Report on the United Nations High-Level Political Forum 2020: Japan's Role in Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic and Achievement of the SDGs

The United Nations has designated the 2020s as the "decade of action to deliver the SDGs by 2030", and calls on all countries and stakeholders to take accelerated actions toward achieving the SDGs. However, at the start of this important decade, the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a serious impact on economies, societies, and human health worldwide. In this context, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, "far from undermining the case for the SDGs, the root causes and uneven impacts of COVID-19 demonstrate precisely why we need the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change […]”. At the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), held online in July 2020, the message was clear: the 2030 Agenda should be placed at the heart of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as a guide to building back better.

One of the keys to accelerating action to achieve the SDGs is understanding interrelated issues, and enhancing synergies between different policies and initiatives. This event will therefore consider crucial questions, such as: How can countries and stakeholders strengthen their actions to maximise these synergies, and take the lead on “building back better”? And what role can the Japanese government and stakeholders play in this process? It was held online with participation from UN officials, the business sector, academia, youth, and international media to explore these questions and share Japan's principal efforts with the world.