Education International Research
Box 1: SDG Monitoring at the HLPF: the Limitations of Voluntary National Reviews As part of its follow-up and review mechanisms, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development encourages member states to “conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and sub-national levels, which are country-led and country-driven”. These voluntary national reviews (VNRs) aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. They are one of the key mechanisms for monitoring SDG progress. However, they are far from sufficient to comprehensively, accurately and constructively monitor progress.
Voluntary reporting: As the name suggests, these reviews are voluntary. In 2018, 46 countries submitted a VNR; in 2017, 43 countries did; in 2016, 22 countries did. This year, 47 countries will submit a report (ten of whom will be presenting their second). At the time of writing, at least four countries had dropped out from the original group of volunteer countries (Brazil, El Salvador, Eritrea and France).
Self-reporting — “pat-on-the-back” reviews: Governments report on their own progress, increasing the likelihood that reviews present a rose tinted view of progress. Few governments provide adequate evidence that they have undertaken a critical analysis of how their policies are or are not contributing to meeting the SDGs. For instance, the Philippines is submitting a voluntary national review this year. Will the VNR reveal the government’s intimidation of union leaders, attacks on schools, and multiple violations of human rights? Our guess: almost certainly not.
Gaps: Though guidelines are provided for VNR reporting, an independent assessment 3 of the 2018 VNRs showed that countries’ submissions are often not structured according to the guidelines. In 2018 it was found that the reviews included only very limited references to linkages between the dimensions of sustainable development, and there was very sparse reporting on leaving no one behind. Only 13% of the VNRs submitted cited a human rights–based approach, even though this is a key principle of the 2030 Agenda. Furthermore, there were gaps in reporting on lessons learnt and areas where countries would like to learn from others. This gap undermines the VNR process and represents a missed opportunity for maximising the impact of HLPF discussions. Not all countries report on all SDGs, and some neglect to examine bottlenecks, avoiding confronting the systematic nature of barriers to implementation and their relation to power and politics.
Minimal civil society participation:
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VNRs are supposed to be country-led but involve multiple stakeholders. The independent VNR assessment found that 93% of countries reported that non-state actors were engaged in the VNR itself. However, very few education unions have taken part in the VNR processes in their countries. It appears that civil society “involvement” too often takes the form of simply collecting “good news” stories to bolster the narrative that governments are doing substantial work to implement the SDGs, rather than meaningful engagement in the monitoring process from those on the ground.
High-income countries focus on progress abroad:
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As stipulated in paragraph 84 of the 2030 Agenda, reviews are to be undertaken by all countries, as the SDGs are part of a global agenda that applies just as much to developed countries as to developing countries. In fact, with regard to environmental sustainability and sustainable consumption, it is the rich countries that have the furthest to go. However, the VNRs of some highincome countries focus mostly on presenting their efforts to support low-income countries in reaching the goals rather than critically examining how policies contribute to progress domestically.
3 Progressing National SDG Implementation: An independent assessment of the voluntary national review reports submitted to the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2018. The Third Edition in an annual series commissioned by civil society organisations. Retrieved from: http://cepei.org/gobernanzas/progressing-national-sdgs-implementation/
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