The Sustainable Development Goals are under the spotlight this week at a high-level UN Forum in the US as nations present progress reports on goal implementation.
Governments are gathering at the United Nations in New York this week to measure progress on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). During this High-level Political Forum, 44 countries will present national reviews that examine their progress towards each SDG. The reviews also look at national-level implementation and monitoring architecture, and involvement of civil society, including trade unions.
EI: Critical of government failures
As part of civil society, Education International (EI) contributed to this year’s Spotlight report, which focuses on the tensions between the public and private sectors within SDG implementation. In its contribution on SDG 4 on quality education, EI criticises governments for failing to recognise that public provision and regulation of education are preconditions for equity and quality. It also analyses the wide-ranging implications of states’ failure to ensure equitable quality education for all.
Background
Adopted in September 2015, the SDGs are a universal agenda for social, economic and environmental development, and include goals on quality education, decent work and gender equality.
The High-level Political Forum is the global platform for monitoring SDG progress, and takes place in July every year. This year’s theme is Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world and it zooms in on SDG 1 on ending poverty, SDG 2 on ending hunger, SDG 3 on health, and SDG 5 on gender equality, as well as SDG 9 on infrastructure, and SDG 14 on oceans and seas.