Category: Blog

ECOSOC HLPF on Sustainable Development 2023: Perspectives, Priorities and Positions

The GPW Team in collaboration with students from Julien J. Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs at The New School.
In 2023, the HLPF took place from 10 – 19 July, and the main SDGs subjected to in-depth review were SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy, SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities and SDG 17 on partnerships for the Goals. Read more

2023 UN SDG Summit

At the half-way mark to fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN “SDG Summit” is charged with igniting a correction course as the UN, Member States and numerous studies agree that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are seriously off-track and the consequences of failure affect all countries and sectors of society. Key themes include: the SDG Stimulus, debt swaps, international financial architecture reform, re-channeling of Special Drawing Rights amongst other issues. Read more

Report: LDC5 Civil Society Forum

The Civil Society Forum of the LDC5 Conference was organized by a Core Group of civil society organizations composed of LDC-Watch, Third World Network, Social Watch and Global Policy Forum, in collaboration with the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries (UN-OHRLLS). The Civil Society Forum was held in Doha, Qatar, from 4 to 9 March 2023. Read more

CSO Participation at the UN: Perspectives on CSO Engagement in UN Processes

This GPW Round Up #3, CSO Participation at the UN: Perspectives on CSO Engagement in UN Processes, highlights some insights, analyses, commentary and advocacy regarding civil society organizations engaging in UN multilateral processses. From the Member States to the UN Secretary-General, CSOs are frequently exalted as an integral part of multilateral policy-making processes; yet, whether their calls and analyses are genuinely heeded is up for debate. Some Member States and CSOs have called for improvements in CSO participation, supported by recommendations from experts on reforms to CSO engagement. Read more

New Release: Interest rate turnaround. A turning point for development finance?

By Bodo Ellmers
Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, development finance has operated under conditions of low interest rates and high liquidity in global financial markets. This has changed with the recent turnaround in interest rates. The briefing paper Interest rate turnaround. A turning point for development finance? describes the current trends, analyzes the implications for financing sustainable development in the Global South, and formulates policy recommendations on how countries in the Global South and their financing partners in the North can respond to the interest rate increases. Read more

Ensuring Social Protection for All

This GPW Round Up #2, Ensuring Social Protection for All, highlights the critical importance of universal social protection not only in recovering from the pandemic, but also its vital role to address pre-existing deep-seated inequalities between and within countries. It details gaps in social protection coverage and financing, especially in poor countries, and failures of the targeted, or means-tested approach, often promoted by IMF and World Bank. Read more