Najam Presents Review of SDGs at UNHLPF
Dean Adil Najam of the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies was invited by the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations to be the lead expert reviewer providing expert commentary on the first set of voluntary national reports (VNRs) on their progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) presented at the 2017 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.
Dean Najam presented his review comments at the beginning of the Ministerial sessions of HLPF on July 17, 2017. Last year, he had also been invited to present the VNR expert review for the inaugural Ministerial meeting of the HLPF in 2016.
The Ministerial segment of the HLPF was opened by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and included also expert comments provided by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, the Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University.
Najam was the expert respondent for the national report panel consisting of the Luxembourg, Nepal and Brazil. The Luxembourg report was presented by Romain Schneider (Minister for Development, Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs) and Carole Dieschbourg (Minister of Environment). The Nepal report was presented by Minister Min Bahadur Shrestha, the Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission. The Brazil report was presented by José Antônio Marcondes de Carvalho, from the country’s Ministry of Environment, Energy, Science, and Technology.
Following the presentation of the three country VNR’s, Dean Najam was invited to provide an expert review of the reports and of the national efforts to meet the UN Agenda 2030 and the intent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He highlighted the key efforts made by the three countries, and in particular congratulated the Brazilian review process for its bold use of indicators and quantitative analysis of progress towards the SDGs.
Najam reminded the development and environment Ministers from across the world who were in the audience that the ambition that had led to the formulation of the SDGs should not be lost. He reminded them that “2030 will arrive much sooner than any one of us expects” and “we will be held to account for the promises we make today about what we intend to do by then.”
Adil Najam is the Inaugural Dean of the Pardee School, former Vice Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Pakistan, and a leading expert on issues of global environment and development policy. He also serves on the United Nations Committee on Development Policy and is a Trustee of WWF-International.