New York, United States (Enmaeya News) — Delegates, government ministers, and civil society groups are meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the 2025 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which is taking place from July 14 to 23.
This year’s forum focuses on speeding up progress toward the 2030 Agenda and achieving its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The theme of the forum is “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda.” Discussions are centered on reviewing five main goals: good health and well-being (SDG 3), gender equality (SDG 5), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), life below water (SDG 14), and partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).
A key part of this year’s forum is the release of a draft Ministerial Declaration on April 14, 2025. The draft was prepared by Ambassador Jakub Kulhanek of Czechia and Ambassador Inga Rhonda King of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It outlines priority actions that match the forum’s focus and reflects ideas shared during consultations held on March 28.
During the 2025 session, 37 countries will present Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), bringing the total number of progress reports reviewed at HLPF to date to over 400. These reviews provide a snapshot of how nations are advancing—or struggling—to implement the SDGs.
Gender equality has taken a prominent role this year. On July 17, Equality Now co‑sponsored a side event titled “Accelerating Equality in Law for Women and Girls to keep the promise of Beijing, the SDGs, and the Pact for the Future,” calling for legal reforms to dismantle entrenched discrimination hindering women’s rights.
In parallel, the launch of Equality Now’s “Proposed Select Draft Articles on Nationality Rights to Ensure Gender Equality” underscores the urgent need to reform nationality laws that discriminate against women and contribute to statelessness.
On July 15, the Earth Negotiations Bulletin reported deeply concerning statistics during the daily press conference on SDG 5:
Only 26% of countries track resource allocations for gender equality.
Less than half of women in nearly 80% of countries own or have secure rights to agricultural land.
Just 29% of countries have set 18 as the minimum marriage age without exceptions.
Only 48% have rape laws that define the offense based on the absence of consent
The ministerial segment of the 2025 HLPF, scheduled for July 21–24, will feature high-level negotiations on the final Ministerial Declaration, which prioritizes health, gender equality, decent work, ocean protection, and global partnerships—areas considered critical to achieving inclusive progress by 2030.
Heads of UN agencies and national leaders are expected to deliver concluding remarks on July 23, with the formal adoption of the declaration set for July 24.
This year’s forum underscores the importance of legal reforms—particularly in gender and nationality laws—and aims to transform evidence-based recommendations into binding international commitments.
