Parliament delegation at UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
THE Honourable Speaker, Dr Jiko Luveni is in New York heading a Parliamentary delegation to the United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development that is being held from 18 – 20 July at the UN headquarters.
Members of Parliament, the Hon. Semesa Karavaki and Hon. Netani Rika are part of the delegation that includes secretariat staff Mr Josua Namoce.
The HLPF is the UN’s central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015.
The Forum is expected to provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations on the 2030 Agenda’s implementation and follow-up; keep track of progress of the SDGs; spur coherent policies informed by evidence, science and country experiences; as well as address new and emerging issues.
The International Parliamentary Union (IPU) has encouraged parliamentary delegations to the Forum to discuss the role of parliaments in facilitating the sustainable development agenda.
The Honourable Speaker will be one of three panellists at an official side event today, Monday 18th July – “Mobilizing Parliaments for the SDGs”. The event is being moderated by IPU Secretary-General Mr. Martin Chungong.
This meeting is aimed at taking stock of the global follow up process for the SDGs through the HLPF and the UN partnership with the IPU. It will also review the steps parliaments can take to institutionalize the SDGs and support their implementation at the national level. Furthermore, there will be a discussion on a parliamentary perspective on the main theme of the 2016 HLPF: “Leaving no one behind”.
Hon. Dr Luveni is expected to share the Fiji Parliament’s experiences and initiatives on progressing the SDGs. These include the successful Speaker’s Debate on the SDGs and gender-mainstreaming in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the delegation is being assisted by the office of the Permanent Mission of Fiji to the UN and the Permanent Representative, His Excellency Ambassador Peter Thomson.
The Honourable Speaker is expected to join Ambassador Thomson at the formal opening of the forum this morning Monday (18/07).
