Nepali CSOs Discussed and Planned for HLPF 2021 and People's Scorecard Report
2 June 2021.
Nepal SDGs Forum meeting was organized virtually today with over 100 participants joining the meeting. Government representatives, UN agencies, representatives of various CSOs and networks, INGOs, private sector and other development workers as well as rights activists actively participated and shared their thoughts.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Jit Ram Lama, who is the Coordinator of Nepal SDGs Forum and President of NGO Federation of Nepal (NFN), and Hon. Min Bahadur Shahi, member of National Planning Commission (NPC), was the chief guest.
Setting background for discussion, Arjun Bhattarai, Deputy Secretary General of NFN, made a presentation. Mr. Bhattarai highlighted on the CSOs' engagement mechanism through Voluntary National Review (VNR) and UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) as well as the plans for the same in 2021. The theme this year will be "Sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that promotes the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development: building an inclusive and effective path for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda in the context of the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development". SDG 1 No poverty, SDG 2 Zero hunger, SDG 3 Good health and well-being, SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth, SDG 10 Reduced inequalities, SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production, SDG 13 Climate action, SDG 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions, and SDG 17 Partnerships are to be reviewed in this year's HLPF.
Nepal just participated in the VNR for the second time last year. However, this year also, there will be some engagement at the HLPF. There will be several ways for the Nepali CSOs to engage, including annual progress review through various ways like People's Scorecard report, review of progress after the last VNR, organizing side-events at the HLPF, awareness, advocacy, and observance of SDG Action Week in September.
Another presentation was by Mr. Hum Bhandari, Executive Director of NFN, about People's Scorecard which is one of the civil society assessment and reporting approaches to SDGs. It was mentioned that as a civil society initiative at the global level, the scoring and narrative explanation or assessment report of all the Goals based on the commonly agreed areas of assessment will be shared at the global level. This assessment allows a common standard to share, compare and learn from other countries. Notably, the assessment forms will be shared among the Nepal SDGs Forum members and CSOs in order to collaboratively produce and share the report at the national and global level. Further consultation meetings will be held.
Policy Advisor of UNDP Nepal Mr. Dharma Swarnakar, and Economic and Sustainable Development Adviser at United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office Mr. Subhash Nepali updated the roles of UN agencies in Nepal and shared their ideas. They suggested of emphasizing the role of private sector. Impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, economic sector growth is flattening and more than a million people are expected to be pushed into poverty. In this case a new approach is necessary by a comprehensive assessment of the impact. An integrated approach and partnership is required to recover from the current crisis.
CSO leaders representing women, children, youth, Dalits, gender minorities, development organizations as well as sectors like business, environment, water and sanitation, community forestry, health, governance, etc. took part in the discussion expressing their issues and concerns. Health and psychosocial problems, addressing the poverty and inequality, localization of SDGs, engaging private sector and making sure that no one is left behind were some of the concerns raised. It was also suggested that proper implementation of recommendations received from Universal Periodic Review and other UN treaty bodies relating to key population regarding their health and human rights issues need to be strongly raised during the upcoming HLPF. Also, Commitment and expectations for collective initiatives under Nepal SDGs Forum were reflected. The speakers included Dr. Renu Adhikari, Ms. Sushila Shrestha, Mr. Shanta Lall Mulmi, Mr. Kedar Khadka, Mr. Bhakta Bishwakarma, Ms. Bharati Pathak, Ms. Benu Maya Gurung, Mr Sunil Chitrakar, Ms. Seema Luitel, Mr. Sushil BK, Mr. BB Thapa, Mr. Lal Bahadur Oli among others.
Addressing the queries and concerns raised, Hon. Member of the NPC, Mr. Min Bahadur Shari said that Government of Nepal has made its best attempts to integrate SDGs in the periodic plans, program and budget. Government has been making efforts to reduce poverty through policy interventions. While Nepal is expecting to graduate soon from the status of a least developed country (LDC), Government is assessing its impacts in different sectors. Likewise, 'leave no one behind' national framework preparation is in progress. Considering the situation Nepal is faced with, SDG indicators and financing gaps are being reviewed, he said. With regards to Covid-19 response, Mr. Shahi stressed that vaccine is the first priority of the government. Having claimed that government has provided due space to civil society, he suggested CSOs to review the periodic plans and other policies of the government to analyze and assess integration and implementation of SDGs. Finally, Mr. Shahi expressed his commitment to seriously consider the concerns and recommendations that came up in the meeting.
Concluding the meeting, Mr. Jit Ram Lama thanked the chief guest, representatives of UN agencies in Nepal, INGOs and everyone for coming together to collaborate and create synergy as civil society.
The meeting and discussion were moderated by Mr. Ram Subedi, Secretary General of NGO Federation of Nepal.
