustainable development
- Operational Activities for Development Segment, on adapting the UN funds and programmes to post-2015
Click here for more on the Sustainable Development Goals.