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The Minister in the Presidency, Mr. Mondli Gungubele has undertaken a working visit to New York leading South Africa’s delegation to the UN HLPF’s Ministerial Segment which takes place from the 13th to 18th of July 2022.
The 2022 HLPF is held under the auspices of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) under the theme “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.
The overall objective of this high-level forum on Sustainable Development is to provide political leadership, guidance, and recommendations on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The forum will also keep track of progress, promote coherent policies informed by science, evidence, and country experiences, and address new and emerging issues regarding the SDGs. The meeting is in line with the monitoring of the “Decade of Implementation” of the SDGs, which covers the period 2020 to 2030.
In this regard, the 2022 HLPF will undertake an in-depth review of the following Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs); SDG4 which focuses on quality education and SDG 5 on gender equality, SDG 14 Life below water, SDG 15 Life on land and SDG 17 on Partnerships for the goals. The forum will further take into account the various impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across all the SDGs.
South Africa’s participation in the event is to advance where we are in implementing the SDGs and to learn from other developing countries that will be presenting their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) in dealing with the developmental agenda.
Minister Gungubele, while attending the HLPF, has participated in various Ministerial bilaterals to discuss strategic issues such as energy, biodiversity, food and water security and climate change.
Furthermore, Minister Gungubele delivered remarks at a Ministerial Roundtable on “Accelerating achievement of SDGs by 2030: addressing on-going crises and overcoming challenges”.
The visit coincides with Mandela Month, the highlight of South Africa’s participation is Minister Gungubele’s official address during the UN International Nelson Mandela Day Commemoration Event. The event takes place on Monday, 18 July 2022, at 10h00 (16h00 SA Time) in the UN General Assembly Hall. (the event will be broadcast on major news channels).
Minister Gungubele will further address other events on International Mandela Day, including the ECOSOC High-Level Segment discussion on “Future-proofing multilateralism for a resilient and inclusive recovery,” the UN Mandela Day 67 Minutes outreach event at Thomas Jefferson Park in Harlem, and conclude the visit with a Brand South Africa Mandela Day Event in Times Square.