UN High Level Political Forum
Throughout the past two weeks, the UN convened its High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), a platform inaugurated in 2012 to assess progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UN member states and relevant stakeholders shared their take on what more is to be done to achieve goals such as no poverty, zero hunger, quality education, and access to clean water.
The usual rhetoric around the SDGs is that the goals are off track, “a concerning reality” that should propel member states, civil society, and the private sector to ditch “business as usual” and “ramp up efforts” to radically improve the state of the world.
At this year’s forum, the tone of the statements ranged from assertive and alarmist to optimistic and encouraging while the substance remained generally broad and predictable. In a sense, how can it not be broad? Imagine having to deliver a speech in less than three minutes about eradicating the world’s major problems.
Belarus delivered a nice statement on behalf of the UN Group of Friends of the Family on the role of the family in sustainable development. You can find an excerpt of the statement below:
“We welcome this opportunity to reaffirm the important link between the family and development, emphasizing the role that the family plays as a contributor to sustainable development, given its core essence as the natural and fundamental group unit of society. The Group is of the view that the full and effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will not be possible unless the family is empowered to adequately fulfill its role in society. Family-oriented policies have already proven both valuable and efficient in many areas of social development, providing sustainable, affordable and quality living conditions for the family and its members, and enabling the family to contribute to economic development, social cohesion and intergenerational solidarity.
The Group is convinced that integrating a family perspective into the development agenda will be a step forward towards achieving each and every Sustainable Development Goal before and after 2030. We welcome the 30th anniversary of the International Year of the Family celebrated this year, and see it as an opportunity to redefine family- oriented policies as part of overall development efforts, supporting the goal of responding to the challenges facing the family institution today, leading national efforts that benefit the family worldwide, and introducing family impact assessment as an ongoing part of policymaking.
The Group of Friends recognizes the crucial role that the United Nations plays in strengthening global cooperation on family-related issues, especially in the areas of research and information, and calls on the UN to devote due attention to raising international awareness of the importance of the family for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as well as of the necessity to give due consideration to the family-related matters in the elaboration of the post-2030 development agenda. The first step in this direction must be made today, as we are actively preparing for the Summit of the Future, which seeks to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future. Member States of the Group share conviction that the outcome document of the Summit – Pact for the Future, as well as its annexes, will properly reflect the topic of family policy development in the most ambitious and action-oriented way...”
The 30 Member States of the Group of Friends of the Family include Bangladesh, Cameroon, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, The Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Yemen, Zimbabwe and Belarus.
Some may say that this statement shares obvious facts but one would be surprised to learn that “the family” as a concept rarely makes its way into UN talks. It is unfortunate to admit that the concept itself is becoming controversial. In the context of a UN Declaration for Future Generations, traditional countries had to insist that some language about “the family” be included in the text. During last week’s negotiations, progressive countries opposed using “the family” in the singular as they see it as an outdated and non-inclusive terminology and a hard-to-define concept.
The Major group on children and youth took the HLPF stage to talk about the need to legalize abortion and ensure access to comprehensive sex education, among other topics.
“The denial of young people’s access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and their bodily autonomy, is a critical violation of their human rights and undermines progress towards gender equality. As we mark the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development, and recall the commitments made in Cairo and at the Beijing World Conference on Women, we call on member states to take concrete measures to guarantee and uphold SRHR and justice for all, ensuring every young person has access to comprehensive sexuality education and the full range of SRHR services, free from stigma and discrimination. We also call upon you to eliminate all legal, structural, financial and systemic barriers to SRHR, such as out-of-pocket expenditures, third-party consent and criminalization of abortion. The language on SRHR must be maintained in the Pact - there can be no backsliding on rights and choices."
Did we expect abortion and progressive sexual rights agenda to come up at HLPF? Yes. Many use SDG 5, also known as the SDG on gender equality, to frame opposition to abortion as a denial of women’s rights. What is particularly unfortunate about this statement is that it came from the major group on children and youth. There is one thing for adults to decide that the killing of the unborn is the way to go to achieve gender equality, there is quite another to drag kids into this “fight” who, easily impressionable due to their lack of life experience, may join advocacy efforts they do not fully understand and may come to regret.
Speaking of adults influencing youth and alarmist rhetoric at HLPF, the Netherlands welcomed its Youth Representative on the HLPF to share a brief statement that began with, “Like many young people, I grew up aware and afraid. Aware of the threats of the triple planetary crisis, and afraid of its impacts on our future. This fear can go two ways. Towards apathy, or, when steered correctly, towards action.”
