Secretary-General of the United Nations Remarks to Economic and Social Council Operational Activities for Development Segment Tuesday, 27 February 2018 I have addressed the ECOSOC three times on the substance of...
New York, 19 July 2017: Despite soaring rhetoric, glossy reports and slick presentations, the fact remains that implementation on the ground is “stalled”, as highlighted in a series of civil society national reports as part of the global Spotlight Report initiative. Read more…
New York, 18 July 2017: During the Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) of 44 countries at the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, many civil society activists raised questions, criticizing government (in-)action as well as crippling framework conditions that slow down implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the national level. Read more…
Press release Download PDF here. New York, 17 July 2017: On Monday, 17 July, the sponsors of the High-Level Panel report on Women’s Economic Empowerment are presenting a panel on “Accelerating women’s economic empowerment to...
New York City, 14 July 2017: With the first week of deliberations at the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development coming to a close this Friday at the UN in New York, civil society activists are criticizing a piecemeal approach to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Especially worrisome to activists is a growing gap between aspirational goals and a lack of proper and comprehensive means of implementation. Read more…
Press release PPP: Corporations divert UN agenda, claims civil society report Global Spotlight Report warns against risks of Public-Private Partnerships Download PDF here. New York, 13 July 2017: Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), usually portrayed as...
Press Release Corporate power threatens women´s human rights New independent Spotlight report points out that women´s lower wages and poorer labor conditions have resulted in unfair advantages for corporations Download PDF here. New York, 12...
Press release Poverty eradication is possible with existing resources, but not with present policies, argues civil society at the UN Global Spotlight Report says that the Agenda 2030 proposal to eradicate poverty by 2030...
Press release World Bank plan to mobilize “trillions” will not help the poor Global Spotlight Report says that the proposed “cascade” of private financing for infrastructure will result on more corruption, high fees for...
Press release Civil society groups reclaim policies for the public Global report assesses how privatization and corporate capture have become obstacles to progress under the 2030 Agenda Download PDF here. New York, 10 July...
If it doesn’t challenge power, it isn’t democratic
In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Member States committed to “reach the furthest behind first”. Can this commitment be applied to governance and related policies, budgets and institutions?
Barbara Adams explores the implications for global governance of the promises of the 2030 Agenda, the practice of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) and the many and sometimes contradictory approaches and initiatives of the UN system and its ‘governors’.
This analysis highlights the need to move from the current pay-to-play orientation to one of democratic accountability for ‘people and planet’ and recommends a strengthened and re-positioned HLPF and UN General Assembly to drive momentum for the UN as the leader of rights-based multilateralism. Read more
The current status of Artificial Intelligence governance must be reshaped or it will contribute to more being left behind. The risks and shifts are outlined by Cecilia Alemany of Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) and Anita Gurumurthy of IT For Change (ITFC) in a chapter on Governance of Data and Artificial Intelligence in the 2019 Spotlight on Sustainable Development report.
Four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda the world is off-track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But there are signs of change. New social movements have emerged worldwide. They not only challenge bad or inefficient government policies, but also share a fundamental critique of underlying social structures, power relations and governance arrangements.
For this reason, the Spotlight Report 2019 has as main topic “reshaping governance for sustainability”. It offers analysis and recommendations on the global governance that sustainability requires, as well as on how to strengthen inclusive and participatory governance to overcome structural obstacles and institutional gaps.