HLPF 2020: Indigenous Peoples’ participation

05 June 2020

The meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development in 2020 will be held from Tuesday, 7 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. This will include the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from Tuesday, 14 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020. 

The theme will be “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development “.

The HLPF annual meeting is the core United Nations platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

In the 2020 HLPF, participants will debate where we stand on the SDGs in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They will reflect on how the international community can respond to the pandemic in a way that puts us back on track to achieve the SDGs and accelerate progress during the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development.

47 countries will carry out voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the 2020 HLPF from Friday, 10 July to Thursday, 16 July 2020. For more details, please click here.

The HLPF will adopt a Ministerial Declaration as the outcome of its session. The President of ECOSOC will also prepare a summary to capture the key messages of the discussions.

For more details on 2020 HLPF, please click here.


In this context, an official virtual side event entitled Delivering results for not leaving Indigenous Peoples behind: COVID-19 responses and beyond” will be organized on Tuesday, 7 of July from 12:00 – 1:30 pm (EDT)

>>>Concept Note

Registration is required https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GSoJ_5-STOGc4eKkNgaiTA
Zoom Password: 580014

Interpretation in English <>Spanish available

Co-sponsors: Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable Development, the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, IWGIA, and the DESA/DISD/Indigenous Peoples and Development Branch / Secretariat for the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.


For the third year, a series of Voluntary National Review (VNR) Labs are being convened on the margins of the 2020 HLPF. The VNR Labs provide an informal platform for experience sharing and reflection on the Voluntary National Review (VNR) process. The Labs will be held under the Chatham House rule and will be open to Member States, the UN system and representatives of Major Groups and other Stakeholders.

In this context, VNR Lab 4 entitled “Engaging social groups in the VNR process – A case study of persons with disabilities and indigenous peoples” will be organized by UN DESA’s Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD) and will take place on Wednesday, 8 July from 12:30 – 2 pm (EDT)

More information including Concept Note, here >>>

Registration CLOSED


Learn more about Indigenous Peoples’ participation in annual sessions of HLPF>>>


The Indigenous Peoples Major Group (IPMG) for Sustainable Development is the main mechanism for coordination and concerted efforts to advance the rights and development priorities of indigenous peoples at all levels.

In April 2017, the Global Coordinating Committee (GCC) was established as the mechanism for global coordination, composed of seven regional focal organizations with designated focal persons and representatives of Indigenous women and youth and the two convenors of the IPMG. In addition to this, the IMPG also established its Technical Secretariat to support the work and programme implementation of the IPMG, including in ensuring sustained communication and information sharing to Indigenous organizations across the globe.

Learn more about the IPMG activities for 2020 HLPF, here >>>

Register for events organized by IPMG, here >>>

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