The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit (or the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the UN General Assembly) is held every four years at the heads of state and governments level under the presidency of the UN General Assembly chair at the beginning of its session.
The summit was established following the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, The Future We Want, in 2012 at the UN Sustainable Development Commission as a universal, intergovernmental, and political high-level forum. At that time, it was decided that the forum would meet every four years under the auspices of the UN General Assembly (SDG Summit) and every year under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOS).
Following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, the High-Level Political Forum under the auspices of the General Assembly/ECOSOC was tasked with reviewing the implementation of SDGs.
In order to ensure that the discussions and recommendations of the forum were comprehensive and universal, the participating countries agreed, while preserving the intergovernmental nature of the forum, to guarantee the participation of the non-governmental sectors (women, youth, scientific institutions, trade unions, local authorities, charities, and disabled persons). The forum also includes UN agencies, foundations and programmes, as well as multilateral financial and trade organisations, including the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organisation, and other treaty bodies and international organisations within their respective mandates.
In order to strengthen the significance of the summit’s scientific credibility in policy-making, the Global Report on Sustainable Development, prepared by a group of internationally recognised scientists selected by the Secretary-General, is presented there. The document summarises existing assessments and contributes to improving the efficiency of science-based decision-making at all levels.
The forum also focuses on the regional component of sustainable development and the problems of the developing countries, in particular, the least developed, the small island developing states, landlocked developing countries, African countries, and low-income countries.